☕️Trade Off

Good morning.

Grads at high frequency trading firms have told Capital Brief that outfits like Optiver and IMC Trading are luring new hires with starting salaries up to $350,000, but holding on to that compensation is another matter entirely.

Only 68 of the 22,000 applications for Optiver’s APAC grad program were selected by the firm in 2024, and a former employee said that 20-30% of grads don’t make it past their six-month probation mark thanks to an ungodly workload, job pressure and stress.

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Market movers

Clarity Pharmaceuticals surged Monday, as pharma stocks rebounded from an early sell-off sparked by Trump’s drug price order.

The quick sync

• Australia’s wealthiest families are doubling down on private markets, pivoting from VC to private credit and infrastructure as they chase long-term returns. (Capital Brief)

• Telstra ditches its T25 game plan to chase AI gains, opening a US tech hub and snapping up top talent to rewire the business. (Capital Brief)

• Startup leaders urge Tim Ayres to back AI, reform procurement and boost sovereign manufacturing to lift Australia's productivity and global competitiveness. (Capital Brief)

• Source Global Research signals Trump-era volatility may drive clients back to big four consultancies, reviving growth after two tough years. (AFR)

Trading floor

M&A

• Abacus Storage King rejected a $1.9b takeover bid from Ki Corporation and Public Storage, saying the offer undervalued the company and carried tax-related risks. (Capital Brief)

• Bupa has enlisted Luminis Partners and Alvarez & Marsal to advise on a potential bid for Healthscope. (AFR)

• Livingbridge is selling its 64-clinic GP business, Better Medical, for up to $300m amid strong healthcare demand. (The Australian)

• Carlisle Health is seeking bankers for a potential $200m-plus deal amid a resurgence in radiology M&A activity. (AFR)

• BGH Capital, with Gary Weiss and Ariadne, has made a non-binding offer to gain control of Webjet after jointly acquiring a 10.76% stake. (Capital Brief)

• Telstra hires PwC to sell MTData, citing strong earnings and fleet tech market growth. (AFR)

• Regis and United Tractors are final bidders for $2bn Ravenswood gold mine; Chifeng drops out. (The Australian)

• Frasers Property puts Real Utilities up for sale, taps Chapman Capital to run the process. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• Ampol exits retail electricity to focus on EV charging and boost earnings. (Capital Brief)

• Syndex is looking to expand into Australia and has engaged Berkshire Global Advisors to find a capital partner. (AFR)

• Life360 posts record revenue, strong growth, and reaffirms outlook. (Capital Brief)

• Nvidia and AMD to supply chips for Saudi AI data centres in $15.4b Trump-backed deal. (Bloomberg)

• Gold miners led ASX losses after US-China tariff cuts reduced demand for gold as a safe haven, though iron ore stocks rose on the same news. (Capital Brief)

• Airwallex’s local losses widen amid global expansion and costly F1 sponsorship. (AFR)

• ASX to cut 100 jobs as cost and regulatory pressures force sharp shift in strategy. (AFR)

• EToro is poised to price its Nasdaq IPO above the US$46–US$50 range after strong investor demand. (Bloomberg)

• Brookfield’s $2b Healthscope collapse ranks among Australia’s worst private equity failures, casting a long shadow over future healthcare deals. (AFR)

• Singapore’s Abaxx Exchange is launching Asia’s only physical gold futures contract to challenge the dominance of London and New York. (FT)

• Macquarie is pushing Ares and other lenders to write off £370m in Southern Water debt to unlock a £900m equity injection into the struggling UK utility. (FT)

VC

• None

People moves

• Deutsche Bank hires UBS's Jonathon Platt to lead infrastructure and utilities in ANZ. (AFR)

The watercooler