Brain Drain to Aussie Bound to Begin

Good Morning,

New Zealand and Australia announced a deal that will allow New Zealanders to apply for Australian citizenship after just four years, Lachlan Murdoch drops lawsuit against Crikey, the US has evacuated US diplomats and their families from Sudan & UK chain Pret A Manger has launched in India.

We have shortened the wrap-up this week with a full version, including more deals and US earnings available online. Please let us know what you think via the poll at the bottom!

Let’s jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

• The NZX was up 0.4% for the week after a late burst on Friday afternoon

• The Australian market finished down, breaking a three-week green streak (AFR)

• The US indexes finished down on a little week of trading as investors digested earnings (TRP)

• The STOXX Europe 600 index gained 0.45% as there was optimism about the economic outlook. Major European countries’ indexes were mixed (TRP)

• Japan’s stock market had a positive week, with both major indexes up (TRP)

• China’s market was down for the week due to mixed economic data and negative sentiment from news the US may introduce more investment barriers (TRP)

• Rakuten Bank Ltd. surged 38% in its debut in Tokyo on Friday following Japan’s largest initial public offering since 2018 (BBG)

Earnings & Data

• Business collapses in Australia hit a 3½-year high last month, to jump back above pre-pandemic trends for the first time (AFR)

• Company failures in New Zealand for the three months that ended March 31st climbed to their highest level since 2020 (NBR)

• Profit at broking and investment firm Craigs Investment Partners has nearly halved after brokerage fees fell by $23m (NZD). Craigs, which sold its QuayStreet Asset Management unit to the NZX late last year, today reported operating revenue of $238.4m (NZD) in the year ended December 31, 2022. That was down 5% on the previous year as brokerage fee revenue fell to $49.3m (NZD) from $72.8m (NZD) (NBR)

• NZ inflation at 6.7% in the three months to March was significantly lower than the market, and Reserve Bank, predicted (Stuff)

• UK retail sales fell 0.9% in March (BBC)

For US earnings, out the online version.

News Summary

Monday

• The NZ retail sector is feeling increasingly pessimistic, with almost half of the businesses surveyed in an industry report missing their sales targets in the first quarter of the year (Stuff)

• Sydney has lost their ranking as Australia's biggest city, as Melbourne now holds the title (BBC)

• China demonstrated an electromagnetic gun that fires projectiles shaped like coins, a weapon state media said could be used to break up violent public disturbances (BBG)

Tuesday

• A strategic partnership has been announced to help accelerate the rollout of electric vehicle fast chargers around New Zealand (NBR)

• An unexpected glut in the global LNG market has added to the woes of Australia’s gas producers (AFR)

• UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is under investigation over allegations he failed to disclose shares his wife owns (Stuff)

Wednesday

• The NZ Government is planning to make it easier for renewable energy projects to get resource consent (Stuff)

• The Reserve Bank of Australia is set for major change, with interest rate control potentially being given to a panel of experts (9 News)

• Fox News has settled Dominion's defamation case for $787.5m (USD) (BBC)

Thursday

• A rise in the number of safety incidents at Port Nelson is a “huge disappointment”, the port’s chief executive says (Stuff)

• Amazon.com Inc must face a proposed U.S. nationwide class action accusing the company of illegally monitoring private Facebook groups (RT)

• Credit Suisse was accused on Thursday of having "learnt nothing" from the 2008 financial crisis on the first day of a trial at London's High Court over residential mortgage-backed securities (RT)

Friday

• NZ customs has seized about 50kg of cocaine found hidden in a ship that docked in Tauranga this morning (1 News)

• Mark Speakman elected as new leader of NSW Liberal Party (9 News)

• UK Deputy PM Dominic Raab quits after investigation into staff bullying complaints (Stuff)

Weekend

• New Zealand and Australia announced a deal that will allow New Zealanders to apply for Australian citizenship after just four years (Stuff)

• Lachlan Murdoch drops lawsuit against Crikey (BBC)

• The US has evacuated US diplomats and their families from Sudan (BBC)

• UK chain Pret A Manger has launched in India (BBC)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

Key Australian & New Zealand

• TPG Capital has officially pulled its $1.8B (AUD) bid for InvoCare (AFR)

• AustralianSuper will help mining executive Raleigh Finlayson consolidate the gold district around his childhood home in Western Australia under a revised $600m (AUD) deal with struggling miner St Barbara (AFR)

• Listed metal recycling group Sims Limited has hired Deloitte to run its mooted sell-down in biogas business LMS Energy, which analysts say could be worth some $400m (AUD) (AFR)

