Ex-PwC Senior to sue firm over tax scandal defamation

Good Morning,

A mixed January unfolded in markets, with the S&P 500 eking out gains while Europe faltered and Japan shone. Dive into earnings updates, news like NZ's minimum wage hike and Deutsche Bank job cuts, plus top deal flow like GPG Australia's potential sale and Brookfield's Autocare unit deal. This week's Daily Deck summary keeps you informed and market-ready.

Let’s jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

• US stocks saw a mixed January: S&P 500 rose 1.6%, Dow gained 0.3%, but small-cap Russell 2000 tumbled nearly 4%. Even within S&P 500, gains were narrow, with equal-weighted version falling 0.9%. (TRP)

• European stocks ended mixed: STOXX 600 flat, major indexes mostly down. France's CAC 40 fell 0.55%, Germany's DAX lost 0.25%, UK's FTSE 100 declined 0.26%. Italy's FTSE MIB bucked the trend, gaining 1.11%. (TRP)

• Japanese stocks outperformed: Nikkei 225 gained 1.1%, TOPIX up 1.7%. Strong earnings, higher prices, and robust tourism boosted domestically focused firms. (TRP)

Earnings & Data

• Woolworths New Zealand flags 42% slump in first half profits (NBR)

• The latest property price index shows the national average asking price for a property was $864,350 in December, down 3.7% compared to the same month in 2022. (Stuff)

• The Mike Cannon-Brookes-backed renewables lender Brighte cut its losses by 31 per cent and upped its revenue by a quarter to $41 million but still burnt through $30.8 million last year. (AFR)

• Megaport shares jumped 28 per cent to $12.48, after the Brisbane-based company beat its quarterly earnings target and flagged the addition of a large US-based healthcare customer worth $4.2 million over three years. (AFR)

• Novartis AG shares slumped after the drugmaker reported earnings that came short of analysts’ estimates on weak revenue from Pluvicto, a prostate cancer treatment that faced supply constraints. (BBG)

• Shell posts $28 bln 2023 profit, boosts dividend (RT)

• Dutch bank ING sees lower total income in 2024, shares drop (RT)

• Apple has ended the quarter with its first revenue gain in over a year with US$119.58bn in revenue and $2.18 in earnings. (Guardian)

• Briscoe Group has reported another year of record revenue of NZ$792 million, up 0.8 per cent from the total last year, $785.9m. (NBR)

• Panasonic Holdings posted a rise in third-quarter operating profit for its battery-making energy unit on Friday, helped by stronger sales in North America, and kept its full-year profit forecast for the segment. (RT)

News Summary

Monday

• Developers quit derelict, dangerous house project in Wellington (Stuff)

• ‘Worst quarter for equity managers in 15 years’ (AFR)

• Papua New Guinea in talks with China on security cooperation (Guardian)

Tuesday

• Kāinga Ora tenants cause rise in crime, Parnell businesses claim: The local business association says it recorded 40 incidents of criminal and disorderly behaviour in November and December alone, including a brazen robbery. (NBR)

• Australian Border Force has seized $4.5 million worth of disposable vapes in its first major interception since the federal government cracked down on importation of the products in January. (AFR)

• Elon Musk says the first human patient has received a brain implant from his start-up Neuralink, a significant step forward for the company that aims to one day let humans control computers with their minds. (AFR)

Wednesday

• New Zealanders are being encouraged to brush up on recycling etiquette as national standardised rules for kerbside recycling will come into force from tomorrow. (Herald)

• The U.S. and China had a “productive” first day of talks in Beijing about the fentanyl crisis, Jennifer Daskal, a deputy homeland security advisor, told NBC News’ Janis Mackey Frayer in an exclusive interview Tuesday. (CNBC)

• PayPal says it will cut another 2,500 jobs, or 9% of its global workforce, a year after making a similar move. (BBC)

Thursday

• Minimum wage to rise to $23.15, despite warning (Stuff)

• Deutsche Bank to cut 3,500 jobs and reward shareholders (RT)

• Google signs its largest offshore power agreement with Dutch wind projects (RT)

Friday

• Michael Hill International has been ordered to pay A$2,259,971.40 plus interest and costs to packing company Gispac for breach of contract, after the former failed to fulfil terms and conditions it had not read. (NBR)

• Ex-PwC partner sues firm over retirement payments. (AFR)

• NVIDIA Corp experienced a record-breaking surge in market value in January, the largest monthly increase ever. (RT)

Weekend

• Radio New Zealand to sell off Auckland land to pay for AM radio network (Stuff)

• Australia releases preferred option on pollution rules to boost EV uptake (RT)

• Trump would not reappoint Powell as Fed chief (AFR)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

