☕️ Zombie ventures

Good morning.

Call it hibernation mode, the era of zombie VC, or call it what you want, the reality is that Australian venture capital isn’t in good shape.

As Capital Brief’s Bronwen Clune reports, the restructure of heavyweight Titanium Ventures after Telstra’s sudden exit from its LP positions is just the latest exhibit. Smaller funds are freezing, slashing staff or abandoning second-round raises entirely. The squeeze looks most acute for first-time funds trying to scale though, with investor allocations tapped out and returns stagnating.

While some point to high ESVCLP registrations and predict liquidity relief by late 2025, others warn that without meaningful returns soon, the freeze could become a deeper reckoning.

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Market movers

Star Entertainment jumped 14% yesterday, recovering some of last week’s 40% slump after warning it had just $79 million in cash as at December. Morningstar’s 50% administration odds still loom, but news of Macau businessman Wang Xing Chun’s 5.5% stake seems to be fuelling white knight speculation.

The quick sync

• News Corp’s $3.4b Foxtel sale to DAZN cements Siobhan McKenna’s influence, but questions loom over her next moves in Murdoch's empire.(Capital Brief)

• Loom’s $975m sale to Atlassian unravels as co-founders ditch tech giant for Elon Musk-backed government project, exposing Silicon Valley’s shifting priorities.(Capital Brief)

• Hells Angels boss Angelo Pandeli sues News Corp for defamation in the first high-profile media legal battle of 2025. (Capital Brief)

• The US’s six largest banks are set to rake in US$31b from the final trading quarter of 2024, fuelled by Trump’s election win, volatile markets and a surge in trading and deals. (FT)

• Morgan Stanley's local bankers get up to 50% bonus increases, marking a recovery after lean years. (AFR)

Trading floor

M&A

• Atlassian’s Loom acquisition ties to co-founders’ later work with Musk and Ramaswamy on DOGE. (Capital Brief)

• Goldman Sachs creates the Capital Solutions Group to boost its focus on private credit and alternative financing. (Capital Brief)

• Wendy’s opens its first Australian store in 40 years, aiming to challenge fast food giants like McDonald's and Guzman y Gomez. (AFR)

• Ackman plans to merge Pershing Square with Howard Hughes, aiming for a Berkshire Hathaway-style model. (Capital Brief)

• Seagrass seeks buyers for its $200m Meat & Wine Co empire, with Greenhill Australia managing the sale. (AFR)

• Albanese pledges $3bn for NBN completion, spotlighting it as an election issue against potential Coalition plans to sell. (Capital Brief)

• Tourplan, a NZ$150m tourism software business, is being sold with North Ridge Partners managing the deal. (AFR)

• Premier Investments faces tough retail conditions and backs the sale of Apparel Brands to Myer. (Capital Brief)

• Telix buys ImaginAb for $73m, securing drug candidates, a biologics platform, and a California research facility. (Capital Brief)

• Macau businessman Wang Xing Chun invests $35m in Star Entertainment as it faces financial turmoil. (Reuters)

Capital Markets

• ASX to edge up as tech stocks drop, while iron ore and oil rise. (AFR)

• Bitcoin dips below US$90k amid Fed rate fears and a US government sell-off, but MicroStrategy doubles down with a US$243m buy. (Investopedia)

• Mineral Resources boosts shares by advancing lithium tech commercialization with Livium. (Capital Brief)

• Overpriced bank stocks defy fundamentals, buoyed by external forces, raising concerns about a correction. (Capital Brief)

• Karoon and Woodside rise as crude hits 4-month high amid US sanctions and supply constraints. (Capital Brief)

• MA Financial launches $300m private credit trust on ASX, backed by a broker team. (AFR)

• Vulcan Energy starts Europe's first battery-grade lithium plant in Germany, advancing green mobility and supply independence. (Capital Brief)

• Viva Energy's Geelong refinery shut down by lightning, with production resuming in 1-2 weeks; supply unaffected. (Capital Brief)

VC

• Australian venture capital faces tough times, with "zombie VCs" emerging as firms like Titanium Ventures restructure. (Capital Brief)

• VAWT-X Energy to test a next-gen vertical wind turbine in South Australia, targeting higher power density and stability for wind farms. (BNA)

People moves

• Siobhan McKenna's role at News Corp may evolve after the sale of Foxtel to DAZN. (Capital Brief)

• Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan defends his cautious “responsible growth” strategy, navigating risks, regulatory battles and sustainability challenges in a shifting political landscape. (FT)

• PAG Asia Capital hires Ben Hall to lead its corporate credit division in Asia-Pacific. (AFR)

• NRW Holdings CFO Richard Simons resigns; Alexander Hall named acting CFO. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler