☕️ Credit peak?

Good morning.

Alceon is calling time on Australia's private credit boom. In an interview with Capital Brief’s Andrew Cornell, Alceon head of real estate Grant Atchison said the firm preferred to take its "foot off the accelerator," and write less loans as competition surges and yields fall.

"We don’t chase risk up and we don’t chase returns down," Atchison explained, summing up the firm’s approach to the flood of new entrants and offshore capital that is pouring into the market and driving returns down into the single digits.

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Market movers

Orora’s shares popped 7% on Wednesday as investors cheered its US$1.78 billion ($2.64 billion) North American packaging exit.

With debt being slashed and cash flowing in, Orora now has the flexibility to expand its Rocklea facility—because apparently, more cans are just what the world needs.

The quick sync

• Star Entertainment’s banks are pushing back against pleas for more short-term debt, asking loan to be matched by government concessions and increased security over assets including properties. (AFR)

• Private health giant Healthscope seeks rent relief at 38 hospitals, but minister Mark Butler has ruled out a taxpayer bailout for major private hospital operators. (AFR)

• Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke has received draft cybersecurity laws, with the government likely to tweak proposed powers over critical infrastructure. (Capital Brief)

• News Corp’s Australian chief Michael Miller backs Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s decision to decline a meeting with Meta’s top global public affairs executive. (Capital Brief)

• AirTrunk’s Robin Khuda, who arrived in Australia 26 years ago as a bright-eyed student, has struck a near $3b payday for himself and colleagues. (The Australian)

Trading floor

M&A

• Cettire CEO Dean Mintz boosted his stake by 3% with a $15.8m purchase, following a sharp decline in the company's shares after a profit drop. (Capital Brief)

• Beaconsfield Capital has reclaimed control of an 80% stake in Morrison Securities, ending hopes of a cheap acquisition during New Quantum’s receivership sale. (AFR)

• Fawkner Property bought Townsville's Willows Shopping Centre for $212m. (The Australian)

• Orora is selling its North American packaging business, Orora Packaging Solutions (OPS), to Veritiv for $1.78bn. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie Group is evaluating Commonwealth Bank's ultra-high-net-worth business, which is for sale via Gresham. (AFR)

• Santos signs a mid-term LNG supply contract with Glencore Singapore, enhancing their partnership in Asian LNG markets. (Capital Brief)

• POSCO will invest $40m in Black Rock Mining, increasing its stake to 20% and securing long-term offtake agreements for the Tanzanian graphite project. (The Australian)

• Apollo Global is selling a 10.6% stake in Challenger for about $460m, with Goldman Sachs and Jarden managing the transaction. (AFR)

• Zenith Energy, owned by Pacific Equity Partners and others, is preparing for a sale with RBC Capital Markets and Azure Capital managing the process. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• Safe Superintelligence, co-founded by ex-OpenAI scientist Ilya Sutskever, raises $1bn to develop AI aligned with human values after Sutskever's exit from OpenAI. (Capital Brief)

• Premier Capital Partners, a new private equity firm founded by Ryan Sohn, Jason Lenga, and Paul Lewis, focuses on mid-market tech growth opportunities. (AFR)

VC

• Lighthouse Industries bought five energy firms after Symphony's $488m Series A. (The Australian)

People moves

• Insignia Financial appoints former ASIC commissioner Danielle Press as chair and non-executive director of Insignia Trustees, replacing Lindsay Smartt. (Capital Brief)

• Vanguard's Australian office has laid off about 40 employees, mainly from marketing, as it reorganizes client-facing roles and adapts to new business areas. (AFR)

• Paul Zahra will resign as ARA CEO at the end of 2024 due to the upcoming merger with the NRA. (BNA)

Together with FinTech Australia

Join us at Australia's largest, most influential fintech event on September 18 - 19

FinTech Australia's annual Intersekt conference (September 18-19) will be the place for pivotal discussions that shape the fintech and finance industry for the year ahead.

This year’s comprehensive agenda of topical panel discussions is complemented with valuable satellite events - roundtables, industry dinners, and pitch nights.

Expect to hear from fintech leaders from WeMoney, AirWallex, FrankieOne, Zip, Brighte and Monoova, presenting alongside executives from Mastercard, National Australia Bank, AMP Bank, Bendigo Bank and IAG. That’s in addition to speakers from groups and regulators that support the industry such as SquarePeg, Airtree, PwC, AP+ and AusPaynet.

Join us for an event that’s known for its networking potential and thought provoking discussions.

The watercooler