☕️ PEP’s fumble

Good morning.

Pacific Equity Partners might finally see a light at the end of the tunnel with Equiniti Group, the British firm it took a stake in three years ago.

After years of clutching a less-than-stellar investment, PEP informed Fund IV investors last month it is now cautiously optimistic about a potential exit around late 2025 or early 2026 that could see a $330m repayment, according to AFR’s Street Talk column.

Break out the champagne!—Oh wait. That's 0.46 times its original investment…

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Domino's Japan and France operations are getting a trim, with up to 110 low-volume stores set to shut their doors.

Shareholders didn't take kindly to the flat (thanks to some new openings) store growth plan, sending the stock down 8% to $33.12, with year-to-date losses nearing 44%.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley and UBS didn’t feel the dough either. Both slashed their price targets.

The quick sync

• Luggage e-commerce startup July on why the future is physical retail (Capital Brief)

• Productivity Commission boss Danielle Wood appears to be at odds with TreasurerJim Chalmers’ argument that increased spending on the care economy would boost overall productivity. (AFR)

• Tech leaders like Elon Musk and Marc Andreessen are bucking the industry's liberalism and putting their wallets and their words behind the former president.(Capital Brief)

• Cbus brushes off concerns over the $94b fund’s links to the troubled CFMEU. (News Corp)

• Pharmaceutical company Telix raised its full year guidance following robust quarterly revenue growth from its prostate cancer imaging product, Illucix. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Livingbridge has acquired a stake in Colinton's Dimeo Cleaning Services, with Colinton retaining a share. (AFR)

• New Quantum’s US backer, Beaconsfield Capital, is set to call in receivers, likely leading to a sale. (AFR)

• Joe Catalfamo’s Australian Meat Group is up for sale, potentially fetching $450m. (The Australian)

• Duncan Saville’s Somers Limited is eyeing an investment in Magellan-backed FinClear, which has begun a share sale. (AFR)

• Meta Platforms is in talks to buy a 5% stake in EssilorLuxottica to build on the success of their Ray-Ban smart glasses. (Capital Brief)

• PEP plans to exit its challenging investment in Equiniti Group next year, marking an end to its worst-ever investment. (AFR)

• Bidders including Kohlberg Kravis Roberts have offered over $3bn for Loscam. (The Australian)

• NAB is backing Federation Asset Management's acquisition of Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's Homesafe Solutions. (AFR)

• Alphabet's Wing is entering the Melbourne market with DoorDash, thanks to new regulations allowing its largest Australian delivery area. (BNA)

• Blackstone pays $300m for a minority stake in Symphony Infrastructure Partners, winning a competitive auction. (AFR)

• Ethical Partners is shutting down and returning nearly $2bn to investors, impacting ACL and Noble Oak ownership. (AFR)

• The $1bn sale of Guardian Early Learning is moving forward, with first-round offers due next week and potential bidders reviewing information memos. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• New NAB CEOAndrew Irvine intensifies a strategic review to boost the core business bank and address technology lag. (Capital Brief)

• Grow Inc's raise has been upsized due to strong demand, with new tech investors joining ahead of its upcoming IPO. (AFR)

• Domino’s Pizza Enterprises will close low-volume stores in Japan and France to improve unit economics and earnings, following a year-long strategic review. (Capital Brief)

• Zip's shares climbed after a $267m capital raise to repay debt and fund growth, with analysts rating it a 'buy.' (Capital Brief)

• Australia's LNG revenue dropped 25% to $69.5bn in 2023-24 due to falling prices, despite steady export volumes. (AFR)

VC

• New Zealand proptech Tether raised NZ$655,000 for its expansion into Australia and Europe, bringing its total funding to NZ$1.5m. (Startup Daily)

• Go Locum raised $350,000 in seed funding from Paspalis Innovation Investment Fund to enhance its digital platform connecting doctors with locum roles in remote areas. (Smart Company)

People moves

• None

The watercooler

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