☕️ Bain rebuffed

Good morning.

So, Insignia Financial’s board didn’t blink. With activist shareholder Tanarra Capital calling Bain Capital’s $2.7 billion offer “highly opportunistic,” the board rejected the $4-a-share bid in just three days. The move signals confidence in CEO Scott Hartley’s aggressive turnaround plan, but it’s a bold gamble—without a higher bid, Insignia shares may struggle to climb back to $4 on their own.

Insignia’s fragmented businesses and underwhelming performance make it a breakup candidate. But Bain now faces a choice: sweeten the deal or risk losing to suitors like Brookfield reportedly eyeing Australia’s $4 trillion super sector.

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Market movers

Shares in litigation funder Omni Bridgeway surged after it announced the $310 million sale of a stake in a continuation fund to Ares Management. The fund will house over 150 legacy investments, with Ares owning 70%.

The quick sync

• Gilmour Space targets January rocket launch to secure $150m in funding, positioning Australia as a global satellite launch player. (Capital Brief)

• Microsoft's near 500,000 Nvidia Hopper chip purchases in 2024, doubling its rivals, underscore Nvidia’s dominance in next-gen computing, Nvidia shares jump. (FT)

• Melbourne developer APH collapses into administration owing MaxCap $150m, with Apollo-backed lender exposed after Metrics repossessed Box Hill assets, as private credit boom faces scrutiny. (AFR)

• HMC Capital ramps up efforts to win over sceptical investors after DigiCo's $2 billion IPO stumble, pitching its data centres as undervalued gems. (AFR)

Trading floor

M&A

• Charter Hall and Hostplus take majority stake in Hotel Property Investments amid takeover battle. (AFR)

• UniCredit raises stake in Commerzbank to 28%, seeks regulatory approval for 29.9%. (Capital Brief)

• Idemitsu acquires majority stake in Vecco Group, pivoting from coal to energy storage. (AFR)

• Australian Unity Wealth Management distances from commercial real estate, with Newmark set to acquire $260m property fund. (The Australian)

• Mesoblast joins Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, boosting shares. (Capital Brief)

• Adamantem Capital buys 100% of $8bn wealth platform Mason Stevens. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• ASIC sues Binance Australia Derivatives for misclassifying retail clients, denying consumer protections. (Capital Brief)

• MONEYME secures $125m from iPartners to refinance debt and support growth. (Capital Brief)

• HMC Capital works to rebuild market confidence in DigiCo Infrastructure REIT after initial 14% drop. (AFR)

• Cartherics secures $456k grant to advance ovarian cancer treatment CTH-401 for clinical trials. (Capital Brief)

• APH Holding collapses, owing $150m to MaxCap, impacting private credit sector. (AFR)

• Neoen secures $1.4bn for Australian renewables, including $100m from Clean Energy Finance Corporation. (Capital Brief)

• Vulcan Energy secures partial funding for its German lithium project, pending further approvals. (Capital Brief)

• DigitalX raises $15.4m after settling Bitcoin dispute with former CEO. (BNA)

• Charlie Selth secures $10m for R&D funding venture with Vincents and Sturt Capital. (AFR)

• January Capital raises US$85m to provide non-dilutive capital for growth-stage startups. (Capital Brief)

• Mercury NZ will invest NZ$287m in a new wind farm in Northland. (Capital Brief)

• Ecofibre clears debt with $15.3m leaseback deal for US facilities. (BNA)

VC

• Mirova leads $72m funding round for EV charging company Jet Charge. (AFR)

• 8seats raises $2m seed funding to scale, prepare for 2025 launch, and expand globally. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• Southern Cross Media CFO Tim Young resigns; Toby Potter named acting CFO. (Capital Brief)

• Lendlease's long-time bankers face uncertainty with new chairman John Gillam. (AFR)

• Nine Entertainment's CSO Michael Stephenson resigns; Matt James to replace him. (Capital Brief)

• Lendlease executive Matthew Theoharous has left to join rival construction firm Built, following the earlier departure of David Paterson. (The Australian)

• Xero revises CEO Singh Cassidy's pay to match US tech benchmarks and reward performance. (Capital Brief)

• Tribeca doubles distribution team with new hires in Sydney and Singapore. (AFR)

• Capricorn Metals CEO Kim Massey retires in January 2025; COO Paul Criddle takes over in February. (Capital Brief)

• Microsoft's Sarah Bird underscores AI's transformative potential while stressing that core gaps in artificial general intelligence—like understanding the physical world—require new breakthroughs, not just current techniques. (FT)

The watercooler