☕ Staredown

Good morning. Jeff Bezos, the bald billionaire book baron, apparently got down on one knee over the weekend to propose to his girlfriend. But more interestingly, he did it on his US$500m superyacht that costs US$25m a year to maintain — more on the boat here.

May 24, 2023

Good morning. Jeff Bezos, the bald billionaire book baron, apparently got down on one knee over the weekend to propose to his girlfriend. But more interestingly, he did it on his US$500m superyacht that costs US$25m a year to maintain — more on the boat here.

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MARKET MOVERS

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

Market News: Silk Laser shareholders had a nice surprise after the company revealed EC Healthcare, an HK-based wellness company, threw in a $3.35/sh bid for the company.

That’s 20c more than the Wesfarmers bid, who seemed like they were coasting on easy street to close out the acquisition before this.

TBD what happens, but the last time someone tried to take on Wesfarmers in a takeover battle, Wesfarmers basically stared them down until the competing bidder withdrew without ever needing to increase their offer — and that time, it was Woolworths.

THE QUICK SYNC

  • The Aussie who turned Morgan Stanley into a ‘killer machine’. (SMH)

  • Former Bingo chief executive deleted price fixing texts, court told. (AFR)

  • CBA boss Matt Comyn orders staff back to the office. (AFR)

  • PwC breached the government's trust; now it is facing the consequences. (ABC)

  • Binance commingled customer funds and company revenue, former insiders say. (RT)

  • Pasta prices have surged, prompting crisis meetings in Italy and calls for a strike. (CNBC)

  • WhatsApp to allow users to edit messages within 15 minutes. (CNN)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

  • A mystery party asked banks to pitch for a funding and advisory role on a potential tilt at ConnectEast. (AFR)

  • Tyro’s second takeover approach tumbles at eleventh hour. (SMH)

  • Carlisle Health is posed to buy Exact Radiology after a deal to sell the company to Integral Diagnostics fell over. (AFR)

  • Vecco Group has locked in an investment top-up and joint venture agreement from Coeclerici Group. (AFR)

  • Cambridge Clothing has Edison Partners hunting for buyers. (AFR | The Australian)

  • Nuix will buy Rampiva in a $US4m ($6m) cash-and-scrip deal. (AFR | BNA)

  • Hong Kong minnow EC Healthcare has topped Wesfarmers’ offer for Silk Laser Australia, bidding $3.35/sh. (AFR | BNA | The Australian)

  • Entain has been approved to sign a 25-year strategic partnership with the New Zealand TAB. (SMH)

  • Tabcorp is considered the logical favourite to win the Victoria licence contest. (The Australian)

  • PEP and Anchorage Capital are the two PE firms short-listed to buy the Hoyts cinema company. (The Australian)

Capital Markets:

  • Ramsay Health Care has pulled the brakes on its debut five-year senior unsecured bond deal. (AFR)

VC:

  • FlintPro, a climate change and natural capital technology company, has raised US$9m (A$13.5m) in a Series A led by Understorey Ventures. (StartupDaily)

  • Arlula, a satellite data analysis startup, raised $2.2 million in a Seed round led by Main Sequence. (StartupDaily)

Others:

  • Exit of Channel Capital’s head of distribution, Andrew King, is expected to stir up changes in the company’s shareholder register. (AFR)

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