☕️Unfriendly Jabs

Good morning.

Max Marchione has never been coy about his unconventional approach to medicine, but now that candour is being used against him in a US courtroom, Capital Brief reports.

His Australian-led startup Superpower has been accused by rival Function Health of inflating biomarker claims, doctoring a Reddit post, and fostering a culture where employees inject each other with experimental compounds “for fun”.

Function is accusing the company of false advertising, doctoring social media posts to manufacture endorsements, and operating with “flippant disregard for legal and regulatory safeguards”.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in BHP rose Tuesday after the miner delivered a 28% increase in half year net profit to USD5.64 billion, driven by stronger copper earnings that saw the metal overtake iron ore as its largest source of profit.

The quick sync

• Parachute raised $1.8m to build an AI operating system for Australia’s SME law firms. (Capital Brief)

• Armed with historic polling that names it the stronger economic manager, Labor is moving early to define Angus Taylor as weak on the economy. (Capital Brief)

  NextGen raised $4.3m to back university student startups before traditional VCs do. (Capital Brief)

• BHP says steel tariffs will not hit its iron ore exports as it works through tough price talks with China Mineral Resources. (Capital Brief)

• A leaked hardline immigration document disrupted Angus Taylor’s leadership launch, exposing Liberal divisions as he juggles pressure from all sides. (Capital Brief)

• Labor sets up $1b fund for high-tech military investment. (AFR)

Trading floor

M&A

• Takeovers Panel delays Humm’s meeting to review board handling of Credit Corp takeover bid. (Capital Brief)

• Pemba Capital lists ConnellGriffin for sale as revenues surge to $75m. (AFR)

• Bain Capital can sell Virgin Australia stake from March 16 after half-year results. (The Australian)

• Bendigo Bank targets RACQ acquisition amid AUSTRAC and APRA AML investigations. (AFR)

• The Living Company and Invesco compete to buy Lincoln Place retirement business. (The Australian)

• Seek is selling its Employment Hero stake following a legal settlement. (AFR)

• Warner Bros. reopened talks and gave Paramount one week to make its final offer, even though it already has a deal with Netflix. (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

• Reliance Worldwide’s first-half profit fell sharply because of US tariffs and weak demand. (Capital Brief)

• Judo Capital’s first-half profit jumped 46% on strong loan growth, boosting its shares and outlook. (Capital Brief)

• Horizon Minerals raises $175m at a discount to refurbish its Black Swan hub. (AFR)

• Challenger’s first-half profit surged to $339m, lifting its dividend and prompting a $150m share buyback. (Capital Brief)

• Private health insurance premiums to rise 4.41% from April, fastest in a decade. (AFR)

• Permira plans I-MED IPO, seeks extra bank for syndicate with Morgan Stanley and Jefferies. (The Australian)

• Sims posted a first-half loss from a $60m hit, causing shares to fall despite solid underlying results. (Capital Brief)

• WCM Global Growth begins $80m equity raising with broker support. (AFR)

• Commonwealth Bank to sponsor Brisbane Olympics in $200m-plus deal. (AFR)

• Baby Bunting’s first-half statutory profit fell to $1.8m, missing forecasts despite higher sales and upgraded guidance. (Capital Brief)

• Westpac CEO ordered to court over disputed $44.11 credit listing. (AFR)

• BHP’s first-half profit jumped 28% on strong copper and iron ore results, lifting its dividend and shares. (Capital Brief)

• BHP says Chinese steel tariffs won’t affect its iron ore exports. (Capital Brief)

• MA Financial and CMBI launch $850m leveraged buyout credit fund. (AFR)

• HMC Capital seeks operators for Healthscope sites amid pushback on not-for-profit plan. (The Australian)

• Seek’s revenue rose 12% and its dividend increased, but it posted a loss and plans to sell its Employment Hero stake. (Capital Brief)

• Coles tells court its “Down Down” promotions offered genuine discounts and weren’t misleading. (AFR)

• Mobil Oil Australia fined $16m for misleading petrol claims in Queensland. (AFR)

• Deterra Royalties’ first-half profit jumped 36% on strong pricing and record sales, boosting its dividend. (Capital Brief)

• Pay.com.au targets $800M April IPO, engaging investors in early meetings. (AFR)

• The Federal Court dismissed the greenwashing case against Santos, finding its climate claims were not misleading. (Capital Brief)

• Atlassian freezes global hiring amid AI-driven share pressure. (AFR)

• Ventia won a $107m defence contract extension, with the potential for four more years. (Capital Brief)

• Carbon Revolution to be delisted from Nasdaq after EV slowdown slashes its value. (AFR)

• Firmus races to the ASX with hot AI data centre demand, amid governance and strategy concerns. (Capital Brief)

• ASIC has identified 44 groups using lead generators in a probe linked to the $1.2b collapse of Shield Master Trust and related firms. (AFR)

• Adani Group will invest USD100b to develop AI-ready, renewable-powered data centres in India by 2035. (Capital Brief)

• Winklevosses’ Gemini parts ways with three top executives months after IPO. (Bloomberg)

• Private software companies release earnings early to calm AI nerves. (Bloomberg)

• US Supreme Court adopts new technology to help identify conflicts of interest. (Reuters)

• US charges two ex-executives at private equity-owned group with fraud. (FT)

• Apple ramps up work on glasses, pendant and camera AirPods for AI. (Bloomberg)

• Carlyle, Blackrock buy cheap software loans to boost CLO profits. (Bloomberg)

• Retail investors to get access to SpaceX and Anthropic with new fund. (Bloomberg)

VC 

• US rival Function Health sues Superpower over misleading claims and risky employee practices. (Capital Brief)

• UNSW commits $35m to launch 50 university spinouts over five years. (Startup Daily)

• NextGen Ventures raises $4.3m to back pre-seed startups run by Australian university students. (Capital Brief)

• Fluent Commerce raises $46m to boost AI-powered retail solutions. (Smart Company)

• Parachute raised $1.8m to provide AI legal tools for small and mid-sized law firms underserved by bigger competitors. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• Kate Cornick will step down as CEO of LaunchVic to become CEO of the Tech Council of Australia. (Capital Brief)

• Mark Freeman retires as AFIC CEO, succeeded by Alison Gibson. (Capital Brief)

• Angus Taylor unveils new shadow cabinet, with Tim Wilson as shadow treasurer and major portfolio reshuffles. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler