☕️ Nine’s whirlwind

Good morning.

Nine Entertainment is now in the crosshairs of SafeWork NSW, still grappling with a torrent of allegations of inappropriate behaviour at its Sydney HQ.

CEO Mike Sneesby quickly vowed anonymity for participants in the Intersection-led cultural review, but sceptics smell a PR smokescreen as shares nosedive.

Nine shares dipped 2.5% yesterday, bringing their year-to-date loss to nearly a third.

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Market movers

An anonymous institutional investor reportedly dropped a $1.1b stake in Fortescue this week at a bargain-basement price of $21.60 per share.

Shares in the iron ore behemoth's were hammered on Tuesday to close at $21.79 for a year-to-date slump of almost 25%.

The mystery seller’s dramatic exit via JPMorgan comes amid a perfect storm of plummeting iron ore prices and a veritable conga line of top execs – such as Julie Shuttleworth and Guy Debelle – abandoning ship.

The quick sync

• Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft and the race to US$4 trillion (Capital Brief)

• Ex-UBS trio joins crowded investment bankers space with new M&A firm (AFR)

• CBA and Macquarie cheer on private credit surge in property finance (Capital Brief)

• Telstra says its recent decision to cull almost a tenth of its workforce was unrelated to its use of AI (SMH)

• Alan Joyce’s $16m Qantas payout is still up in the air (The Australian)

Trading floor

M&A

• APG invests $384m into Palisade Real Assets' UK platform, BioticNRG, which has made two recent acquisitions. (AFR)

• Brambles plans to acquire Loscam's South East Asia business, following their previous merger of pallet operations in China. (AFR)

• MMA Offshore halts trading as its share price surpasses Cyan Renewables' bid, amid expectations of a higher offer. (The Australian)

• Sydney's Life Style Store, a major audio-visual retailer, has entered administration, ceasing operations and resulting in 35 job losses. (BNA)

• Regis Resources considers a merger or acquisition as an alternative to the costly development of its McPhillamys Project in NSW. (The Australian)

• Perth-based Schrole Group agrees to ed-tech company TES Global’s proposed buyout valuing it at $18m. (Smallcaps)

• Sushi Sushi acquires Sushi Musa, expanding its brand portfolio and moving away from its traditional back-of-house food preparation model. (BNA)

Capital Markets

• City Chic aims to raise $25m and has sold its American brand, Avenue, to a New York buyer. (AFR)

• HESTA approves a $250m investment mandate for Stafford Capital Partners to co-invest in private equity deals with firms such as Quadrant and Arcadia Capital. (AFR)

• TrueState raises $1.5m to develop its platform and expand into the US and UK, backed by multiple venture capital firms. (BNA)

• CleanTech Lithium is on a roadshow to raise $100m for an Australian dual listing, following meetings with Perth funds. (AFR)

VC

• TrueState raises $1.5m to help businesses quickly build reliable AI applications. (Capital Brief)

• Loopit closes $3.95m pre-Series A funding round, providing white-label car sharing software used by customers like Polestar and HelloCars. (AFR)

• Andromeda raises $3m to scale its humanoid companion robot in Australia and move to new manufacturing facilities in South Melbourne. (Capital Brief)

• Brighte Capital CEO Katherine McConnell secures a $195m debt facility. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• TAL appoints Fiona Macgregor as new Group CEO and Managing Director, effective October 1st. (Capital Brief)

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