☕️ Meaty tech

Good morning.

A funding drought and ongoing regulatory hurdles have left cultivated meat startups reeling, but Melbourne’s Magic Valley and Sydney's Vow are fighting back with distinct approaches, and Capital Brief’s Hugo Mathers delved into their tactics for us.

Magic Valley, led by Paul Bevan, aims to leverage scalable tech and strategic partnerships to cut costs, targeting a $2.5m seed round to bring cultivated lamb and pork mince to supermarkets.

Meanwhile, Vow, with $85.25m in funding, caters to the high-end market with exotic offerings like mammoth meatballs and high-protein delicacies.

For the sake of the planet—think no mass slaughter, water savings and reduced climate-changing emissions—we hope their bets pay off.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Spare a thought for the hedge funds chasing M&A gossip. Insignia Financial's shares nosedived 7.2% to $2.32 on Wednesday after the company debunked any private equity interest.

The previous day 13% surge? Pure speculation, apparently.

The quick sync

• Network 10 boss moves to calm staff amid Paramount merger talks, industry job cuts. (Capital Brief)

• Andrew Forrest puts lawyers on notice after learning Fortescue spies tracked former staff now working at green steel rival Element Zero, following their wives to Kmart & checking mail. (The Australian)

• Investors hope Ether ETFs will boost crypto market as Bitcoin's price surge stalls. (Capital Brief)

• ANZ overstated the value of government bonds it traded by over $50 billion, boosting chances of winning lucrative mandates to issue Commonwealth debt. (AFR)

• Economists think inflation is about to do something 'unusual' — and it could impact rates. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Blackstone is leading the bid to invest in Symphony, a rival to Transgrid’s unregulated business, amid Australia's renewable energy infrastructure expansion. (AFR)

• Incitec Pivot has ended negotiations with Indonesia's PKT over the sale of its fertilisers business and will continue managing it and Dyno Nobel separately. (Capital Brief)

• Brookfield has hired Barrenjoey, possibly alongside Morgan Stanley, to oversee the $3bn sale of retirement village operator Aveo. (The Australian)

• DigiDirect is considering purchasing Booktopia, which recently entered administration, with expressions of interest due soon. (AFR)

• Insignia Financial shares fell after it clarified no private equity takeover bid was known. (Capital Brief)

• Fluent Commerce is seeking a US buyer and has hired Citi’s North American bankers to assist. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• WA1 Resources launched a $50m placement at $17 per share, a 9.8% discount, following its significant market growth. (AFR)

• PGIM Real Estate has launched its first Australian real estate debt strategy, aiming to raise $750m to leverage favorable conditions in the local property market. (The Australian)

• Shareholders blame Bigtincan's board for the company's fluctuating performance and share price collapse. (AFR)

VC

• Sircel secured $5m from Kilara Capital to expand its solar panel recycling capabilities, supported by the NSW Environment Protection Authority. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• Grattan Institute's new CEO, Aruna Sathanapally, aims to expand the think tank's focus to include technology and innovation. (Capital Brief)

• Xavier Orr, co-founder of Advanced Navigation, retires as co-CEO, leaving a legacy in deep technology from oceans to aerospace. (BNA)

• Former GPT CEO Bob Johnston will join Stockland's board on October 1 and will be up for election at the 2024 AGM. (Capital Brief)

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