☕️ Private credit boom

Good morning.

Just as an SEC rule that sought more transparency from private funds was overturned in court, a new report by Capgemini shows private debt is the new gold rush, especially for family offices. The global private credit market in particular is growing rapidly and is expected to double by 2028 to $US2.8 trillion, with everyone from giants like KKR and Blackrock to fledgling funds diving in. Buyer beware…

Private equity is also growing, but not as quickly, as cheap debt is no longer around. Stricter bank rules are fuelling the surge in the so-called shadow lending market, leaving regulators scrambling to catch up.

The Capgemini survey of 3,000 individuals also revealed Aussie high-net-worth individuals quietly pushed their wealth to $US1.52 trillion ($2.3 trillion) in 2023, up 7.9%.

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Market movers

After tumbling 15% in the first part of the year, Seek’s shares finally caught a break, jumping nearly 5% to $23.78 each on Wednesday. It came after the company announced it is offloading its Mexican and Brazilian job sites to Spain’s Redarbor for US$85 million. The deal officially ends Seek's decade-and-a-half misadventure in Latin America, a journey that began with the Bassat brothers and James Packer back in 2008.

Tired of the drama, CEO Ian Narev is now refocusing on home turf - Australia, New Zealand and Asia. The cash infusion will chip away at Seek’s hefty $1.1b debt pile but the sale will also result in a net loss of up to $35m. At least the stock’s looking lively again.

The quick sync

• ASIC vows crackdown on leaks after Novonix equity raise scandal (Capital Brief)

• John Wylie’s Tanarra Capital launches $1bn private credit fund targeting super funds and family offices (AFR)

• Lendlease pitches $1.8b Sydney Tower, eyes $500M Melbourne luxury project in turnaround plan (AFR)

• The Australian government delays new local content quotas for streaming services (Capital Brief)

• Surfing icon Kelly Slater backs Tracks magazine's $2m digital overhaul (AFR)

Trading floor

M&A

• Bombora buys back troubled smart-city firm LVX Global for $7m. (AFR)

• Loscam's $3bn sale process may take an interesting turn, as its owner, China Merchants, and adviser UBS consider splitting the operations and selling them separately. (The Australian)

• Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners has acquired a 49% stake in Mineral Resources' 150-kilometre private haul road for approximately $1bn. (AFR)

• Sonic Healthcare is eyeing Healius's diagnostic imaging business which could be up for grabs for $800m. (The Australian)

• LiveTiles has sold its global business to Swedish intranet firm Omnia Digital Workplace. (BNA)

• Hanwha is quietly working behind the scenes on another offer for Australian-listed shipbuilder Austal. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Citi’s equities desk is raising capital for lithium-ion battery company Novonix. (AFR)

• IDT Australia announced a $7m, 10c per share entitlement offer to fund mRNA therapeutics, including projects with Sanofi Australia. (The Australian)

VC

• Pollination launches a $150m VC fund to support underfunded Australian climate tech startups. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• John Wylie’s Tanarra Capital has lost its head of private equity, Ravi Jeyaraj, who is expected to join Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. (AFR)

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