☕️ Quiet killer

Good morning.

While Ken Griffin jousts with Zohran Mamdani in New York and pushes quant guys out of Hong Kong, his market-making arm has been quietly printing money in Sydney.

Regulatory filings viewed by Capital Brief show Citadel Securities nearly tripled Australian net profit year-on-year to USD74.2 million in 2025. That makes it one of the most profitable trading operations in the country relative to its book size less than a decade after opening its first local office in 2016.

The firm's unusually candid accounts show it is, in effect, a Sydney-domiciled Asia trading operation...

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in network-as-a-service provider Megaport rocketed on Thursday after the company secured three major contracts worth a combined USD182 million across two US-based technology customers, covering GPU, CPU, network and storage services. UBS analyst Tim Plumbe said the deals implied potential upside of about 30% to his FY27 EBITDA forecasts, describing the wins as evidence of the accelerating scale of Megaport's AI infrastructure business.

And spare a thought for Bapcor, whose shares tanked 18.5% after it became the latest example of how the US-Iran war is hitting corporate Australia.

The quick sync

• Multiple startup groups are preparing to lobby Treasurer Jim Chalmers for a CGT carveout. (Capital Brief)

• Xero's results won't save it if the market has decided SaaS valuations are permanently reset. (Capital Brief)

• Applaud the budget on housing. But higher taxes on productive assets risk killing Australia’s alternative future, writes Charlie Gearside. (Capital Brief)

• Young Australians need a credible path to wealth. Instead, this budget protects existing property owners, writes Elon Datt. (Capital Brief)

• Zip's decade of trademark denial just became a case study every Australian founder should read before they launch. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Chevron agreed to sell some Asia-Pacific assets to Japan’s Eneos for USD2.17b. (WSJ)

• Chinese EV maker XPeng is reportedly in talks with Volkswagen to buy a European factory. (FT)

• Ryan Cohen urged eBay’s board to seriously consider his proposal instead of dismissing it. (Reuters)

• Tate & Lyle is in takeover talks with Ingredion over a USD3.7b offer. (WSJ)

• Six bidders are competing for Ausgrid’s $3b smart meters business and ES unit. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• Blackstone’s REIT raised USD1.75b in an IPO focused on acquiring data centers. (Bloomberg)

• GrainCorp reaffirmed FY26 guidance despite difficult global grain market conditions. (Capital Brief)

• Air New Zealand warned FY26 losses could widen to NZD390m because of rising jet fuel prices. (Capital Brief)

• oOh!media posted a 7% rise in Q1 revenue despite weaker billboard advertising demand. (Capital Brief)

• Albemarle booked a $1.1b charge after shutting its WA lithium refinery amid ongoing losses. (AFR)

• Metcash resolved a dispute with senior executives over dismissals. (AFR)

• Worley shares rose after announcing a $300m share buyback and executive leadership changes. (Capital Brief)

• Blackstone-owned AirTrunk is seeking a USD2b loan to fund expansion in Malaysia. (Bloomberg)

• Atlassian was removed from rankings of Australia’s best tech employers. (Startup Daily)

• Uranium company Peninsula Energy launched a USD40m capital raising. (AFR)

• Barbeques Galore will emerge from receivership while remaining under the same ownership. (Smart Company)

• Australia’s Federal Court ruled that Coles misled shoppers with deceptive discount pricing practices. (Capital Brief)

• Fanuc shares surged after announcing a physical AI partnership with Google. (Bloomberg)

• Cisco shares rallied after the company raised Q4 sales guidance and announced restructuring plans. (Capital Brief)

• Zip Co lost its trademark battle with Firstmac and must stop using the “Zip” name in Australia. (Capital Brief)

• Mercury NZ committed NZD817m to expand its geothermal energy projects. (Capital Brief)

• Resolute Mining entered a trading halt ahead of an announcement on its Côte d’Ivoire scoping study. (Capital Brief)

• Jeremy Raper significantly reduced his stake in Humm Group following board changes. (Capital Brief)

• Perth biotech Syngenis is expanding its AI-driven drug discovery efforts. (SMH)

• Bapcor downgraded earnings guidance due to disruption from Middle East conflict impacts. (Capital Brief)

• UBS benefited from trading activity during Commonwealth Bank’s record share price decline. (AFR)

• Blockchain firm Trovio will build a carbon credit registry for an NGO-backed organization. (Capital Brief)

• Deutsche Bank arranged a $365m securitisation funding deal for MoneyMe. (AFR)

• National Group’s attempt to tap the Nordic bond market is facing difficulties despite strong demand for such bonds. (AFR)

• The UK launched an antitrust investigation into Microsoft’s business software practices. (Reuters)

• Jaguar Land Rover’s parent company posted profits above expectations due to a rebound in luxury vehicle sales. (Bloomberg)

• Amazon’s AI growth boosted investor confidence, driving shares toward a USD3t valuation. (Bloomberg)

• KPMG admitted a partner used confidential Lendlease files in a pitch to Westpac. (AFR)

• Brookfield revealed it built a USD2b investment position in SpaceX ahead of a possible IPO. (Bloomberg)

• Tensions are growing in the OpenAI and Apple partnership, raising the possibility of legal disputes. (Bloomberg)

• Boeing shares fell after Trump’s China jet order announcement failed to meet expectations. (Capital Brief)

• Nvidia shares surged, pushing the company close to a USD6t market valuation. (Bloomberg)

• Cerebras nearly doubled in value during its Nasdaq debut, marking a major semiconductor IPO. (Capital Brief)

• Ken Griffin’s Citadel is quietly becoming more influential in Sydney’s fast-growing trading market. (Capital Brief)

VC 

• Former Up Bank founders raised $4m for AI-driven consumer finance startup Extraordinary Money. (Startup Daily)

• Crux, a clean-energy project finance startup, raised a USD500M facility from Nuveen to expand its clean energy finance business. (Bloomberg)

• Startup founders sought talks with Treasurer Jim Chalmers over proposed capital gains tax carveouts. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• ASX appointed former Euronext Paris chief Anthony Attia as its next CEO. (Capital Brief)

• Citigroup plans to increase its Asia prime brokerage workforce by 10% this year. (Bloomberg)

• Tammy Tyrrell left the independent ranks to join Australia’s Labor Party. (Capital Brief)

• Reports said the US Department of Justice plans to drop criminal charges against Gautam Adani. (Capital Brief)

• Morgan Stanley hired Sam Jackson to strengthen its building products deals business. (Bloomberg)

The watercooler

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