☕️ Carbon watch

Good morning.

With the ASX behind schedule on its carbon exchange launch, international players like Marex and Mercuria are watching closely.

As Capital Brief’s Kate Burges reports, Marex is expanding its carbon trading operations, while Mercuria and others are monitoring from their Singapore desks as Australia’s top emitters rush to meet carbon offset deadlines.

As the ASX delay stretches into 2025, there’s a real chance foreign exchanges could take the lead in the local market.

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Market movers

WiseTech, the biggest tech company on the ASX, took the hardest hit among the top 200 on Monday. Shares plummeted amid an escalating scandal surrounding founder and CEO, Richard White’s private life, including reports he sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of shares in the company to pay his ex-wife.

The quick sync

• Red Energy leads the charge with real-time PayTo billing, revolutionising how Aussies pay directly from their bank accounts. (Capital Brief)

• AI privacy laws are clear-cut with no grey area, warns commissioner Carly Kind. (Capital Brief) 

• Gold hits record highs as Middle East tensions and rate cut expectations fuel a 32% surge this year, with UBS eyeing a US$3,000 target. (Capital Brief)(FT)

• Qantas hit with over $100m payout after unlawful sacking of 1,700 workers, CEO Vanessa Hudson pledges to expedite compensation. (SMH)(AFR)

• LuLu Retail Holdings plans a US$5B ($7.51b) IPO in Abu Dhabi in one of the region's biggest listings this year. (Bloomberg)

• Sam’s Club CTO Cheryl Ainoa to exit after declining Walmart's relocation policy, Sanjay Radhakrishnan steps in as her successor. (Bloomberg)

• Jeff Yass turned Susquehanna into a trading giant, shaping Wall Street's approach to high-stakes probability bets. (FT)

Trading floor

M&A

• Auckland Council may sell its $1.1bn stake in Auckland Airport, marking one of 2024's biggest block trades. (AFR)

• BHP is negotiating a $44.8bn settlement for the 2015 Fundao dam collapse, Brazil's worst environmental disaster. (Capital Brief)

• Iberdrola is bidding for Neoen's Victorian assets after Brookfield's €6.1bn bid prompted a divestment due to competition concerns. (AFR)

• Metrics Credit is finalizing a $125m refinancing deal with Keyview Financial Group, set to be repaid $75m. (The Australian)

• Private equity bids for Waste Services Group are due by October 29, with multiple billion-dollar auctions expected to conclude by year's end. (AFR)

• Fox Creek Wines in South Australia has entered voluntary administration due to financial difficulties stemming from the pandemic and Chinese tariffs. (BNA)

• PwC can pursue $153m in debt from bitcoin miner Iren, which is facing bankruptcy proceedings in Australia. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• Macquarie Tech secured $260m in refinancing to expand its data centers, with favorable terms due to strong lender interest. (Capital Brief)

• Sanjeev Gupta is raising debt for his Whyalla steel business, offering security over iron ore mining sites, with Blackbird Partners seeking interested lenders. (AFR)

• Gold stocks rose on the ASX after Middle East tensions pushed bullion to record highs, with Bellevue Gold outperforming in the first quarter. (Capital Brief)

• Mineral Resources may need to raise up to $2bn in equity as its shares fell over 13% to $39.75 after founder Chris Ellison admitted to tax cheating and failing to disclose companies in the British Virgin Islands. (The Australian)

• Bigtincan shares jumped following a deal with Investcorp AI, setting up a potential Nasdaq listing, pending shareholder and court approvals. (Capital Brief)

VC

• DNAiTECH has raised NZ$1m in a pre-Seed round led by Sprout Agritech to develop instant diagnostic tests, with support from Callaghan Innovation. (Startup Daily)

• ZipHQ raised $190m, increasing its valuation to $2.2bn, with plans to enhance AI tools and expand into the EMEA region. (Capital Brief)

• Disrupt Radio, a Melbourne startup focused on entrepreneurship, is seeking funding to resume broadcasting in November after running out of money within a year. (Startup Daily)

• 23andMe, a major biotechnology company known for genetic testing, is on the verge of bankruptcy, raising concerns about its vast genetic data. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• James Gorman, former Morgan Stanley CEO, will become Disney's chairman in 2025 and oversee the search for Bob Iger's successor. (Capital Brief)

• Synlait Milk CEO Grant Watson resigns after financial losses; Tim Cater appointed acting CEO. (Capital Brief)

• WiseTech is reviewing allegations of inappropriate behavior by CEO Richard White, following media reports about a past relationship and settlement claims. (Capital Brief)

• Next Capital hires Lara Ong, a former Potentia Capital dealmaker, as an investment director. (AFR)

• Nine's interim CEO Matt Stanton refuses to name those involved in workplace complaints despite pressure after a workplace culture review. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler