☕️ Unscripted moments

Good morning.

Capital Brief’s Hugo Mathers and Brandon How kept score at Macquarie’s annual confessional, where most executives cycled through denial, defence and message management with varying degrees of subtlety.

Still, a few truths slipped through. From Guzman y Gomez admitting its US expansion had underwhelmed, to bosses at WiseTech and NextDC speaking unusually candidly (and fondly) about AI workers that never complain, sleep or ask for pay rises. Amanda Lacaze also had thoughts about middle-aged men.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Tabcorp plunged on Thursday after AUSTRAC launched a new enforcement investigation into the company over serious concerns about its ability to identify, mitigate and manage money laundering and terrorism financing risks.

The quick sync

• Startup sector pushes back against mooted tax changes it says would hit founders and employees paid in equity. (Capital Brief)

• Sharon AI's CEO dismissed a short report but its data centre landlord NextDC questioned the business model. (Capital Brief)

• Clive Palmer is backing FEX Global's push to launch Australia's first regulated prediction market not classified as gambling. (Capital Brief)

• AI's biggest productivity prize is small business, if competition policy delivers, writes Andrew Leigh. (Capital Brief)

• Energy ministers meet today amid questions about whether supply can meet AI-driven demand. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Legora acquires Melbourne-based regtech firm Graceview. (Capital Brief)

• UniCredit agrees to sell part of its Russia business to a UAE investor. (WSJ)

• Super Retail Group remains open to acquiring KMD Brands. (The Australian)

• IFM Investors appeals directly to shareholders after Atlas Arteria rejects its takeover offer. (Bloomberg)

• Asahi Group is leading the race to buy Australian coconut water brand H2coco. (AFR)

• Angelini Pharma acquires Catalyst Pharmaceuticals in a USD4.1b deal. (Reuters)

• Goldman Sachs hired to sell a finance business linked to Balmain. (The Australian)

• Canterbury Partners seeks a buyer for wellness business Endota at over $200m valuation. (AFR)

• Kraken parent company agrees to acquire Reap for USD600m to expand in Asia. (Bloomberg)

• DOJ antitrust head warns dealmakers not to misleadingly use AI disruption to justify mergers. (Reuters)

• US fund threatens to divest TotalEnergies stake over offshore wind exit. (FT)

Capital Markets

• Zip Co reaffirms FY26 earnings guidance due to strong US business performance. (Capital Brief)

• NextDC completes a $1.7b hybrid securities offering. (Capital Brief)

• Midea Group raises USD2.2b through a convertible bond sale. (Bloomberg)

• ARN Media reports a 10% revenue decline following backlash involving Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O Henderson. (Capital Brief)

• Orica achieves its highest earnings in 20 years driven by technology improvements. (Capital Brief)

• Fishburners enters administration partly due to unpaid rent owed to the NSW government. (Startup Daily)

• Light & Wonder shares fall sharply after disappointing Q1 results. (Capital Brief)

• SkinKandy increases its IPO size to $160m amid strong demand. (AFR)

• Andrew Abercrombie challenges the Takeovers Panel in Australia’s High Court. (Capital Brief)

• Neuren Pharmaceuticals shares rise as Daybue Q1 sales reach $139m. (Capital Brief)

• Moonshot AI, creator of the Kimi chatbot, reaches a USD20b valuation in a funding round led by Meituan. (Bloomberg)

• Federal Court of Australia rules TelstraSuper breached internal dispute handling requirements. (Capital Brief)

• Sharon AI increases public engagement efforts while navigating industry uncertainty. (Capital Brief)

• Palisade Investment Partners markets its livestock exchange business to potential buyers. (AFR)

• Intrum plans to raise USD812m in equity to strengthen finances. (Bloomberg)

• Shell reports higher profits as Iran conflict boosts oil prices and trading activity. (Bloomberg)

• Deloitte makes a $1b investment in back-office systems as AI automates up to 30% of consulting work. (AFR)

• UBS fined USD6m in Monaco over repeated anti-money laundering failures. (Bloomberg)

• Kraft Heinz is issuing Euro debt to refinance and buyback U.S. bonds at lower cost. (Bloomberg)

• Carlyle Group reports a 28% earnings decline as carried interest remains weak. (Bloomberg)

• Krispy Kreme posts mixed earnings results while intensifying debt reduction efforts. (Bloomberg)

• Credit Corp nears completion of due diligence on a potential deal involving Humm Group. (The Australian)

• Blue Owl Capital prepares its first fund focused on buying secondhand private credit assets. (Bloomberg)

• Citigroup raises its return targets as CEO Jane Fraser continues turnaround efforts. (Bloomberg)

• Papa John's shares decline as weak consumer spending and intense pizza competition hurt sales. (Bloomberg)

• BlackRock reports a 5% quarterly markdown in a private credit fund. (Capital Brief)

• Suja Life shares fall 14% after a USD186.7m IPO. (Bloomberg)

• Macquarie Group faces investor scrutiny and tough questioning at its annual meeting. (Capital Brief)

• Apple advances testing of camera-equipped AirPods as part of its AI hardware strategy. (Bloomberg)

• Elon Musk summoned to France to face criminal charges. (WSJ)

• Space analytics firm HawkEye valued at USD3.2b after NYSE debut. (Reuters)

• Blue Owl will reduce private credit exposure to software. (Reuters)

VC 

• Startups are pushing back against proposed tax changes they say would hurt founder and employee equity incentives. (Capital Brief)

• Blackstone invests USD250m in biotech startup Anagram Therapeutics. (Bloomberg)

• Arrayah founder Akshat Agarwal is building Silicon Valley-style hacker houses for Australia’s tech startup community. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• National Australia Bank appoints Connie Sokaris as group chief risk officer. (Capital Brief)

• DeepL plans to cut 25% of its workforce amid restructuring. (Bloomberg)

• Leadership of OnlyFans transfers to the founder’s wife following his death. (Bloomberg)

The watercooler