☕️Perfect Cocktail

Good morning.

We’ve come a long way since the heady days of Jerome Powell’s quantitative easing program in 2020. And despite the Fed’s decision overnight to keep rates steady, markets are betting they will fall in the US in late 2024.

In Australia, it could be a slightly different story. While the OECD expects the RBA could begin to ease from H2 2024, Australia isn’t typically a first-mover, and there could still be room to maintain or even tighten the current 12 year high of 4.35%.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Chemist Warehouse is just what the doctor ordered for Sigma Healthcare. Stock is on a winning streak after the company confirmed its plans to merge with Chemist Warehouse, creating a pharmacy giant with combined revenues of $6.7 billion.

The gains come despite a discounted share sale to raise capital and uncertainty around regulatory sign-off from the competition watchdog. After all this hubbub, a rejected merger would be a bitter pill to swallow for investors.

Together with Stake | Invest on Wall St and the ASX

The quick sync

• Would a Woodside-Santos merger boost or bust its ESG strategy in an era of fossil fuel hyper-awareness? (Capital Brief)

• BP will claw back $62 million from former CEO Bernard Looney’s pay after concluding he knowingly misled the board about personal relationships with colleagues. (AFR)

• Mid-market M&A advisors are optimistic that 2024 will see an alignment on buyer-seller pricing, energising dealmaking. (Capital Brief)

• Citigroup offers partial early bonuses to encourage voluntary departures amid the bank’s broader restructuring. (Reuters)

• Amazon and HBO’s lobby group joins Netflix, calling on the government to reconsider streaming quotas that is says will be “punitive and discriminatory.” (Capital Brief)

• Tesla recalls over 2 million of its vehicles in the US after safety regulators request updates to its Autopilot driver assistance system. (Financial Times)

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Trading floor

M&A

• China Merchants readies Loscam for sale, with a plan to commence the auction in the first half of the new year. (AFR)

• KKR is reportedly in discussions to acquire UK software provider Iris Software. (Capital Brief)

• Paragon Care hires Rothschild amid market speculation of potential bidders offering up to 40c/share. (The Australian)

• Fresenius pushes back Cura Group bid deadline, extending the suspense until just before Christmas. (The Australian)

CAPITAL MARKETS

• ARN Media shares decline 10% post Seven West CEO exit, sparking questions about investors smelling a potential buyout. (The Australian)

• Brokers attend Sigma Healthcare briefing as shares surge. (AFR)

• Mosh explores exit options with Monash Advisory after last being valued at $90 million in 2021. (AFR)

• Birchal has raised $1.2m in its equity crowdfunding campaign, with over 500 investors participating in the first 24 hours. (BNA)

• Arafura, backed by Hancock Prospecting, seeks $20m with Canaccord Genuity and UBS overseeing the deal. (AFR)

VC

• Omni Biotech raises $300,000 pre-seed funding from Skalata Ventures for a hydration monitoring platform. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• Baker McKenzie sees partners Baume and Glass depart its equity capital markets team. (AFR)

• Pinnacle boutique Firetrail has now recruited Peregrine Capital portfolio manager Matthew Thomson as an equity analyst. (AFR)

The watercooler

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