Treaty of Waitangi defaced!

December 18, 2023

Good Morning,

S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq Continue 7-Week Winning Streak amid global economic optimism. European Stocks Rally 0.92% on anticipation of rate cuts, while Japan's Nikkei and TOPIX indexes experience positive growth. 12 individuals apprehended after a section of the treaty of waitangi exhibition at Te Papa is defaced.

Let’s jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

  • Bull market on fire: S&P 500, Nasdaq, Dow extend winning streak to 7 weeks. (TRP)

  • European stocks climbed 0.92% over the week, fueled by optimism for central bank rate cuts next year (TRP)

  • Japan's Nikkei 225 and TOPIX indexes both ended the week higher, with gains of 2.1% and 0.3%, respectively. (TRP)

Earnings & Data

  • Microsoft New Zealand’s revenue has surged to $1.2 billion for the year to June 30 – a more than $121 million increase on the previous year. (Herald)

  • Te Arikinui Pullman: Auckland's new $200m luxury hotel opens. The hotel, at Auckland Airport, is expecting an 80% occupancy rate at an average of $510 per room which would equate to about $46.2m in annual revenue from accommodation alone. (NBR)

  • The Warehouse may be taking on the duopoly in certain grocery categories, but it is having little to no effect on overall prices, exclusive data shows. (NBR)

  • Washington H Soul Pattinson has upped its stake in Perpetual to 14.99 per cent, less than a week after it revealed it had bid for its prized corporate trust and wealth assets. (AFR)

  • Air New Zealand says slowing passenger demand and competition are cutting into its earnings, and business could get tougher. (RNZ)

News Summary

Monday

  • 12 people have been arrested after a part of the Treaty of Waitangi exhibition at Te Papa was defaced. (RNZ)

  • Australia plans to halve migrant intake, tighten student visa rules. (RT)

  • Nvidia to expand ties with Vietnam, support AI development. (RT)

Tuesday

  • Heavy rain and strong winds hit Wellington and Lower Hutt as severe weather moved up the country. (Stuff)

  • West Australian Premier Roger Cook says well-funded environmental groups are working to divide Aboriginal communities and use them to oppose the development of major resources projects across the country. (AFR)

  • Crown Resorts, the gaming giant owned by New York-headquartered private equity firm Blackstone, is investigating its chief executive, Ciaran Carruthers, over allegations he intervened to allow patrons back into its casinos even after security had removed them. (AFR)

Wednesday

  • William “Bird” Hines’ Head Hunter son must forfeit nearly $90,000 of “tainted” cash he earned from his criminal activities - including $20,000 police found in his underpants. (Herald)

  • The cyclone is producing destructive wind gusts to the Far North Queensland coast as it slowly makes landfall in the vicinity of Wujal Wujal, just north of Cape Tribulation. (9 News)

  • Joe Biden has given his starkest warning yet that Republicans are playing directly into Russian president Vladimir Putin’s hands by threatening to end military aid to Ukraine. (Guardian)

Thursday

  • Kiwibank revises up house price forecast due to 'massive' migration (Stuff)

  • Bitcoin surge stokes huge volumes for Aussie crypto exchanges (AFR)

  • In photos: The planes China hopes will rival Boeing and Airbus (Stuff)

Friday

  • 91kg Dunedin cocaine bust ends in breakfast arrest. (RNZ)

  • Employers spoilt for choice in tight job market. (RNZ)

  • Confident Putin declares ‘victory will be ours’ in Ukraine. (AFR)

Weekend

  • Exploited Uzbek migrants given new hope thanks to help from Stuff readers (Stuff)

  • ASX to rise even as Fed-fuelled surge shows signs of overheating (AFR)

  • US SEC says no to new crypto rules; Coinbase asks court to review (RT)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

Australia & New Zealand

  • Outspoken stockbroker Angus Aitken has thrown his weight behind Washington H. Soul Pattinson’s $3 billion bid for Perpetual, and whacked its investment bankers in the process. (AFR)

  • A $1.70 per share takeover offer for Rakon has been characterised as “opportunistic” by Forsyth Barr analysts James Lindsay and Will Twiss. (NBR)

  • Several Woodside Energy investors have approached chairman Richard Goyder and senior management to voice concern about the oil and gas producer’s potential A$80 billion merger with smaller rival Santos, arguing the tie-up makes no sense. (AFR)

  • Private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners is said to be investing NZ$245 million for a 35% stake in a combined Jarden/JBWere NZ wealth management business, valuing the overall new entity at $700m. (NBR)

  • Quadrant Private Equity has ruled off a refinance for its outside school hours care provider Junior Adventure Group (JAG). (AFR)

