☕ Square off

Good morning. The short-seller reports just keep coming, with Hindenburg squaring off with its latest target... Block (fka Square) and the company that bought Afterpay in 2020.

The full report is linked below for your weekend reads. Speaking of, enjoy the weekend ✌

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MARKET MOVERS

*Stock data as of the market close. Commodities and crypto data in USD.

Market news: Brickworks checked in with a solid HY results despite warning there'd be a sharp downturn in the housing construction market by the end of 2023.

The company registered record profitability for the first half, with revenue up 13% to $584m and underlying profit up 24% to $410m.

The company trades just a little off all-time highs of around $25.

THE QUICK SYNC

• Block: How Inflated User Metrics and “Frictionless” Fraud Facilitation Enabled Insiders To Cash Out Over $1 Billion. (Hindenberg)

• Meet the 30 women who have made their mark on Australia's rich list. (Australian)

• Ever wondered what it costs to run your own yacht? (Australian)

• Bank of England hikes interest rates by 25 basis points after inflation surprises. (CNBC)

• TikTok congressional hearing: CEO Shou Chew grilled by US lawmakers. (RT)

• Toshiba approves $15bn buyout offer from Japanese private equity fund. (YH)

• China’s billionaire population drops: 229 knocked off Hurun rich list. (SCMP)

TRADING FLOOR

 M&A:

• InvoCare's slow response to TPG Capital’s raid and indicative bid puts the spotlight on failed buyout candidates. (AFR)

• Estia Health buyer was up on M&A speculation with 4.2% of the stock trading on Wednesday alone. (AFR)

• Independent Reserve has bought Bitcoin.com.au for $3m. (AFR)

• Potentia has recently outcompeted rival bidder Alludo with its investment in Nitro rising to more than 56%. (BNA)

• Goldman Sachs has offloaded $150m worth of residential mortgages to BNK Banking. (The Australian)

• Lindsay Australia has purchased a substantial portfolio of assets from Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics. (The Australian)

• Entain understood to have been provided with “black box” due diligence information to come forward with a proposal for NZ TAB. (The Australian)

• David Di Pilla’s Sigma play may not just involve capitalising on the group’s property portfolio, but also boosting the company’s share price as well. (The Australian)

Capital Markets:

• Weebit Nano revealed its raising despite its shares tanking. (AFR)

  • Short sellers smashed Weebit Nano on the eve of its biggest-ever equity raising. (AFR)

• Ora Banda Mining and Little Green Pharma are chasing fresh funds. (AFR)

• TrueGreen Group is understood to be negotiating a deal to extend its existing convertible notes worth $110m. (AFR)

VC:

• Invest Inya Farmer (IIF), an Agriculture fractional investment marketplace, has raised $1.1m in Seed funding round led by Investible (StartupDaily)

Others:

• Australian investment banks are having their worst year since 2006. (AFR)

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THE WATERCOOLER

THE TRADE

• Strategy & Corporate Development Manager — OFX (Learn More)

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