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Good Morning,

Those serving in the New Zealand military are in for a reasonable pay rise, the Commerce Commission is launching an investigation into potential breaches of the Fair Trading Act by retirement villages, New Zealand Rugby has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japan Rugby Football Union and Tesla Inc. will need to fix almost every car it’s ever sold in China due to an issue with the vehicles’ acceleration systems.

Let’s jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

• Cryptocurrency exchange Binance halted Bitcoin withdrawals for several hours on Monday, citing heavy volumes and a surge in processing fees, before clearing them at a higher cost (RT)

• Australian economists have poured cold water on Anthony Albanese and Jim Chalmers’ claim that the government’s $14.6 AUD billion cost of living package will ease inflation pressures, warning the extra cash will drive up prices and interest rates by stimulating household spending (AFR)

• A key OPEC+ minister played down the need for further cuts to balance supply and demand, weeks after the organization shocked the oil market by announcing a round of large output reductions. (BBG)

Earnings & Data

• Westpac New Zealand has reported an after-tax profit of $426 million in the six months to the end of March. This represented a fall of 33% on the same period the previous year (NBR)

• Palantir Technologies Inc. rallied as much as 21% in premarket trading Tuesday after giving a strong earnings forecast and saying that demand for its new artificial intelligence tool due this month is “without precedent.” (BBG)

• Apollo Global Management Inc said on Tuesday its first-quarter adjusted net income fell 8% year-on-year, missing estimates, as a jump in management fees and investment income could not offset the impact of a drop in asset sales. (RT)

• Households will be paying twice as much as they do now on electricity within five years, the outgoing head of the Electricity Networks Association has forecast (Stuff)

• Figures from Worldline show consumer spending weakened towards the end of April. The annual growth rate dropped from 8.3% in March to 3.8% in April (Stuff)

• Wellington Airport passenger numbers have bounced back to 86% of pre-Covid levels, as the airport posts a profit of $25.2 million for the year (Stuff)

• The New Zealand dollar spiked higher after a report showed United States inflation was slowing, taking pressure off the Federal Reserve to hike interest rates at its meeting next month. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies, dipped 0.6% after data overnight on Wednesday showed the US consumer price index (CPI) rose at a 4.9% annual pace in April, slower than the 5% expected (Stuff)

• The average asking price for Christchurch apartments rose 16% to $748,700 over the year to April, according to the property website’s latest price index. In dollar terms, that was an increase of $101,050 (Stuff)

• UK's THG shares dive 20% as another suitor bites the dust (BBG)

News Summary

Monday

• Those serving in the New Zealand military are in for a reasonable pay rise courtesy of this month’s Budget (NBR)

• Craigs Investment Partners has signed up to house its data inside Microsoft’s burgeoning bevy of New Zealand-based data centres, just as the firm undergoes a major digital transformation into the cloud (NBR)

• India’s Go Airlines called on the country’s company law tribunal to urgently pass an order on its bankruptcy plea on Monday (RT)

Tuesday

• A student swept away on a school caving trip was meant to be rock climbing, but bad weather forced the trip underground instead, Stuff can reveal. (Stuff)

• Kaipara District Council's push to build a controversial waste to energy plant in or near Auckland involves the 41 percent Chinese-owned company aiming to build a $350 million equivalent in Canterbury. (RNZ)

• PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said the CEO of its Australian business had stepped down effective immediately after the auditor became embroiled in a scandal that involved leaking confidential government tax plans. (RT)

Wednesday

• The Commerce Commission is launching an investigation into potential breaches of the Fair Trading Act by retirement villages (Stuff)

• Two of New Zealand’s media powerhouses, Stuff and Sky Television, are teaming up for a special multimedia cross-channel offering dedicated to the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup (Stuff)

• New Zealand Rugby has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Japan Rugby Football Union to “explore strategic and commercial opportunities” including more matches, not just between national rep teams, but also between Super Rugby and Japan League One teams (NBR)

Thursday

• The Government needs to break up Countdown and Foodstuffs if it wants to significantly improve competition in the supermarket industry, Westpac researchers say (Stuff)