• Wesfarmers has put in a $3.15 (AUD) per share ($169m AUD) bid via a scheme for Silk Laser Clinics. This is a 30.2% premium to the last close. It has already secured due diligence and backing from major shareholder Wilson Asset Management (AFR)

• KordaMentha, appointed to sell off Scott’s Refrigerated Logistics is in the final throes of the sale of 1800-odd trucks and trailers, which will recoup more than $100m (AUD) (AFR)

• Michael Hill Jewellers has purchased Melbourne's Bevilles Jewellers in a $45m (AUD) all-cash deal (AFR)

• US Fund Repertoire Partners increases stake in NZME to become a major shareholder (Herald)

• The competition regulator has confirmed that it has delayed its decision by seven weeks on whether ANZ Bank should be allowed to take over Suncorp Bank, giving it more time to consider the risk of potential collusion, which is coming into sharper focus (AFR)

Key Global

• French shipping group CMA CGM is offering $5.48B (USD) for the logistics unit of Bollore (RT)

• IKEA stores owner Ingka Group will spend €2B expanding in the United States over the next three years (RT)

• Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. has submitted a £2.1 billion takeover proposal for Middle Eastern credit card processor Network International Holdings Plc, topping a rival buyout consortium (BBG)

• Britain's competition regulator said on Tuesday it has launched a "Phase 1" probe into Amazon.com Inc's planned $1.7B (USD) acquisition of iRobot Corp, which makes the Roomba vacuum cleaner (RT)

• Saudi Telecom Co. agreed to buy a portfolio of tower assets from United Group for €1.22 billion as the carrier expands in Europe (BBG)

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Urban Investment Group teamed up with the Michaels Organization and the Community Development Trust to buy a $1.15B (USD) portfolio of 90 affordable housing complexes (BBG)

• Volkswagen takes on China’s EV market with a higher-end car and $1B (USD) investment (CNBC)

SPAC

• Elenium Automation is plotting a Nasdaq listing with help from a home-grown special purpose acquisition company in a deal that the Melbourne digital identification start-up hopes will boost its valuation by 54 per cent to $185m (AUD)(AFR)

VC & Fundraising

• Quadrant pitched a new private equity fund and is looking for $300m (AUD) (AFR)

• Soul Patts pours $200m (AUD) into new Pengana global private credit offering (AFR)

• Novalith, a Sydney startup, has raised $23m (AUD) to build a processing plant that uses soda water to extract battery-grade lithium from ores (AFR)

• Propeller has banked $22m (AUD) from industry stalwarts Blackbird Ventures and long-time investors Costanoa Ventures, joined by Aware Super and the personal investments of Aconex founder Leigh Jasper and Canva founder Cliff Obrecht (AFR)

• Cortical Labs, the creators of Dishbrain, a biological computer that fuses living brain cells onto computing devices, has banked $10m (USD) (AFR)

• Brand tracking startup Tracksuit is eyeing further expansion to the UK and US following their $7.5m (NZD) seed raise (NBR)

• Alium Capital’s serum outfit Boost Lab has merged with tbh Skin Care via a $5m series B funding round (AFR)

Equity Raises

Australia & New Zealand

• Rugby Australia is looking to raise up to $250m (AUD) in outside capital and has commenced dialogue with private equity firms, including Silver Lake, CVC Capital Partners and Andrew Forrest’s Tattarang (AFR)

• Mesoblast is wanting to raise at least $37m (AUD) (AFR)

• Listed lithium explorer Latin Resources was drumming up investors for a $30m (AUD) placement to spend on its Brazilian project (AFR)

• Galena Minning is raising $18m (AUD) via a placement (AFR)

• Virgin Australia's owners, Bain Capital, have abruptly cancelled plans to put the airline's management in front of potential investors in an IPO, even as the window for an ASX listing in the second half of this year closes (AFR)

Key Global

• Chinese liquor company ZJLD Group Inc. raised HK$5.3 billion ($675 million) in Hong Kong’s largest initial public offering this year, after pricing shares near the bottom of a marketed range (BBG)

Debt, Restructuring & Bankruptcy

• Sunnova Energy International Inc. rose as much as 14% after getting a conditional $3B (USD) partial loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy to provide solar to less wealthy American households and communities (BBG)

• Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has priced a $1.25 billion five-year Kangaroo bond, in its third debt deal on the Australian shores (AFR)

• AGL is trying to spark interest in a debt deal. It pitched with BofA and Commonwealth Bank operatives in tow (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

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