☕️ DodgyCo dig

Good morning.

Was Andrew Parsons just saying what half the room was thinking? Or is he right and the whole market’s infatuated?

Either way, Capital Brief’s Jack Derwin delivers the blow-by-blow as Parsons torched the ASX's data centre darlings this week, calling the Goodman Group obsession “unhinged” and warning its $72 billion valuation is 30% too high.

“Applying a multiple to a development business is a mug’s game,” he told the packed Pinnacle summit crowd. “There is going to be a real reality check when people realise that Goodman's earnings, 50% of their earnings, is development, and the market is applying a 30 times multiple, it is craziness.”

He didn’t stop there. DiGiCo, the HMC-managed data centre REIT, got rebranded “DodgyCo”, with a swipe at David Di Pilla thrown in for good measure...

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Market movers

Shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals plummeted Wednesday after the company disclosed it had received a subpoena from the US SEC seeking information on its cancer therapy disclosures.

The quick sync

• After a ‘difficult’ week of scrutiny, NAB CEO Andrew Irvine has recommitted to leading the bank and says he plans to push through it. (Capital Brief)

• NRF CEO Gavid Gall eyes $1.5bn push as fund rolls emergency loans to buffer key sectors from Trump’s tariffs. (Capital Brief)

• Australia’s economic reform will fail unless schools, already sidelined and in crisis, are urgently rewired for the future, Megan Gilmour writes. (Capital Brief)

• Not often Goldman Sachs and an Aussie university are mutual beneficiaries of the same acquisition. Sanofi’s $1.76b Vicebio deal delivers. (Capital Brief)

• Donald Trump was told in May his name appeared in the Epstein files. (WSJ)(NYT)

Trading floor

M&A

• Scentre sells 25% of Westfield Chermside to Dexus for $683m, keeps management role. (Capital Brief)

• Edify Energy sale nears, with CDPQ and CIP vying to back its multibillion-dollar renewables pipeline. (The Australian)

• PEP and Adamantem vie for Nexon Asia Pacific as binding bids are submitted. (AFR)

• PointsBet rejects Betr’s bid, backs MIXI’s $1.20 cash offer to shareholders. (Capital Brief)

• Lendlease set to offload $2.9b in malls as retail fund winds down. (The Australian)

• Rover to buy Mad Paws for $62M in move into Australian pet care. (Smart Company)

• CC Capital uses debt to fund $3.3b MLC buyout. (AFR)

• MAC Copper shareholders to vote August 29 on Harmony Gold’s $1.6b takeover, backed by major investors and the board. (Capital Brief)

• ADNOC and Carlyle’s $30b Santos bid faces pressure over PNG asset concerns and sovereign ownership risks. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Ampol’s first-half earnings drop to $640m on tighter refining margins and lower fuel sales. (Capital Brief)

• Paladin’s Q4 uranium output jumps 33%, meets FY guidance; eyes higher FY26 production. (Capital Brief)

• Larvotto launches $55m raise at 68¢ amid strong gold prices. (AFR)

• Woodside lifts Q2 output, trims costs, exits H2OK hydrogen project with $140m write-down. (Capital Brief)

• Iluka lifts output but withholds zircon outlook amid tariff uncertainty. (Capital Brief)

• Revolution starts roadshow for $300m ASX-listed private credit trust. (AFR)

• Vulcan gets $186m in German grants for lithium production projects. (Capital Brief)

• McDonald’s challenges union bargaining ruling affecting 18 SA franchisees. (The Australian)

• Qld rejects Bowen Coking Coal’s royalty deferral amid insolvency threat and trading suspension. (Capital Brief)

• CoStar sees ACCC probe as chance to boost Domain’s position against REA. (AFR)

• ABS to release full monthly inflation data from November, replacing the current CPI indicator for better inflation tracking. (Capital Brief)

• Seek keeps access open to Employment Hero during lawsuit over alleged anticompetitive conduct. (Capital Brief)

• Stokes-backed Hive & Wellness eyes 10% growth on rising Asian and wellness demand. (AFR)

• Meme stock mania boosts Krispy Kreme, GoPro, and Beyond Meat amid social media-driven trading frenzy. (Capital Brief)

• EU and US near 15% tariff deal, reports say, but talks fluid. (Capital Brief)

• Trump administration releases AI Action Plan, targets ‘biased’ models, red tape. (Capital Brief)

• Tesla revenue plunges in worst quarterly result in over a decade. (Capital Brief)

• Alphabet beats revenue forecasts but surprises with US$85 billion capex. (Capital Brief)

• Private equity firms flip assets to themselves in record numbers. (FT)

VC

• Greenhouse and Flow Power pilot 24/7 renewable power at Salesforce Tower. (Startup Daily)

• Swift Navigation raises US$50m series E to scale centimetre-accurate positioning globally (Swiftnav)

People moves

• NAB CEO Irvine defends leadership after scrutiny, vows to stay on. (Capital Brief)

• Andy Gracey exits Australian Ethical after 20 years; Nathan Parkin to take over. (AFR)

• Karoon CEO Julian Fowles to step down as company shifts operations to Brazil and the US. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie audit chair Philippa Hinchliffe spoke to KPMG before $75m contract tender. (AFR)

• Jayne Hrdlicka begins shaping Endeavour strategy months before officially becoming CEO. (AFR)

• Japan's PM Ishiba denies he has decided to quit. (Reuters)

• Facing a first-ever pay strike, Macquarie’s Wikramanayake personally lobbied investors in a bid to contain growing backlash over executive pay amid regulatory scrutiny. (AFR)

The watercooler