• House prices will not fall as much as previously expected, and the market downturn will not be as severe, economists say (Stuff)

• Billionaire Andrew Forrest’s signature renewable energy project, the $3 billion Clarke Creek wind farm in central Queensland, has been put on hold and workers on site told to “demobilise” (AFR)

Friday

• An influencer who staged a California plane crash to make a YouTube video of himself parachuting to safety has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing the investigation by destroying the wreckage, the US Justice Department said today (1 News)

• Tesla Inc. will need to fix almost every car it’s ever sold in China due to an issue with the vehicles’ acceleration systems (BBG)

• Netflix’s $2.5 billion USD investment in Korean content appeals to audiences worldwide (CNBC)

Weekend

• New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino says she is excited to help transform the business (RT)

• A truce between Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad has formed following the worst period of cross-boarder conflict since the 10-day war in 2021 (RT)

• The Lithium megamerger between Allkem and Livent is expected to create the world’s third largest lithium producer as lithium demand soars (AFR)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

Australia & New Zealand

• Air New Zealand will invest $3.5 billion in new aircraft and refurbishing its existing fleet over the next five years, chief executive Greg Foran says (Stuff)

• Kiwi church payment company Pushpay to delist after sale for over $1.6 billion (Stuff)

• ASX-listed Allkem, the lithium producer formerly known as Orocobre, has struck a $US10 billion ($15 billion) merger agreement with New York Stock Exchange-listed Livent Corp, Street Talk can reveal (AFR)

• Australia's Macquarie Group Ltd is looking to sell its North American port facilities business, Ceres Terminals, for about $1 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday citing sources familiar with the matter (RT)

• A deal to sell Good Spirits Hospitality’s trading assets is in its closing stages, according to the investment bank running the sale (NBR)

• Waterman Capital principals boost stake inAllied Farmers (NBR)

Key Global

• JD Sports Fashion has proposed buying France's Groupe Courir for an enterprise value of 520 million euros ($572 million), in what would be the British group's first acquisition since setting out ambitious expansion plans in February. (RT)

• U.S. private equity group KKR & Co Inc and Australia's Macquarie Asset Management are among potential bidders for the waste and recycling management arm of Singapore's energy group Sembcorp in a deal that could value the unit at around $500 million, said two sources with knowledge of the matter. (RT)

• South African specialist logistics property group Equites said on Tuesday that it plans to sell its logistics business in the United Kingdom as a way to unlock value amid rising interest rates impacting asset valuations. (RT)

• Buyout firm Anchorage Capital Partners is assessing an aquisition of cinema chain Hoytsfrom China’s Wanda Cinema Line, and has tabled a first-round bid, Street Talk can reveal (AFR)

• Peter Coleman will become chairman of the world’s third-largest lithium producer once the $15.7 billion merger of New York-listed Livent and Australia’s Allkem is completed this year (AFR)

• EU antitrust regulators are set to approve Microsoft Corp's $69 billion acquisition of Activision next week, with May 15 as the likeliest date, people familiar with the matter said (RT)

• Vitamin Shoppe owner Franchise Group Incwould be taken private by a group led by CEO Brian Kahn in a deal valued at about $2.6 billion, the company said on Wednesday (RT)

• Toshiba Corp said on Friday it was working with Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) to quickly complete a $15-billion USD buyout by the private equity firm, as the industrial conglomerate forecast another year of weak earnings (RT)

• Renault wants to attract further investors to its electric vehicle unit Ampere and premium sports brand Alpine, CEO Luca de Meo said on Thursday (RT)

VC & Fundraising

• Bain Capital is seeking to raise $4 billion USD for a new global “special situations fund” as the U.S. firm sees an opportunity to snap up distressed investments in a broad range of clash assets (RT)

• Venture capital firm Movac has raised $202 million for its latest venture capital fund, after lining up the New Zealand Super Fund, Fisher Funds, Generate KiwiSaver, and theGovernment Superannuation Fund as key institutional investors (NBR)

• The legal minds at Herbert Smith Freehillsexpect private equity will start buying venture capital-backed tech businesses, as PE funds seek to deploy funds and capital dries up in VC land (AFR)

