☕️ Magic Shot

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Venture capital investors in heavily hyped healthcare play Eucalyptus have endorsed its move to retreat from an expansion into men's longevity and instead focus on its booming weight loss business as it finalises a funding round expected to value it at more than $1 billion.

Airtree general partner Jackie Vullinghs told Capital Brief the VC supported the move as Eucalyptus was growing “incredibly fast” and at scale through its GLP-1 offerings — a class of drugs used commonly for weight loss.

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Market movers

Shares in US gaming tech group Light & Wonder jumped 18% Monday after settling a $190 million IP lawsuit with Aristocrat over two poker machines.

The quick sync

• With public funding lacking, consumers and tech will shape the future of preventive healthcare, writes Vu Tran. (Capital Brief)

• Pauline Hanson says more Coalition MPs may join One Nation after new polling put them level. (Capital Brief)

• Criminal probe into Fed chair Jerome Powell deepens Trump’s push to control interest rates. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie’s rise and growing pressure define a turbulent 2026 for Australia’s big banks. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Palisade Impact acquires Arc Energy, boosting Energy Locals’ meters by 50%. (AFR)

• Record Point puts document storage business ZircoDATA up for sale after 10 years. (AFR)

• Woolworths partners with Google to let its AI chatbot Olive scan recipes and automatically add items to customers’ online shopping baskets. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• Light & Wonder rallied after settling IP claims with Aristocrat for $190m and agreeing to withdraw disputed gaming machines globally. (Capital Brief)

• PWR Holdings climbed after winning a $13.5m follow-on US government contract, building on an earlier $9m order and with deliveries expected in FY27. (Capital Brief)

• Super Retail shares dropped after first-half profit guidance missed estimates due to weaker margins and discounting. (Capital Brief)

• TPG eyes $4b Greencross IPO with $700m+ raise. (AFR)

• Regal Partners forecasts 2025 profit to jump to $145m on higher performance fees and fund inflows. (Capital Brief)

• Suncorp reaffirmed its FY26 disaster allowance, saying cyclone and bushfire impacts are manageable so far. (Capital Brief)

• Surging household spending is raising inflation concerns and strengthening the case for an RBA rate hike. (Capital Brief)

• Sendle has halted operations following its merger, amid concerns over its partners and group finances. (Capital Brief)

• Macquarie joins Australia’s big five as banks face intense competition and major transformations in 2026. (Capital Brief)

• Australia targets antimony, gallium, and rare earths in $1.2b strategic minerals reserve. (Capital Brief)

• BHP sidelined as Rio Tinto-Glencore copper deal nears. (AFR)

• BHP closes in on CBA’s crown as the king of the ASX. (AFR)

• Sandfire shares rise despite Q2 copper, silver, and lead production misses. (Capital Brief)

• Australia’s charitable giving hit $9.1b in 2023, led by WA’s surge. (Capital Brief)

• US bank stocks slide on Trump’s proposed 10% credit card rate cap. (Capital Brief)

• UK regulator probes X over Grok AI sexualised deepfake content. (Capital Brief)

• Paramount sues Warner Bros, threatens proxy fight in hostile takeover push. (Capital Brief)

VC 

• Melbourne startup estateXchange raises $12.5m to expand deceased estate platform. (Capital Brief)

• VCs back Eucalyptus pivot to weight loss as it nears $1b valuation. (Capital Brief)

• Meta taps former Trump adviser Dina Powell McCormick to drive AI buildout. (Bloomberg)

People moves

• APRA superannuation lead Carmen Beverley-Smith has resigned, with an interim replacement named. (Capital Brief)

• Domino’s named Merrill Pereyra as its new ANZ CEO. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler