☕️Double-agent Deel

Good morning.

Turns out spying is good for business.

HR unicorn Deel has scored USD300 million ($461.4 million) in funding, boosting its valuation to USD17.2 billion, despite being up to its eyeballs in the legal fallout of a spying scandal involving its arch nemesis, Rippling.

Investors in the round include Ribbit Capital, Andreessen Horowitz and Coatue Management weren’t scared off by the proceedings, in which Rippling accuses Deel’s CEO Alex Bouaziz and his father of corporate espionage.

In March, Rippling dramatically filed a lawsuit accusing Bouaziz of hiring a Rippling employee to spy on the company to pass on secrets and identify possible recruits. When confronted by Rippling staff, the Deel plant locked himself in a bathroom and deleted data from his phone – later smashing the phone with an axe.

Bouaziz has called the litigation “frivolous” and has since returned fire by hitting Rippling with a defamation lawsuit.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Macquarie jumped over 5% after it unveiled a landmark USD40 billion($61 billion) deal to offload its Aligned Data Centers business. The transaction, which sees the US-based data centre operator sold to a heavyweight consortium including BlackRock, Nvidia and Microsoft, marks one of the largest private market deals globally this year and comes amid rising investor demand for digital infrastructure.

The quick sync

• Labor consults tech and unions on final National AI Plan to drive local AI investment. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC’s Joe Longo says Australia is dragging its feet on tokenisation and stablecoins. (Capital Brief)

• Australian VCs say AI is eroding traditional startup advantages, forcing founders to rely on hardware, speed and execution to defend market position. (Capital Brief)

• Since HWL Ebsworth refused to pay hackers and won a court injunction in 2023, at least 10 other Australian organisations have followed suit to stop data leaks. (Capital Brief)

• Saul Griffith says electrification is the most efficient way to cut emissions, warning without government incentives countries like Australia will not meet their climate targets. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Oaktree rejoins Star Entertainment’s urgent debt refinancing talks. (AFR)

• NAB emerges as the sole contender for HSBC Australia, eyeing only its retail banking arm. (The Australian)

• Orion sells $600m in Capstone Copper shares after Hadrian’s exit. (AFR)

• Quadrant eyes $1b Aidacare sale, with EQT leading bids alongside PEP, BGH, and Riverside. (The Australian)

• Alinta’s possible sale to Sembcorp raises fears over Loy Yang B coal plant jobs. (AFR)

• JPMorgan CEO says company is looking at banks in Europe, Latin America. (Reuters)

Capital Markets

• Australian shares to extend rally, even as credit fears wobble Wall Street. (Capital Brief)

• Westpac to take $273m restructuring charge in FY25 for ‘Fit for Growth’ program. (Capital Brief)

• Challenger keeps earnings guidance as annuity sales rise 4% to $2.5b. (Capital Brief)

• Radiopharm Theranostics launches $35m raise for cancer drug trials and manufacturing. (AFR)

• Treasury Wine warns China sales will miss FY26 targets amid weak demand. (Capital Brief)

• AMP lifts AUM 4% to $159.5b amid stronger inflows and cash flow. (Capital Brief)

• JPMorgan’s Al Harvey joins UBS as mining analyst. (AFR)

• Santos sales down 12% to $1.13b on lower production and crude volumes. (Capital Brief)

• Unemployment jumps to 4.5%, surprising economists and clouding rate-cut expectations. (Capital Brief)

• Mayne Pharma jumps after court stops Cosette from quitting takeover deal. (Capital Brief)

• Ex-Orocobre boss Richard Seville readies $300m IPO likened to Alpha HPA. (AFR)

• Macquarie shares climb on $61.4b data center sale to BlackRock-Nvidia consortium. (Capital Brief)

• GQG Partners shares rise after higher 5.7c dividend declaration. (Capital Brief)

• CDC partners with Nvidia and Firmus to build 40MW AI data centre in Melbourne. (Capital Brief)

• Firmus seeks up to 3× valuation boost weeks after $1.9b raise. (AFR)

• Rare earth stocks drop as US signals possible tariff truce with China. (Capital Brief)

• Bain Capital weighs sale or IPO of $1bn Estia, advised by Barrenjoey and Gresham. (The Australian)

• Stockland shares rise as company reaffirms FY26 guidance. (Capital Brief)

• Ardian raises record USD20b for new European infrastructure fund, with strong global and Australian backing. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC’s Joe Longo warns Australia is falling behind on tokenisation and stablecoin policy. (Capital Brief)

• Maincode debuts Matilda, Australia’s homegrown large language model, advancing national AI self-reliance. (Startup Daily)

• TSMC lifts 2025 outlook as AI demand drives record profits. (Capital Brief)

• Charles Schwab hits record profit on soaring client assets and trading volumes. (Capital Brief)

• TPG Capital readies Greencross IPO for 2026, with Barrenjoey and Jefferies set to gauge investor interest. (The Australian)

• Deel hits USD17.3b valuation despite legal feud with rival Rippling. (Capital Brief)

• Salesforce stock jumps on strong growth forecast, rejects AI threat to software. (Capital Brief)

• ASX 200 breaks 9,000 as surprise jump in unemployment sharpens focus on a possible November rate cut. (Capital Brief)

• Academics say private credit fund managers overstate returns and delay repayments, intensifying scrutiny of the USD1.7t sector amid signs of growing strain. (Bloomberg)

• Oracle expects cloud sales of USD166b by 2030 as business expands. (Reuters)

• Citi’s Strata Elite card launch has drawn complaints from cardholders who say they were locked out of their accounts for weeks without explanation or access to rewards. (WSJ)

• The US withdrew its USD500m cobalt tender due to unresolved issues, pausing plans to restock critical minerals after decades of decline. (Bloomberg)

VC 

• VCs say AI is eroding startup moats, making hardware and speed key defences. (Capital Brief)

• Melbourne-based sustainable packaging startup Great Wrap collapses under $39m debt, enters voluntary administration after six years. (Smart Company)

• SIP Ventures kicks off a 2026 accelerator supporting beverage-related tech startups with funding and industry access. (Startup Daily)

• AI startup valuations soar $1.5t in a year, sparking bubble fears. (AFR).

• Hospitality tech startup me&u launches Spots, a social dining app for discovering and sharing top eateries in Australia. (Smart Company)

• Breakthrough Victoria awards first fellowships to three research-based startups, including Mental Jam, a mental health literacy game. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• PolyNovo names Bruce Peatey CEO after months without a permanent leader. (Capital Brief)

• Bryce Thompson leaves Jarden to join ReadyTech’s executive team. (AFR)

• Andrew Shearer named next ambassador to Japan; Kathy Klugman to lead ONI. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler