☕️ Patience plunges

Good morning.

Three months ago, CSL was hit by a multi-day selloff after the abrupt removal of chief executive Paul McKenzie on the eve of the biotech’s half-year earnings.

As Capital Brief’s Hugo Mathers reports, some of the company’s institutional shareholders think that should have been the moment to roll back its full-year expectations instead of digging in on overly ambitious targets, only for CSL to lose almost $10 billion in market value.

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Market movers

Shares in oOh!media rose on Monday after the outdoor advertising group received a fresh takeover proposal from I Squared Capital valuing the company at about $766 million, eclipsing a lower bid lodged by Pacific Equity Partners just two weeks earlier.

The quick sync

• Coles and Woolworths face worsening consumer sentiment as war-driven inflation pressures build. (Capital Brief)

• Airtree says AI is reshaping venture capital as it restructures under new CEO Elicia McDonald. (Capital Brief)

• Shemara Wikramanayake says Macquarie is ready to press its advantage in retail banking. (Capital Brief)

• What to expect from the 2026 Budget: all the leaks, predictions and pre-announcements. (Capital Brief)

• Tonight’s budget will test whether Labor can build resilience beyond government spending, writes Amit Singh. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Apollo Global Management is building a live-events platform by acquiring and combining Emerald Holding and Questex. (WSJ)

• oOh!media receives a $766m takeover offer from I Squared Capital. (Capital Brief)

• Prosus sells part of its stake in Delivery Hero to Aspex Management for about USD395m. (WSJ)

• Australia’s Takeovers Panel rejects Atlas Arteria request for an interim order related to the IFM bid dispute. (Capital Brief)

• Humankind acquires Mintable in a portfolio exit for Blackbird Ventures. (Startup Daily)

• Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners puts New Zealand energy retailer StraitNZ on the market in a deal worth about $1b. (AFR)

• ASOS sells its Lichfield distribution centre to Marks & Spencer for GBP90m. (Reuters)

• Blackstone agrees to acquire Skroutz from CVC Capital Partners. (Reuters)

• OpenAI is buying Tomoro to help scale AI adoption through a new deployment-focused joint venture. (Bloomberg)

• Sony Music agrees to acquire the Recognition Music catalog in a deal valued at about USD4b. (Reuters)

• Activist investor Primestone Capital urges Intertek to engage with EQT over its takeover bid. (Reuters)

Capital Markets

• Metcash expects lower underlying profit despite higher revenue growth. (Capital Brief)

• Nintendo shares fall after weak outlook for Nintendo Switch 2 game releases. (Bloomberg)

• Inghams Group warns higher fuel costs could reduce FY26 earnings by up to $10m. (Capital Brief)

• CSL lowers FY26 earnings guidance after reporting impairment costs. (Capital Brief) (Capital Brief)

• Regal Partners and Thorney Investment Group back an Israeli drone supplier before its ASX listing. (AFR)

• Macquarie is pushing harder into retail banking as major banks pull back on risk. (Capital Brief)

• Dyno Nobel maintains FY26 earnings outlook due to stronger explosives demand. (Capital Brief)

• Fund managers prepare for major block trades as UniSuper moves to sell billions in assets. (AFR)

• Carlyle’s quieter Australian deal activity is linked to a smaller-than-expected Asia fund. (The Australian)

• Elicia McDonald says AI has transformed nearly every aspect of Airtree Ventures operations. (Capital Brief)

• Strike Energy’s low valuation and leadership shake-up are fuelling takeover speculation. (The Australian)

• Xero CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy apologises for the five days of service disruptions. (Capital Brief)

• Grant Thornton Australia is valued at about $1b, with partners set for multimillion-dollar payouts. (AFR)

• ASIC reportedly investigated Hudson Global before its collapse. (AFR)

• Former Fortescue executives move to take control of struggling gas producer Strike Energy. (AFR)

• Swatch Group faces a shareholder vote testing the control of the Hayek family after proxy advisers back Steven Wood. (Reuters)

• Sixth Street brings its $2.8b sports investment fund strategy to Australia. (AFR)

• Bank of America tightens block trade rules after issues tied to an Esprit-related transaction. (Bloomberg)

• Wingate moves toward winding down its corporate lending portfolio. (AFR)

• KKR injects USD300m into a struggling private credit fund. (Bloomberg)

• Lincoln International seeks to raise USD421m through an IPO. (Bloomberg)

• Cerebras Systems targets a $4.8b valuation in an expanded IPO. (Bloomberg)

• OpenAI launches a new business unit backed by a USD4b investment to expand corporate AI adoption. (Reuters)

• Major Australian brands may face reputational risks tied to the US-Iran conflict. (Capital Brief)

• SkinKandy plans to build a 500-plus store network ahead of its ASX listing. (AFR)

VC 

• Stevan Premutico launches startup Hey Buddy after identifying missed restaurant call opportunities. (Smart Company)

• ProcurePro raises $15m from QIC Ventures. (Capital Brief)

• Blackstone and Halliburton invest USD1b in energy startup VoltaGrid. (Reuters)

People moves

• Andrew Abercrombie resigns from Humm Group as Jeremy Raper ends his campaign. (Capital Brief)

• Airtree Ventures appoints Elicia McDonald as CEO. (Capital Brief)

• Vocus appoints Nikos Katinakis as chief technology officer. (Capital Brief)

• Eley Griffiths Group hired ex-Platinum manager Jodie Bannan as co-portfolio manager. (AFR)

• BlackRock hires former JPMorgan executive Jessica Bulen to expand its family office business. (Bloomberg)

The watercooler