☕️Moonshot Motives

Good morning.

Former OpenAI board member Helen Toner – yep, one of the four board members who unleashed corporate chaos by voting to oust Sam Altman as CEO in 2023 – wants Australia to fund more “moonshot” AI projects, as she believes breakthroughs are unlikely to come from either Big Tech companies or the US government.

"You don't actually need to be the biggest kid at the swimming pool to make progress on this," Toner told Capital Brief, noting that Australia’s scientific and engineering talent offers fertile ground for ambitious projects.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Lynas shares rose on Friday after it became the first producer of separated heavy rare earths outside China, with dysprosium output in Malaysia and terbium output on track for June.

The quick sync

• Terrace Tower Group is doubling down on direct private credit deals, prioritising control over fund-based investing — only tapping them when in-house confidence is low. (Capital Brief)

• Southern Cross CEO John Kelly defends dividend and pay decisions as Sandon Capital pushes to spill the board amid shareholder showdown. (Capital Brief)

• Labor’s tax on unrealised super gains contradicts its own VC tax breaks, startup and VC experts say, undermining incentives for startup investment. (Capital Brief)

• Virgin Australia’s $4b IPO faces a short delay as Bain Capital waits for Trump-era tariff volatility to ease before relisting on the ASX. (AFR)

Trading floor

M&A

• Helloworld has increased its stake in rival Webjet by 5%, but CEO Andrew Burnes has not made a formal takeover bid. (AFR)

• Brookfield aims to sell La Trobe Financial for $3b, targeting Japanese buyers who pay well but are slow, while private equity may offer faster but cheaper deals. (The Australian)

• Matrix Composites weighs merger offer from larger UK rival AIS. (AFR)

• Perpetual’s sale sparks interest in Ord Minnett, seen as a valuable rival by suitors. (The Australian)

• Odyssey plans to sell 190-store Sushi Sushi chain amid buyer interest. (AFR)

• Sev.en eyes control of Coronado by buying cheap debt; EMG may privatise to block takeover. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• RBA likely to cut rates Tuesday, but future policy remains unclear. (Capital Brief)

• Dexus’ planned IPO is being overshadowed by a dispute over its high valuation of Melbourne Airport. (AFR)

• ANZ's new CEO, Nuno Matos, may reconsider the bank’s strong presence in New Zealand, where ANZ holds the largest market share among Australian banks. (The Australian)

• On, the Swiss shoe brand backed by Federer, is expanding rapidly in China and Japan to fuel growth, challenging Nike and Adidas after a strong US rise. (FT)

• Bupa aims to lead Australian mental health with 60 new clinics by 2028. (AFR)

• Nvidia shifts beyond Big Tech, targeting governments and neoclouds for AI chip sales. (FT)

• Litigation Capital Management prepares a class action against former ASX executives over the failed CHESS upgrade. (AFR)

VC

• BetterFleet, a Hoodoo Guru-backed EV start-up, has slowed US expansion focus amid Trump era but keeps strong growth plans. (AFR)

People moves

• James Warburton returns as Supercars CEO after eight years away. (AFR)

The watercooler