☕️ Delayering

Forget layoffs, headcount reductions, downsizing or ‘going full Elon’.

July 21, 2023

Good morning.

Forget layoffs, headcount reductions, downsizing or ‘going full Elon’. There is a new piece of corporate jargon for job cuts: ‘Delayering’.

EY used the term on a global all hands call this week, sparking a sharp rise in Google searches for it (H/T The Aussie Corporate). Delayering seems to refer to the process of streamlining or eliminating the layers of management detached from the service or product a company is delivering. To paraphrase one founder cutting jobs at the moment - it’s about targeting the managers who manage managers who manage the people actually doing the work.

Unfortunately there are a lot of cuts like this happening at the moment, and not just in professional services but also software development and investment banking. In this economy, you want to have your hands on the tools.

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MARKET MOVERS

*Stock data as of the market close. Commodities and crypto data in USD.

Market News: Australian Clinical Labs’ plan to unite with industry peer Healius has encountered another (potentially insurmountable) obstacle in the form of the ACCC. The competition regulator yesterday outlined a series of objections to the deal, which would create Australia’s biggest pathology player controlling more than half of the collection centres in the country.

The hostile reverse takeover - and you don’t see those too often these days - has already been opposed by Healius’ board and its two biggest shareholders, fund manager Perpetual and John Wylie’s Tannara. So it looks like it’s back to the drawing board for ACL and its controlling shareholder, private equity firm Crescent Capital.

THE QUICK SYNC

  • Blackstone has become the world’s first US$1 trillion private equity manager. (NYT)

  • Rio Tinto is considering a major shift in its clean energy strategy. (The Australian)

  • Netflix shares sank due to concerns about revenue growth. (CNBC)

  • The US ambassador to China has been hacked in a China linked espionage operation. (WSJ)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

  • ACCC raises concerns that the Australian Clinical Labs and Healius merger will adversely affect prices. (AFR | The Australian)

  • Pacific Equity Partners is in late-stage talks to buy Serenitas. (AFR)

  • Zimmermann is believed to be working with Rothschild & Co on a sale that could top $1bn. (The Australian)

  • Dennis Bastas buys Arrotex and Juno Pharmaceuticals under a newly created vehicle, dubbed DBG Health. (AFR)

  • InvoCare and TPG's deal could be signed within days. (AFR)

  • Macquarie has ended discussions with CLP Group over the possible purchase of a 50% stake in EnergyAustralia. (AFR)

  • Fleet Space Technologies continues its global expansion with its first acquisition of European assets. (BNA)

  • Fortescue Future Industries (FFI) sinks $35m into a proposed green hydrogen project near Phoenix, Arizona. (SMH)

  • Bupa is ‘struggling’ to offload its $400m dental business. (The Australian)

Capital Markets:

  • Aston Minerals is seeking to raise $7m via Evolution Capital. (AFR)

  • UBS is believed to be sounding out investors for a sale of a stake in the $NZ12.2bn Auckland International Airport. (The Australian)

  • Smart Urban Properties Australia has landed a $50m investment from IFM Investors. (AFR)

  • Molycop remains coy on IPO price with international funds. (The Australian)

VC:

  • Simfuni, an insurance premium payments platform, has raised NZ$2.8m in a Series A led by Icehouse Ventures and GD1. (StartupDaily)

  • Sensor Global, a home IoT safety startup, raised $2.65m in a Seed round backed by several prominent property sector investors. (StartupDaily)

  • Verve, women-focused superannuation fintech, raises $3m pre-Series A led by Alberts. (StartupDaily)

  • Her Black Book has rebranded as ‘Wrapd’ 18 months after launching, also raising $1.8m. (StartupDaily)

  • Lumi, a small business alternative lender, has raised $15m with Harel Insurance and Finance Group signing on as the fintech’s newest investor. (StartupDaily)

Others:

  • Telstra is cutting almost 500 jobs. (SMH)

  • Central Element and MaxCap have been given the green light by the City of Sydney for the $450m Hyde Park development. (BNA)

  • Toplace faces the ire of more than 500 creditors. (BNA)

  • Tesla chair Robyn Denholm joins Harrison.ai board. (BNA)

  • Redundancies are on the cards at IPO candidate Virgin Australia (AFR)

  • Maddocks has appointed Alanna Mitchell as a partner in its commercial practice. (AFR)

THE WATERCOOLER