☕️ Cough it Up

Good morning.

NextDC's unorthodox CEO Craig Scroggie was unrepentant after 72% of votes were cast against the data centre operator's remuneration report on Thursday which includes a $150 million incentive scheme for NextDC's top executives.

The package would make Scroggie one of the highest paid bosses on the ASX, receiving $112 million in vested stock rights by 2030 should the company’s share price increase by 17.5% per year over the next five years.

Scroggie told Capital Brief after the meeting that proxy advisors (like CGI Glass Lewis and ISS who recommended against the package) have “traditional views on remuneration” and “don't necessarily represent the opinions of shareholders”.

“We'll continue to work to educate the proxy advisors to take them on the journey, but our first and most important priority is to our shareholders, and they're the ones whose opinions count the most,” Scroggie said.

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Market movers

Shares in counter-drone company DroneShield plunged 31% Thursday after its CEO, chair and a director sold a combined $66.8 million in stock. That sparked a collapse in investor sentiment, despite the company insisting the insiders’ sell-off is unrelated to its growth trajectory. The directors had recently vested options after hitting performance targets but now hold only options, not fully paid ordinary shares.

The quick sync

• Linktree acquires Fingertip and will shut it down in 2026 as it absorbs its team and tools. (Capital Brief)

• Australia lawfully ended Russia’s embassy lease but must pay compensation, the High Court ruled. (Capital Brief)

• Katherine Keating and Jeffrey Epstein were in direct contact in 2011, US emails confirm. (Capital Brief)

• Liberals remove net zero but remain in the Paris Agreement, exposing internal rifts and clashing with its requirement to raise climate targets over time. (Capital Brief)

• Coalition instability on net zero is deterring investment and hurting Australia’s clean energy prospects, writes Nicolette Boele.(Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• BlueScope will sell its 50% stake in Tata BlueScope Steel to Tata Steel for $179m, booking a $70m profit. (Capital Brief)

• FNZ sells its stake in Paua Wealth to management. (AFR)

• ACCC approved the Seven–Southern Cross merger, finding no major competition concerns. (Capital Brief)

• Pacific Equity Partners readies final bid for $1b Aidacare in three-way contest. (The Australian)

• Barrenjoey pitches $24.5b Lundin Mining to Australian investors. (AFR)

• Linktree bought Melbourne startup Fingertip to expand its creator platform. (Capital Brief)

• Real Pet Food Company begins global buyer roadshow with Citi. (AFR)

• AAM sells Southern Cross Poultry Fund amid booming chicken demand. (The Australian)

• FIRB delays decision on Cosette’s Mayne Pharma takeover. (Capital Brief)

• ReadCloud puts VET unit up for sale. (AFR)

• Nufarm reclassifies earnings as it prepares $900m seed unit sale. (The Australian)

• Link REIT bids $1.5b for half of Lendlease mall fund. (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• Infratil’s earnings rose 7%, aided by Longroad and CDC, as it sold its Fortysouth stake for $173 m toward its divestment target. (Capital Brief)

• Orica’s profit dropped 69% to $162m on litigation costs, though underlying NPAT rose 32% to $541m, its best in 13 years. (Capital Brief)

• Rox Resources raises $200M to fund Youanmi gold project. (AFR)

• Xero’s first-half revenue rose 20% to NZD1.19b with strong cash flow and Melio’s solid performance, but shares fell 4.8% despite meeting forecasts. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC is suing SQM Research for allegedly misleading ratings of the collapsed Shield Master Fund, and has also filed cases against Interprac, MWL, and Imperial Capital over advice failures tied to Shield. (Capital Brief)

• Tech leaders urge Australia to boost critical digital infrastructure investment. (AFR)

• Labor has relaunched plans to force Meta, Google, and TikTok to pay for news under a new levy, with tech giants given one month to respond to the proposed incentive scheme. (Capital Brief)

• Webjet’s earnings fell as bookings dropped amid tough conditions and an ACCC notice. (Capital Brief)

• UK to decide if BHP owes more for Brazil dam disaster. (AFR)

• Sandfire will invest $105m for up to 80% of the Kalkaroo copper-gold project. (Capital Brief)

• Guzman y Gomez limits US expansion until revenue matches Australia. (AFR)

• GrainCorp’s profit drops 36% as global margins squeeze earnings. (Capital Brief)

• Unemployment drops to 4.3% as full-time jobs rise. (Capital Brief)

• NextDC’s executive pay plan rejected by shareholders, long-term incentives approved. (Capital Brief)

• Alkane revenue soars post-Mandalay merger despite net loss. (Capital Brief)

• Apple to get 15% of WeChat mini game purchases. (Capital Brief) (Bloomberg)

• EU investigates Google over news publisher search rankings. (Capital Brief)

VC 

• AI coding startup Cursor hits $29.3b valuation after $2.3b funding round. (Capital Brief) (WSJ)

• Victorian agtech startup Drone-Hand raises $720k for livestock management tech. (Startup Daily)

• Rage Biotech secures $29m for lung disease therapy trials. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• Lee Horan joins MinterEllison to lead private equity practice in Sydney. (AFR)

• Fantastic Furniture CEO Kieron Richard denies departure amid sale speculation. (The Australian)

• Humm board member Andrew Darbyshire rejects accounts amid $286m bid, exposing board split. (AFR)

The watercooler