☕️ No groundwork

Good morning.

A week ago, 4DMedical's CEO Andreas Fouras wasn't even thinking about raising capital. By Friday, he'd banked $83 million.

“There really has been no groundwork, no work to do this,” Fouras told Capital Brief’s Hugo Mathers. “But nevertheless, it represented compelling value, and we were able to make that decision and move quickly.”

The investors found him, not the other way around, paying a 12.3% premium to the 5-day volume-weighted average price to get in (a 6.1% discount to the last close). At 607 times revenue, the question is whether they'll still feel that way in a year or two.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Whitehaven Coal rose on Friday after UBS upgraded the stock to "buy", arguing that surging gas prices caused by the Iran war's disruption to global energy supply are driving a shift from gas to coal, directly benefiting the coal miner’s earnings outlook.

The quick sync

• Super funds are driving ASX takeovers and bidders need to start cutting them in. (Capital Brief)

• A drawn-out Iran war is making a global recession increasingly hard to rule out. (Capital Brief)

• The bookies favour independent Michelle Milthorpe to win Farrer over One Nation. (Capital Brief) (Capital Brief)

• Soul Patts sees opportunity in oil, AI and political chaos. (Capital Brief)

• ARN promises a bruising fight as Kyle Sandilands's court case begins. (Capital Brief)

• Australia is subsidising the wrong industries and running out of time, writes Sven Rogge. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• BlueScope is accelerating land deals to boost value during a takeover bid. (Capital Brief)

• SAP to acquire Reltio to boost AI-ready enterprise data platform. (SAP)

• Linamar acquires Winning BLW facilities, boosting gear and forging expertise. (Linamar)

• Anglo American shortlists three bidders for $5b coal asset sale. (The Australian)

• Xero teams up with Anthropic to embed Claude AI for SMEs. (Smart Company)

• Citigroup rejects report of U.S. regional bank acquisition talks. (Reuters)

• Now Finance explores sale after loan book hits $2b. (The Australian)

• Unilever talks with McCormick on food deal giving its shareholders majority stake. (Reuters)

Capital Markets

• Silex licensee GLE gets $144m support for uranium enrichment project. (Capital Brief)

• Firmus co-founder Oliver Curtis cleared to lead $6b AI firm to ASX. (AFR)

• NextDC delays $500m bond deal after weak demand. (AFR)

• 4DMedical raises $83m to expand in Europe after EU approval. (Capital Brief)

• Atomo raises $4m after Lumos FDA approval. (AFR)

• Valiant Gold debuts on ASX after $75m IPO. (Capital Brief)

• Blackstone-backed Xpansiv launches $2b funding round. (AFR)

• Meta to launch Ray-Ban smart glasses for prescription users. (Bloomberg)

• OpenAI has shut down Sora app as Disney withdraws $1.4b investment. (Startup Daily)

• Disney+ to expand ad-supported streaming to Australia and New Zealand. (Capital Brief)

• Canva reports rising revenue but local net losses persist. (AFR)

• NSW’s principles-based plan wins support from data centre industry. (Capital Brief)

• KMD Brands struggles to raise $54–70m in emergency equity call. (AFR)

• Soul Patts flags market uncertainty amid AI, oil, and geopolitical turmoil. (Capital Brief)

• Bruce Buchanan’s Rokt posts USD834m revenue, misses forecast. (AFR)

• Jefferies Australia boosts revenue on strong deal activity. (The Australian)

• Miners seek ACCC approval to collaborate on fuel security. (AFR)

• Westpac and CBA escalate rivalry through talent poaching in AI. (AFR)

• ABC staff weigh week-long strike amid pay dispute. (SMH)

• Macquarie Asset Management is working on a rescue plan for struggling Bingo Industries. (AFR)

• Big super funds are reshaping ASX deals, forcing bidders to include them. (Capital Brief)

• Rio Tinto sues US over tariffs while seeking mine approval. (AFR)

VC 

• Support Fusion raises $1m pre-Seed to expand IT collaboration platform. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• Suncorp names Jeremy Robson acting CEO during Steve Johnston’s leave. (Capital Brief)

• KPMG to cut nearly 600 UK jobs amid cost pressures. (AFR)

• Coronado CEO Douglas Thompson resigns; Gerry Spindler named interim CEO. (Capital Brief)

• ANZ has appointed Michael Peric and Trevor Vail as co-managing directors of its markets division after serving in acting roles. (Capital Brief)

• Tiger Woods charged with DUI after Florida crash. (AFR)

• AI expert Stela Solar named CEO of Stone & Chalk. (Startup Daily)

• Morgan Stanley’s TMT head Brendan Lee departs. (AFR)

• Ex-Brookfield VP Jennifer Kipley sues firm for wrongful firing over social media post. (Bloomberg)

• Government names David Bradbury and reappoints Peter de Cure as tax board chairs. (Capital Brief)

• Healthscope CEO Tino La Spina to step down, supports not-for-profit plan. (AFR)

• ARN Media gears up for court fight with Kyle Sandilands. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler