☕️ IPO roulette

Good morning.

IPO debutant Cuscal is facing fresh scrutiny over its compliance risks on the eve of its eagerly anticipated listing amid revelations a downstream partner failed to properly screen customers.

The payments infrastructure provider, owned by Mastercard, Bendigo Bank and others, is set to begin trading on the ASX on Monday after one of the biggest floats of the year, with the company selling more than $300 million in shares to investors.

But as Capital Brief’s Alex Derwin reports, the listing is now under a cloud after revelations that one of Cuscal’s intermediaries failed to properly vet a client, inadvertently allowing a Cyprus-based online casino to access Australia’s payment rails.

Bankers are clearly hoping the listing can still mark a turning point for the dormant IPO market but as Derwin points out, the incident underscores key risks in Cuscal’s payments business, which connects 22 fintechs and their clients to the New Payments Platform (NPP) and other critical infrastructure. In its prospectus, Cuscal warns it has been ordered by APRA to undergo an external review and tighten risk and compliance management.

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Market movers

Charter Hall shares fell on Wednesday as its CEO David Harrison reiterated guidance at the AGM while outgoing chair David Clarke said fiscal 2025 “will not be without its challenges.”

The quick sync

• News Corp shareholders reject Starboard's push to scrap dual-class shares, solidifying Murdoch’s control. (Capital Brief)

• Swoop Aero, the drone startup that once raised $26m and rejected a $100m buyout, has collapsed into liquidation, with creditors blaming poor strategy and heavy R&D spending. (Capital Brief)

• Future Fund’s new mandate aligns investments with national goals like net zero, housing and infrastructure, while keeping maximising returns priority. (Capital Brief)(AFR)

• Brokerages see 'uncertain' 2025 on worries over potential Donald Trump tariffs. (Reuters)

• Milan beats London and New York as home to most expensive shopping street. (FT)

Trading floor

M&A

• Jarden is suing Birch & Waite for fees after being removed from the sale process. (AFR)

• KKR is considering selling its stake in Colonial First State. (The Australian)

• V8 Supercars is seeking a new broadcast deal worth over $200m with the help of IMG. (AFR)

• Swan Transit has renewed its bus services contract with the Western Australian government. (Capital Brief)

• Anglo American's decision on the sale of its Queensland coal assets is imminent, with a potential whole-business sale. (The Australian)

• AxiCorp has made a competing offer to acquire Selfwealth, escalating a bidding war with Bell Financial Group. (AFR)

• Paladin Energy's proposed acquisition of Fission Uranium faces uncertainty due to an extended national security review period in Canada. (Capital Brief)

• Insurance premium financing company Attvest is up for sale with Deloitte acting as advisor. (The Australian)

• Rio Tinto is acquiring full control of the Ranger uranium mine in Kakadu. (SMH)

• Finder has acquired Grow My Money, a cashback rewards company. (BNA)

• Blackstone and CPPIB are nearing final approval for their acquisition of AirTrunk. (AFR)

• Amplify Funds Management, linked to Honeycombes, has acquired six regional Queensland service stations for $25.7m. (BNA)

Capital Markets

• Cuscal faces compliance scrutiny ahead of IPO. (Capital Brief)

• Airtree Ventures is raising $650m for two new funds to invest in tech startups. (Capital Brief)

• Marimaca Copper eyes an ASX listing. (AFR)

• The Australian government is adjusting the Future Fund's investment strategy to optimize its future returns. (Capital Brief)

• AML3D is raising $25m to expand its US operations. (AFR)

• Pinnacle Investment Management Group is raising $400m to acquire stakes in international asset management firms VSS Holdings and Pacific Asset Management, and to fund growth initiatives. (Capital Brief)

• ECB warns of 'bubble' in AI stocks as funds deplete cash buffers (Reuters)

• Nvidia earnings loom as global markets wobble on AI bubble fears, geopolitical risks and mixed corporate results.  (Bloomberg)(Reuters)

• Palantir becomes a ‘Trump trade’ as investors bet on higher defence spending. (FT)

VC

• Swoop Aero, a drone delivery startup, has gone into liquidation. (Capital Brief)

• Q-CTRL, a quantum computing software startup, has secured a $2.75m contract from the Australian government to develop quantum technologies for defense applications. (Startup Daily)

• Touch Biotechnology has developed a self-test kit for chlamydia and gonorrhea that has been approved by the TGA. (Startup Daily)

• Vow, a cultured meat company, has launched Forged Gras, a cultured foie gras product. (BNA)

People moves

• Visy Industries scion Heloise Pratt is suing her billionaire ex-husband Alex Waislitz in a fight over their joint-owned business, Thorney Investments. (AFR)

• ‘Trump bump’ makes Paul Taubman Wall Street’s newest billionaire. (FT)

• FTX co-founder Gary Wang avoids prison after assisting in Bankman-Fried case. (FT)

• Bridgewater’s Bob Prince buys US$12m home in wealthy Hong Kong enclave. (FT)

The watercooler