☕️ Stake’s licence unlocked

Good morning.

Stake secured its own Australian Financial Services Licence on Monday, a win in a fiercely competitive market that includes everyone from CommSec, to eToro, to Superhero, and SelfWealth, Pearler, Syfe, Simply Wall Street, Maqro Capital, Medallion, and WeBull (surely, there are more).

As Capital Brief’s Jack Derwin explains here, the AFSL marks a pivotal step for Australia’s third largest retail broker away from the shadow licensing under Sanlam Private Wealth's authorised representative model.

And after a record month for SMSF sign-ups, CEO Jon Howie hinted Stake is eyeing a strategic shift towards becoming a diversified wealth platform.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Nickel Industries shares surged 6.2% after CEO Justin Werner hinted that Indonesia is courting Western investment, aiming to distance itself from China's shadow and potentially rocking the nickel boat in the South-East Asian region.

The shares reacted even as the company posted mixed results amidst wet weather challenges.

Nickel Industries plans to operate the only Western-majority-owned HPAL plant, navigating through both economic storms and literal downpours.

The quick sync

• The collapse of Rex Airlines presents a quandary for the Albanese government: how to ensure the carrier survives without a full-scale bailout. (Capital Brief)

• As ASIC’s investigation into suspected manipulation in the government bond market heats up, New Zealand’s corporate watchdog is making its own inquiries. (AFR)

• Miners in the solar energy rich Pilbara region, where renewables are only 2% of the equation, eye renewable power to hit decarbonisation targets. (Capital Brief)

• Peacock owner NBCUniversal books $21.2m profit in Australia. It has long been linked with a streaming launch in Australia. (Capital Brief)

• Nine publishing staff accept improved wage deal following five-day strike. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Former Seven West Media management proposed buying Southern Cross Media Group and ARN Media with shares, but was said to have been blocked by chairman Kerry Stokes to prevent diluting Seven Group's 40% stake. (The Australian)

• Alceon Private Equity has bought a 70% stake in Shadbolt Group, a major Australian naval shipbuilder. (AFR)

• Pacific Smiles' board finds Genesis Capital's revised takeover bid superior to NDC BidCo's offer, giving NDC until Thursday to submit a counterproposal, which has not yet been received. (Capital Brief)

• Brightstar Resources and Alto Metals are merging in an all-scrip deal with Brightstar holding 66.6% of the new entity with Canaccord Genuity and Argonaut raising $20m for the deal. (AFR)

• Goldman Sachs Asset Management is eyeing Compass Education, which Advent Partners is selling with offers around $400m to $500m. (The Australian)

• Scentre Group is buying a 50% stake in Westfield West Lakes for $167.3m, at a 10% discount to its book value. (AFR)

• Westpac is selling its retail auto loan back book, likely to a debt collection company, after retaining $10bn in existing retail auto loans. (The Australian)

• ANZ starts integrating Suncorp Bank’s 1.2 million customers after acquiring it for $4.9bn, aiming to boost mortgage growth and shift customers to ANZ Plus. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• DroneShield halted trading for a new capital raising, citing a future pipeline of $1.1bn and a current backlog of $28m. (Capital Brief)

• Telix Pharmaceuticals' shares dropped after the FDA rejected its application for a renal cancer imaging agent. (Capital Brief)

• Billson’s Beverages has entered voluntary administration; McGrathNicol is now managing the business and will seek a buyer. (BNA)

• Centuria Industrial REIT swung to a full-year profit, driven by strong leasing activity and favorable urban infill industrial market conditions. (Capital Brief)

• Origin Energy shares fell over 2% after reporting a 12% revenue drop from its LNG project and a 10% decline in natural gas sales volumes. (Capital Brief)

VC

• Slice, a travel fintech, raised $17.5m in a seed round, with $7.5m from Peak XV Partners and $10m in debt from Roadnight Capital. (AFR)

• Monty Compost Co has raised $1m to enhance its IoT-based tech for improving organic waste recycling. (Smart Company)

People moves

• Star Entertainment's chief risk officer Scott Saunders has resigned, effective January 2025. (Capital Brief)

Together with Power Writing

This isn’t your typical course. We’re not your typical instructors. That’s why you should read on.

Power Writing was created by Kal & Christopher...

• Kal is a former Macquarie banker who started and sold Letter of Intent (yes, this very newsletter).

• Christopher is a former McKinsey partner and COO who took a startup from 0 to a $3bn IPO in 5 years.

In other words, we aren’t professors. We’ve seen firsthand the huge impact your writing can have on your professional performance. It sounds obvious, yet no one ever teaches you to write for work. We're changing that.

Don’t let those writing habits from your uni days — big words, long sentences, dense paragraphs with no formatting, conclusions at the end — hold you back at work. Learn the techniques to be concise and precise so your work gets recognised and you get promoted.

Use the code LOI50 to get $50 off + you can typically expense the course to that L&D allowance you never touch.

Level up and write like an elite professional. Learn more here.

The watercooler