  • Hallenstein Glasson shareholders have rocked the board of directors' boat but avoided tipping it over, with a large number of votes cast against Hallenstein Glasson Holdings founder Tim Glasson. (NBR)

  • The transition away from fossil fuels is only accelerating, and so too are the opportunities for the owners and operators of big clean energy portfolios. One of those, Global Power Generation Australia, is heading for the auction block next year, courtesy of its owners Naturgy and Wren House Infrastructure. (AFR)

  • Men’s health platform, founded by former consultants Gabriel Baker and David Narunsky, has appointed Gavin Jacobson’s Monash Advisory to explore exit options, which could result in a change of control. (AFR)

  • Australian competition watchdog approves Woolworths' stake buy in Petstock (RT)

  • Australian competition regulator approves Viva Energy's acquisition of OTR Group (RT)

Key Global

  • An investor group consisting of Arkhouse Management and Brigade Capital has made a US$5.8 billion offer to take department store chain Macy's private. (RT)

  • Hong Kong's Vinda International said on Friday Indonesian billionaire Sukanto Tanoto-owned Royal Golden Eagle has made an offer to acquire the tissue and diaper maker for up to HK$26.13 billion (US$3.35 billion). (RT)

  • TPG Capital spruiks for new Asia growth fund, seeks A$1.5b. (AFR)

Other Global

  • Toronto Stock Exchange operator TMX buys remaining stake in VettaFi for $848 mln (RT)

  • TikTok has agreed to spend US$840 million to buy most of Indonesian tech conglomerate GoTo's e-commerce unit. (RT)

  • Being AI is hoping to join the NZX through a backdoor listing through Sean Joyce’s Ascension Capital in a deal that’s worth $45m. (NBR)

  • William Blair and Allier Capital are collaborating to explore strategic alternatives for RP Infrastructure, the construction and infrastructure advisory business of Anacacia Capital. (AFR)

  • Ikea’s parent group, Ingka Group, has been approved to purchase two new blocks of land in different parts of the country for about $27.9 million, bolstering its forestry portfolio. (NBR)

  • The sale of Yealands Wine Group by its owner Marlborough Lines is still not considered “highly probable”, 16 months after it was offered to the market. (NBR)

  • Keppel Infrastructure Holdings, the Singapore-listed asset management giant, is poised to acquire family-owned bus operator Ventura Group. (AFR)

  • Eric Shehadeh, head of mergers and acquisitions at First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC, is leaving after less than seven months at the United Arab Emirates’ largest lender, according to people with knowledge of the matter. (BBG)

VC & Fundraising

  • Paris-based VC firm Singular raises US$435 million for its second fund. (TC)

  • ASX-listed IT solutions business Atturra is seeking to raise $50 million and has hired Morgans and Unified Capital Partners to oversee the deal. (AFR)

  • The Climate Venture Capital Fund is finding plenty of investment opportunities on both sides of the Tasman, with nearly $2.5 million invested in its first full year of operations. (RNZ)

  • Auckland start-up, Inviol, has raised NZ$2.5 million in seed money for its AI technology that helps customers like Woolworths, Placemakers and Vulcan Steel monitor and reduce workplace risks. It was a case of ‘paying it forward’ as Kiwi entrepreneurs who had enjoyed earlier hits chipped in with funds. (Herald)

Equity Raises

Australia & New Zealand

  • Street Talk understands Australia’s top bankers can’t stop talking about the former UBS banker and major Sigma shareholder’s apparent stroke of genius on Project Orbit. Naturally, these are the same people who have been chasing a Chemist Warehouse IPO for almost a decade and just lost out on a big pile of fees, so you can excuse them for being a bit salty. (AFR)

  • Atlas Iron founder David Flanagan is preparing to take the helm at Arrow Minerals. (AFR)

  • Rare earths hopeful Arafura, which secured backing from Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting exactly one year ago, is seeking $20 million in fresh funds. (AFR)

  • Loscam shareholders going around the auction block - once again (AFR)

  • Medical device company CathRx gathers fresh funds (AFR)

Debt, Restructuring & Bankruptcy

  • Papua New Guinea's state-owned petroleum company, Kumul Petroleum, is in advanced talks with Chinese banks to help fund its stakes in the two major liquefied natural gas projects in the country. The state-owned venture must raise roughly US$1.34 billion to buy the remainder of a 5% stake in the project from Santos. (RT)

  • Europe’s biggest money manager is counting on Donald Trump’s return and Javier Milei’s “shock therapy” to pay off big for bond investors in Ukraine and Argentina, in a bet that right-wing populism will determine the most compelling stories in emerging markets next year. (BBG)

  • Office space provider The Executive Centre has increased its planned loan deal to $280 million, with the proceeds for refinancing debt and capital expenditure. (BBG)

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