☕️ Strange bedfellows

Your next EV might be made in Saudi Arabia.

Good morning.

Elon Musk could build the next Tesla factory in Saudi Arabia.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the two have been in discussions on the company’s next gigafactory. As the petrostate looks to diversify its economy away from oil, it’s increasingly investing in EVs, taking a majority stake in Tesla rival Lucid.

The Kingdom is also looking to finance a cobalt and copper operation out of the Congo, potentially setting up direct supply with Tesla to sweeten the deal. Musk perhaps unsurprisingly slammed the news as “utterly false”.

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

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MARKET MOVERS

Market News: Costa Group is on the nose with investors. The fruit and vegetable grower sunk on Monday after Paine Schwartz downgraded its takeover offer from $3.50 to $3.20 per share, shaving off around $140 million from the bid.

Shareholders still aren’t buying the deal however, discounting the stock to just $2.84 at close of market.

Together with Stake | Invest on Wall St and the ASX

THE QUICK SYNC

  • Under regulatory scrutiny, Meta is dialling back its ad-targeting juggernaut. (The Information)

  • China has lifted temporary curbs on gold imports as the renminbi recovers (Financial Times)

  • Elon Musk has suggested he could force users to pay for Twitter, now X. (CNBC)

  • A trade war on cosmetics is emerging between China and a France-led coalition. (New York Times)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

  • Petra Capital stockbrokers bought approximately 12% of Red 5 Limited for an undisclosed client; Genesis Minerals seems to be the most likely candidate. (AFR)

  • Silver Lake officially announced its acquisition of an 11% stake in Red 5 Limited. (The Australian)

  • Tesserent's shareholders have approved a $176m acquisition by the French defense company Thales. (AFR)

  • Activist investor Bell Rock is ramping up efforts to push Whitehaven Coal to a vote on acquiring BHP's Daunia and Blackwater coal mines (Capital Brief)

  • Private equity firms are considering buying Hamilton Island, challenging traditional tycoons as potential buyers. (The Australian)

  • A2 Milk plans to cancel a long-running exclusivity deal with peer Synlait for infant milk formula products sold in China, Australia, and New Zealand. (Capital Brief)

  • Fujitsu expands its advisory network by securing MF & Associates in Canberra. (BNA)

  • Lendlease's APPF Industrial intends to embark on a redevelopment project following its $47m acquisition of Smithfield. (BNA)

Capital Markets:

  • Alligator Energy initiated a $23m capital raising, partnering with Bell Potter as their broker. (AFR)

  • Yellow Brick Road has officially submitted a request to delist from the ASX. (BNA)

  • Cuscal Limited has initiated meetings with fund managers as part of its preparations for its $300m IPO. (AFR)

VC:

  • Tikpay has secured $1.6m in a pre-seed funding round as the startup aims to revolutionize ticket sales and management in the public transport sector. (BNA)

  • MEQ, an agtech company, recently closed a $6m Series A led by Queensland family office, Romann. (Capital Brief)

Others:

  • Australian regulators are getting worried about a $200 billion industry you’ve never heard of – data broking. (Capital Brief)

  • Perpetual is currently downsizing its support staff, which includes relationship managers and salespeople, by offering redundancies. (AFR)

  • A significant portion of Ord Minnett's equity capital markets and corporate finance professionals submitted their resignations last week. (AFR)

  • Azure Minerals witnessed a more than 11% decline in its shares following the release of new drilling results. (Capital Brief)

  • Oscar Hutchinson of Firetrail has been promoted to the position of Portfolio Manager for the Firetrail S3 Global Opportunities Fund. (AFR)

  • Seven senior professionals, including five partners, have departed Escala Partners, choosing to join Crestone. (AFR)

THE WATERCOOLER