☕️ Licence arbitrage

Good morning.

The FT says Revolut is eyeing a shortcut into US banking by buying a small, federally chartered lender, which would potentially be faster than waiting for its own licence. Hard to blame them. They’ve been stuck in UK regulatory limbo for years and still can’t operate as a fully fledged bank at home.

The M&A move is reportedly one of a few plays under consideration as it looks to crack the US market and support a mooted US$65 billion valuation tied to a planned US$1 billion raise.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in DroneShield rose Wednesday after the company posted record $38.8 million quarterly revenue on booming global demand for counter-drone systems.

The quick sync

• Australia’s shot at leading in agentic AI hinges on trust, standards and control—not hype, writes Rada Stanic. (Capital Brief)

• NRF doubles down on critical minerals, green iron and renewables as “difficult” areas stall $1.5b investment push. (Capital Brief)

• Canva’s revenue rockets to US$3.3b as it doubles down on enterprise deals and AI tools on the road to listing. (Capital Brief)

• Scott Farquhar says no one is immune from AI disruption and wants Australia to lead in data centres, reform copyright and build ‘tech embassies’. (Capital Brief)

•  It crashed after 14 seconds, but Gilmour Space Technologies’ test launch proved a historic first step in Australia’s push to reach orbit. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Betr ups takeover bid for PointsBet to outbid MIXI, amid Takeovers Panel restrictions. (Capital Brief)

• Dysons seeks investor for majority stake; Pitcher Partners leads sale. (AFR)

• JPMorgan and Coinbase team up to enable crypto buys via Chase cards. (Capital Brief)

• Brookfield may sell part of La Trobe Financial if bids for a full sale disappoint. (The Australian)

• Spark NZ nears decision on $555m data centre stake sale. (AFR)

• Evolution Mining is being urged to reconsider its no-acquisition stance and buy Greatland Resources, whose shares dropped after a gold downgrade. (The Australian)

• Evercore buys London’s elite M&A boutique Robey Warshaw for US$196m. (FT)

Capital Markets

• Pilbara Minerals beat FY25 output guidance, but revenue fell on lower lithium prices. (Capital Brief)

• MinRes hits FY25 targets as Onslow Iron nears full capacity and turns cashflow positive. (Capital Brief)

• Gilmour Space’s Eris-1 rocket crashes seconds after Australia’s first orbital launch attempt in over 50 years. (Capital Brief)

• IGO’s lithium output rose in FY25, but refinery issues and lower nickel production slashed earnings. (Capital Brief)

• Atlas Arteria posts 10.7% Q2 toll revenue growth on strong French and US road performance. (Capital Brief)

• NZ Super and Morrison may manage Kiwibank for new investors, as Macquarie seeks a local buyer ahead of a planned IPO. (The Australian)

• Champion Iron hits record sales but Q2 earnings drop 68% on weaker prices and higher costs. (Capital Brief)

• Bowen Coking Coal enters administration over $43.7m in unpaid debts amid weak coal market and high costs. (Capital Brief)

• Star faces deeper losses and delays exit from Queen’s Wharf stake, with deadline likely to be missed. (Capital Brief)

• Rio Tinto’s H1 2025 profit drops on lower iron ore prices, cyclone impacts; dividend cut, debt up 166%. (Capital Brief)

• Xero: Aussie small business sales growth slows to 3%, weakest since 2020. (Capital Brief)

• Copper prices crash as Trump exempts refined copper from 50% tariffs. (Capital Brief)

• Meet Savana Asset Management, the tiny Aussie fund swept up in Wall St’s meme stock frenzy. (AFR)

• Rest Super pumps $230m into Wollemi Capital, the Sydney-based firm co-founded by former Macquarie banker Tim Bishop and Paul Hunyor. (AFR)

VC

• Corinthian Energy seeks $18m to turn Philippine waste into energy. (AFR)

People moves

• Potentia Capital hires CFO to boost Storypark after Micromine success. (AFR)

• Air NZ names digital chief Nikhil Ravishankar as next CEO. (Capital Brief)

• Amelia Morgan joins Ashurst from HSF after advising on RAC's $1.35b IAG deal. (AFR)

The watercooler