Amazon an Illegal Monopoly? đź’¸

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Admin
September 28, 2023

Good Morning,

Employment confidence in NZ hit its lowest point since December 2020, Australian CPI came in at 5.2%, Donald Trump has been found to have committed fraud, Biden’s dog has bitten another Secret Service agent, JP Morgan has settled Epstein lawsuits, US regulators have sued Amazon & UBS and Credit Suisse face growing issues over alleged Russian sanction evasion.

Let's jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

  • The NZ market fell as employment confidence fell (GR)

  • The Aussie market also fell as Star Entertainment was down 15.3% (AFR)

  • US stocks dove in their worst day since March after August homes sales and consumer confidence came in worse-than-expected, adding to the fears over the US economy

News Summary

  • Customers will be refunded nearly $480k (NZD) by Vocus Group (Stuff)

  • BNZ has increased its home loan rates again (Stuff)

  • Employment confidence in NZ hit its lowest point since December 2020 (GR)

  • Geneva Finance subsidiary Quest Insurance Group Limited is being investigated by the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (NZX)

  • Australian CPI came in at 5.2% YoY rising for the first time in four months. It was in line with expectation (BBG)

  • Jacinta Allan has been sworn in as the premier of Victoria (9 News)

  • Qantas chair Richard Goyder has pushed back against calls for him to resign (AFR)

  • Grant Samuel’s co-CEO Guy Ferguson is set to leave the firm on Friday (AFR)

  • Donald Trump has been found to have committed fraud (BBC)

  • Six young people are suing 32 countries over climate change (BBC)

  • Biden’s dog has bitten another Secret Service agent (BBC)

  • Hollywood writers have agreed to stop striking after signing a deal (BBC)

  • Rosebank oil field has been given the go-ahead (BBC)

  • US regulators have sued Amazon as they believe it is illegally maintaining monopoly power (BBC)

  • JP Morgan has settled Epstein lawsuits with the US Virgin Islands for $75m (USD) and with Jes Staley for an undisclosed sum (BBC)

  • North Korea will expel US solider who ran across the border (BBG)

  • China has put Evergrande’s founder under police control (BBG)

  • Mitsubishi Motors will stop making cars in China (BBG)

  • UBS and Credit Suisse face growing issues over alleged Russian sanction evasion (BBG)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

  • PE firms GTCR and Apex Partners are exploring options, including a full or partial sale of insurance broker AssuredPartners. A deal could value the business at up to $16 billion (USD) (BBG)

  • Italian pharmaceutical company Alfasigma has agreed to buy US liver disease drugmaker Intercept for $794m (USD) (RT)

  • PE firm CVC is considering the sale of its controlling stake in Indian hospital chain HealthCare Global. Its stake is worth ~$358m (USD), and they could seek a 20% premium (BBG)

  • Stockbroker Euroz Hartleys traded 35.2 million shares in Liontown Resources after the market closed at $3 (AUD) a share. The trade was valued at $105.5m (AUD). Fingers are pointing to Gina Rinehart as the buyer (AFR)

  • Jim Ratcliffe is reworking his offer to buy Manchester United (BBG)

  • European infrastructure investor DIF Capital Partners wants to sell its Australian renewables portfolio (AFR)

  • Lithium Power International, an ASX-listed South American explorer, has retained Canaccord Genuity to play defence as Codelco, the Chilean government’s mining group circles (AFR)

  • Syft Technologies, a scientific equipment supplier, has mandated EC M&A to undertake a review of the full range of strategic options (NBR)

VC & Fundraising

  • William Wu is trying to raise $5m (USD) for a generative AI photography business called Artisse (AFR)

Equity Raises

  • OpenAI is seeking a new valuation, which could be as great as $90B (USD), as it looks to sell shares (WSJ)

  • Birkenstock is gearing up for an IPO roadshow. It could be seeking a valuation of $10B (USD) (BBG)

  • Star Entertainment’s largest shareholder, Bruce Mathieson, has passed in its latest capital raise. The institutional leg comprised $565m (AUD) of the $750m (AUD) total (AFR)

  • Eroad has completed its ~$50m (NZD) capital raise, but 20m shares have gone to underwriters Goldman Sachs and Cannacord Genuity (NBR)

Debt

  • Citibank has raised $5B (USD) selling fixed- and floating-rate notes in three parts (BBG)

  • Banks and private lenders are competing for a $4.2B (USD) debt deal to finance a potential take-private of European classifieds company Adevinta (BBG)

  • Rugby Australia will take on up to $60m (AUD) in debt as it puts 20% equity sale on hold until 2026 (NBR)

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