☕️ Google’s record deal

Alphabet eyes $34b Wiz acquisition, largest ever: WSJ

July 15, 2024

Good morning.

Google’s parent Alphabet is looking to snag Wiz, the cybersecurity startup backed by Silicon Valley heavyweights like Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, reportedly bidding a cool US$23b (A$34b), according to the Wall Street Journal.

Founded in 2020 by Assaf Rappaport, Wiz hit a US$12b valuation earlier this year and boasts US$350m in annual recurring revenue. The talks are advanced, according to unnamed sources that spoke to the Journal. If successful, such as deal would outshine Google’s US$12.5b Motorola Mobility buy in 2012.

A successful deal would mark a hyper-lucrative exit for venture capitalists amid regulatory challenges and high interest rates, while bolstering Google's cloud cybersecurity portfolio.

ASX as at market close. Commodities and crypto in USD.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Cettire stock took a wild ride on Friday, leaping 21% before settling with a modest 0.35% gain. Some attribute the flash rise to the market's reaction to former JPMorgan heavyweight Jon Gidney joining the board. That, however, doesn't explain the quick about-face later in the day!

The luxury e-commerce platform has been plagued by concerns over earnings guidance and compliance issues that wiped 60% off its market value over the past 12 months.

Still a battleground stock teetering between bullish investors who see it as oversold and bearish critics highlighting its shaky business model, Cettire will have all eyes on its upcoming August results to see if they'll help settle the debate or fuel more market drama.

The quick sync

  • How Australia's first quantum startup QuintessenceLabs, now serving clients like JPMorgan, survived for 16 years, before quantum computing was reality. (Capital Brief)

  • Fresh Nine submission warns of information void if Meta bans news, weeks after cutting 200 jobs. (Capital Brief)

  • Crown and Star planned initial merger talks in recent months with an eye to combine their Sydney operations, but cut short in February. (The Australian)

  • Legal experts warn of tougher supply chain scrutiny with new anti-slavery commissioner (Capital Brief)

  • A Nine investigation found gangsters and bikies infiltrated major Victorian and NSW construction projects, some securing jobs as CFMEU delegates. (SMH)

Trading floor

M&A

  • Federation Asset Management has acquired Homesafe Solutions from Peter Szabo and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, targeting Australia's retiree real estate market. (AFR)

  • Parties including Macquarie Asset Management and IFM submitted first-round bids for Healius's $700m diagnostic imaging unit, Lumus Imaging. (The Australian)

  • Genesis Capital will vote against Crescent Capital's bid for Pacific Smiles, heightening the competition for the dental business. (AFR)

  • Quadrant Private Equity may exit RiteBite Group by targeting industry giants, though selling to Mondelez could face regulatory issues with the ACCC. (The Australian)

  • Five V Capital is aiming for a $400m sale of Penten, targeting a North American buyer with Houlihan Lokey's help. (AFR)

  • Parties are signing confidentiality agreements for Anglo American’s coal assets sale, managed by Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. (The Australian)

  • There's a surge in private equity-owned businesses going up for sale, including Permira's I-Med radiology business, which is cautious due to uncertain pricing expectations. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

  • None

VC

  • None

People moves

  • Analyst Kieren Chidgey has resigned from Jarden, which has hired Chris Bryan from Macquarie for its Australian equities business. (AFR)

  • Maggie Beer Holdings CEO Kinda Grange resigns after 16 months, becoming the third CEO to leave the company in under five years. (BNA)

☝️ Know about a deal or people move we don’t? Hit reply.

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