☕️Expensive Error

Good morning.

Blackbird totally gets that it was late to the Airwallex party, giving itself a measly ‘F’ for only backing the Aussie payments startup in its Series F, nine whole years after passing on it in 2016.

Acknowledging its almost decade-long mea culpa, the local VC tipped into a pre-IPO capital raise that valued Airwallex at US$6.2 billion ($9.7 billion).

“We absolutely made a mistake not investing earlier,” Blackbird partner Michael Tolo said. “And it’s the most expensive one that we have made at Blackbird!”

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Zip Co shares fell Thursday after Klarna earlier this week flagged rising repayment issues in the buy now, pay later sector.

The quick sync

• US antitrust enforcers back Republican states in lawsuit accusing BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street of using climate goals to stifle coal competition, ahead of June court hearing. (Reuters)

• As Dhruv Arora writes, millions of Australians with rising wealth face a harsh reality in 2025: demand for financial advice is soaring, but affordable, tailored options remain out of reach. (Capital Brief)

• A Victorian court’s Bitcoin ruling sparked refund rumours, but actual experts say it changes nothing about crypto’s tax treatment under Australian law. (Capital Brief)

• Westpac poaches ANZ’s customer advocate Evelyn Halls to signal CEO Anthony Miller’s push to sharpen the bank’s customer focus after the Royal Commission. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Perenti’s joint venture wins $1bn, 5-year mining contract at Ghana’s Obuasi mine. (Capital Brief)

• Newmont may trim $700m stake in Greatland Gold ahead of ASX debut. (AFR)

• Solvar buys 19.9% of Earlypay as COG sells down. (AFR)

• ACCC clears IAG’s $855m RACQI takeover, cites low competition risk. (Capital Brief)

• Longreach rejects a $30m non-binding offer for Top Shelf International debt. (AFR)

• Steel tycoon Aditya Mittal injects US$1b into Boston Celtics buyout, sealing the record US$6.1 billion deal led by Bill Chisholm’s group. (Bloomberg)

Capital Markets

• Investec posts £1bn profit, declares record dividend for third year. (Capital Brief)

• Infragreen launched a $220m IPO to pay down debt and expand. (AFR)

• Optus earnings up 5.7% on mobile growth, despite fixed-line drop. (Capital Brief)

• MA Financial halts trading amid IP Generation acquisition talks. (Capital Brief)

• Gemlife appoints Ord Minnett and Morgans as retail leads for $2b ASX IPO. (The Australian)

• Fortescue targets full Iron Bridge output by FY28 after delays. (Capital Brief)

• Retail brokers compete for Virgin Australia’s $3b IPO co-lead roles amid investor caution. (The Australian)

• Bitcoin hits record high on optimism and weaker US dollar. (Capital Brief)

• Healthscope lenders decide on receivership or administration amid $1.4b debt. (The Australian)

• Hinge Health surged 17% on NYSE debut after top-range US$437m IPO, signalling investor confidence in its AI-driven digital therapy platform. (Bloomberg)

• Pershing Square seizes 31% Amazon dip, betting on a rebound as the retail giant eyes 20%+ EPS growth despite AI and tariff pressures. (Bloomberg)

• Trump’s US$148m meme coin dinner draws global crypto elites amid mounting scrutiny over foreign influence and investor losses. (Reuters)

VC

• Preve raises $2.2m to use AI for cutting physiotherapy dropouts. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• Fortescue reshuffles leadership as COO and energy chief retire; Dino Otranto takes on expanded operational roles, and Agustin Pichot is named new CEO of growth and energy. (Capital Brief)

• Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm to step down after strategy reset. (Capital Brief)

• Ashurst cuts Canberra work as 7 partners and 60 lawyers move to rival Thomson Geer. (AFR)

• Evolution Mining appoints BHP’s Frances Summerhayes as new CFO. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler