☕️ Startup squeeze

Good morning.

Damian Kassabgi, barely two months into his stint as CEO of the Tech Council of Australia, is already clashing with the Treasury over proposed merger laws.

Kassabgi tells Capital Brief’s Daniel Van Boom and Laurel Henning the changes, designed to curb serial acquisitions, threaten to snuff out entrepreneurial ambitions by undermining buyout incentives—a key motivator for many tech startups.

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Market movers

Last week was the Aussie market’s best so far this year. But no one in the top 200 did better than packaging giant Orora, rising 32.3% on the back of an already-rejected $3.3b takeover bid from private equity firm Lone Star Fund.

The quick sync

• ANZ sacks first trader amid workplace culture investigation. (AFR)

• After a solid fortnight of media and political focus on the RBA, the week ahead in macro brings central bank meeting minutes, growth indexes. (Capital Brief)

• Bar associations are sounding the alarm: senior silks command up to $25k a day, but ASIC, ACCC pay under $5k. (AFR)

• ASIC probes Melbourne private-capital firm Oak Capital over the way it collects fees. (AFR)

• Police called in to investigate whether Regional Express’s former chairman and major investor, Lim Kim Hai, illegally recorded the company’s final board meeting. (AFR)

Trading floor

M&A

• The ANZ-Suncorp merger has led to MyState and Auswide Bank agreeing to merge, creating a nationwide bank with $9.6bn in deposits. (AFR)

• Clayton, Dubilier & Rice is seen as the potential buyer of Orora Packaging Solutions, up for sale for over $1.5bn. (The Australian)

• AustralianSuper is bidding for a majority stake in Queensland Airports Limited, competing with two rival consortiums in the final auction round. (AFR)

• Linktree has acquired Plann, a social media scheduling platform, to expand its product suite with new social media tools. (Startup Daily)

• The Healius Lumus Imaging sale is down to TPG Capital and Pacific Equity Partners, with final bids pending further due diligence. (The Australian)

• EQT is in exclusive talks to buy Advent Partners' Compass Education for around $700m, with the founders expected to retain a stake in the business. (AFR)

• Macquarie Capital is exploring buyers for EQT’s Metlifecare, a New Zealand retirement village operator acquired in 2020 for $1.3bn. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Icon Group raised $300m in a Term Loan B deal to fund its acquisition of UK’s Pharmaxo. (AFR)

• Equitise is seeking $500,000 in funding after a challenging period for private tech firm valuations and start-up funding. (AFR)

VC

• None

People moves

• Kerri Hayman, sister of Domino's CEO Don Meij, has been appointed as the CEO for Australia-New Zealand operations. (BNA)

• Harvey Carter, ex-head of M&A at Westpac, is launching a boutique advisory firm specializing in financial services and investment deals. (The Australian)

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The watercooler