• Brookfield Asset Management has raised $19 billion for new funds this year and says it’s relying heavily on cash-rich investors in the Middle East and Asia to fuel its growth (BBG)

• Blackstone Credit and Goldman Sachs Asset Management are expected to help bankroll TPG Capital’s mooted $700 million odd bolt-on acquisition for iNova Pharmaceuticals (AFR)

• A digital infrastructure provider backed by Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte is considering raising as much as $1 billion in a funding round before its potential initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter (BBG)

Equity Raises

Australia & New Zealand

• Investment banks Jarden and UBS could be leading a float of freight forwarder Mondiale VGL, as the company gears up for an IPO later this year (NBR)

• The Nasdaq-listed gaming business Light & Wonder will begin trading on the ASX by May end, after running through a set of fundie meetings in March arranged by Jarden, Goldman Sachs and Flagstaff Partners (AFR)

• Punchy growth forecasts, a restocked board and powerful in-house CRM systems. Welcome to this year’s chunkiest IPO contender, chemicals distributor Redox (AFR)

• Planning for Virgin Australia's upcoming initial public offering (IPO) is "well advanced", Chairman Ryan Cotton said on Wednesday in an internal email that also outlined bonus payments to the airline's shareholders and staff after a return to profit (RT)

• Melbourne-based cloud services specialist Lab3is preparing to raise money from external investors for the first time, seeking as much as $70 million to support growth via Wilson Advisory (AFR)

• Nickel explorer Chalice Mining was in a trading halt on Thursday, and quietly putting together a $60 million private placement to accelerate exploration in the second-half (AFR)

• Saudi Aramco is pushing back a planned Riyadh initial public offering of its energy-trading business, a deal that would have ranked as one of the world’s largest share sales this year, people with knowledge of the matter said (BBG)

Key Global

• Alibaba’s logistics arm aims to raise up to $2 billion via a listing in Hong Kong likely early next year (RT)

• A digital infrastructure provider backed by Singapore’s state-owned investment firm Temasek Holdings Pte is considering raising as much as $1 billion in a funding round before its potential initial public offering, according to people with knowledge of the matter (BBG)

• Abu Dhabi’s main energy company will sell a 15% stake in its maritime logistics unit in an initial public offering, kicking off the second listing of one of its businesses this year (BBG)

• Mobvoi, a Chinese artificial intelligence company and smart device maker, has selected banks for a Hong Kong initial public offering that could raise about $200 million to $300 million, according to people familiar with the matter (BBG)

• Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd. is close to paying A$730 million ($494 million) to its private equity owner Bain Capital, months before a possible listing in Sydney, according to a person familiar with the matter (BBG)

• Saudi Aramco has seen progress slow for the planned initial public offering (IPO) of its energy trading unit, two sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday (RT)

• SoftBank Group Corp. has started testing investor appetite for an initial public offering of British chip designer Arm Ltd., which could raise as much as $10 billion USD, people with knowledge of the matter said (BBG)

Debt, Restructuring & Bankruptcy

• ANZ and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank were fronting debt investors with new deals on Monday morning. ANZ was chasing a new 10-year Tier 2 wholesale subordinated deal, which would be denominated in Australian dollars (AFR)

• U.S. President Joe Biden and top Republican lawmakers will declare their positions face to face on Tuesday on raising the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt ceiling, with an unprecedented default looming in three weeks if Congress does not act. (RT)

• Anacacia Capital’s courier, warehousing and logistics provider Direct Couriers Group Pty Ltdis exploring a refinancing with incumbent lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia, while its buyer search drags on (AFR)

Job Board

New Zealand

• ASB rural banking graduate - Apply here

• Waterman Capital investment analyst - Apply here

Australia

• Citadel Securities graduate and intern roles - Apply here

• Goldman Sachs Investment Banking Intern - Apply here

• IMC graduate and intern roles - Apply here

• Jarden

  • Graduate role - Apply here

  • Summer internships - Apply here

• Optiver

  • Graduate role - Apply here

  • Internships - Apply here

The Daily Deck is sponsored by Industrial Equity, LLC