Australia & New Zealand

• GPG Australia’s owners are seeking to sell the business in its entirety. Macquarie Capital has lined up a $2 billion stapled debt package (AFR)

• Offshore buyers try on bombed-out womenswear retailer City Chic (AFR)

• Iconic Australian dessert maker Sara Lee sold after going into administration (9 News)

• Canterbury-based private equity firm, South Island Office, has secured an exit from its investment in iconic dessert brand Sara Lee with the company rescued from administration through a sale to Australian investors. (NBR)

• Advent Partners has inked a software deal to kick off 2024. The $1 billion private equity firm, led by dealmakers Symon Vegter, Rob Hooke and Isabella Blakiston, has made a strategic investment in software as a service community and stakeholder engagement business MySite. (AFR)

• Mike Hill’s Bombora Investment Management froze redemptions from its main fund last year, as funding markets remained shut for pre-IPO companies and its listed bets underperformed, Street Talk can reveal. (AFR)

• Quadrant Private Equity is nearing a sale of Superior Food Group, the food services distribution business that it placed on the market in December. (AFR)

• A Kiwi health and wellness brand is looking to take a bigger bite of the ingestibles beauty market. (AFR)

• Metcash confirms bid for Quadrant’s Superior Food Group (AFR)

• DB gets approval to enable future purchase of hospo group (NBR)

• Brookfield has agreed to sell Autocare, the auto logistics unit of Linx Cargo Care, to Japan's Optimus Group for an undisclosed amount. Autocare, the No.2 player in the market, is expected to grow in direct-to-customer supply and new market segments like electric vehicles. (AFR)

• The Bank of Queensland is selling its $238 million New Zealand portfolio to non-bank lender UDC Finance, which is owned by Japanese financial group SBI Shinsei Bank Group. The transaction is expected to result in a post-tax loss of about A$17m to A$20m for the Bank of Queensland. (Herald)
  

Key Global

• Worlds largest cement maker, Holcim, to spin off North America unit, seeking $30 Billion value (BBG)

• Hong Kong buyout fund TA Associates and Swedish private equity firm EQT are seeking to pull apart 138-year-old financial services giant Perpetual. (AFR)

• The country’s second-largest telecommunication group is understood to be exploring options to unlock value for long-standing shareholder Singtel, which ticked past 23 years of ownership in October. (AFR)

• Private chefs, equine therapy and a concierge service. Street Talk understands fast-growing luxury Victorian rehabilitation centre Hills & Ranges Private is courting buyers. (AFR)

Other Global

• Russian Tycoon Nesis’s Group sells Polymetal stake to Omani Fund (BBG)

• From $500m to $75m: Founder’s ‘deep regret’ as bidding war ends. Software firm Whispir is now controlled by Soprano, a rival software business backed by Potentia Capital (AFR)

• China is embarking on its biggest consolidation in the banking industry by merging hundreds of rural lenders into regional behemoths amid growing signs of financial stress. (BBG)

VC & Fundraising

• India’s Uber-rival BluSmart pumps up EV charging with $25M investment (TC)

• Macquarie-backed ATM company Next Payments to consider exit options (AFR)

• ANZ is expected to target a $1 billion-plus deal size for its latest hybrid issue, which would include a reinvestment slice for holders of ANZ Capital Notes 4. (AFR)

• The country’s No.2 funeral services player Propel Funeral Partners’s bosses have launched a $90 million equity raising to reduce the funeral provider’s net leverage and restock its acquisition kitty. (AFR)

• Genmin, a West African iron ore developer which hasn’t traded on the ASX since August, is telling investors it is 18 months away from producing cash flows as it drums up interest in an equity raising to pay down debts. (AFR)

• AirTree Ventures has gained some Silicon Valley cred. Street Talk can reveal the venture capital firm, which counts Canva and Employment Hero among its early investments, has appointed its first new partner since 2021. (AFR)

• Gentrack invests $12m in Aussie electricity retailer startup (NBR)

Equity Raises

Australia & New Zealand

• Galan Lithium seeks $16.5m capital injection (AFR)

• Litchfield Minerals, an explorer sifting for uranium in the Northern Territory’s historically overlooked patches, is wheeling out its well-credentialed team to fund managers ahead of an IPO. (AFR)

Key Global

• Reddit advised to target at least $5 Billion valuation in IPO (BBG)

Debt, Restructuring & Bankruptcy

• HK court orders China Evergrande to liquidate with debts of $300 billion (RT)

• Global juggernaut Bain Capital and Sydney-based private debt investor Madigan Capital are in discussions to put together a $500 million debt refinancing for Jon Adgemis’ Public Hospitality Group, PHG (AFR)

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