Crimea Bridge Goes Bang

Good Morning,

Local election results have come in across New Zealand over the weekend, Australia Post has suspended all mail arriving via sea, US job data was stronger than expected, Joe Biden has pardoned all prior federal offences for simple marijuana possession, Russia has ramped up security after the Crimea bridge blast, Air New Zealand has had a phenomenal start to the financial year, the Reserve Bank of Australia lifted rates by 25 basis points, the NZ Reserve Bank hiked the official cash rate by 50 basis points, Australian imports from China hit a record $10.6 billion AUD in August & venture capital funding is down almost 75% YOY in Australia.

There is also sport galore at the moment with the Women's rugby world cup, lots of cricket before the T20 world cup, football & F1.

Before The Bell

Markets

• A strong start to the week for the markets was hit with headwinds later on in the week. However, markets crawled higher overall. The ASX was the notable expectation posting its best week in two years.

• Next week is looking rocky after a better-than-expected US job report has increased expectations of a 75 basis point hike by the Fed.

News Summary

Monday

• Air New Zealand has had a phenomenal start to the financial year and is heading for a significant profit. (Stuff)

• ASB has given away a $150m (NZD) farm it owns in Auckland to Mount Albert Grammar. (Herald)

• Kwasi Kwarteng has u-turned on plans to scrap the 45% tax rate. (BBC)

• Credit Suisse Group's credit risk rose to record highs, and the stock price hit a low. (BBG)

Tuesday

• There is a nationwide recall of Pams frozen berries in New Zealand as Hepatitis A infections rise. (Stuff)

• University staff in New Zealand will stage a half-day strike on Thursday. (Stuff)

• The Reserve Bank of Australia lifted rates by 25 basis points to 2.6%. (AFR)

• Australia Post has entered the broadband market. (9 News)

• US manufacturing activity grew at its slowest pace in two and half years, with the manufacturing PMI down 1.9 points to 50.9 in September. (RT)

Wednesday

• The NZ Reserve Bank hiked the official cash rate by 50 basis points to 3.5%. (Stuff)

• NZ house prices are falling faster than expected. (Stuff)

• Putin approved the Ukraine annexation plan. (RT)

Thursday

• Grant Robertson is confident that New Zealand can avoid a recession. (BBG)

• The RBNZ is hawkish for further rate hikes. (NBR)

• Australian imports from China hit a record $10.6 billion AUD in August. (AFR)

• A bullish options trader may have sparked the S&P 500's bounce overnight. (BBG)

• Global bond funds saw their biggest outflows in two decades. (RT)

Friday

• ANZ has lifted home loan and saving rates in New Zealand. (Stuff)

• Venture capital funding is down almost 75% YOY in Australia. (AFR)

• The UK has defied climate warnings and opened a new licensing round for oil and gas exploration. (BBC)

• The number of insolvent companies in England and Wales has hit its highest levels since 2009. (RT)

• Samsung has warned of a 32% drop in profits as demand shrinks. (BBC)

• Credit Suisse has offered to buy $3B (USD) of its own debt. (BBG)

Weekend

• Local election results have come in across New Zealand over the weekend. (Stuff)

• The Australian state government of Victoria is targeting a recruitment drive for Kiwi teachers and healthcare workers via advertisements in Auckland. (Stuff)

• The plasterboard shortage in New Zealand looks set to end. (Stuff)

• Australia Post has suspended all mail arriving via sea due to an increase in prohibited items. (9 News)

• Australian PM Anthony Albanese has said his government's position hasn't changed on stage-three tax cuts since their election campaign promised to support them. (9 News)

• WA nickel and cobalt explorer GME has signed an offtake agreement with air giant Stellantis. (AFR)

• Russia has ramped up security after the Crimea bridge blast. (BBC)

• The US has ramped up the curb in chip sales to China. (BBC)

• US job data was stronger than expected as even though job growth slowed, unemployment levels also dropped. This has raised the expectation for a 75 basis point hike by the Fed. (RT)

• Joe Biden has pardoned all prior federal offences for simple marijuana possession. (AX)

• The financial crimes watchdog has added the Congo to the money laundering watch list. (RT)

• The State-run TV has been hacked in Iran with a protest instead aired against the current leader. (BBC)

• North Korea has fired two more ballistic missiles. (RT)

• Max Verstappen has won his second Formula One title after winning the Japanese Grand Prix. (Suff)

• The Black Caps have beaten Bangladesh and lost to Pakistan in their two tri-T20 games this weekend. (Stuff)

• England has beaten Australia in a gripping T20. (Sky)

Deal Flow

Investments/ M&A

• The American Tower Group is weighing up entering the race for a stake in Vodafone Group's wireless tower unit, which is valued at $12.6B (USD). (BBG)

• HSBC is exploring the sale of its Canadian unit. It could bring in as much as $10B (USD). (BBG)

• Blackstone is in talks to buy Emerson's assets for $10B (USD). (BBG)

• Vodafone and CK Hutchison, the owner of Three UK, have accelerated talks of combining their UK business. A deal could be worth ~$6.7B (USD). (RT)

• Baring PE Asia offered to purchase DXC Technology which has a nearly $6B (USD) current market cap. (RT)

• Prosus, a global internet group, has cancelled its $4.7B (USD) acquisition of Indian payments firm BillDesk after conditions were not met. (BBG)

• Sumitomo, a Japanese conglomerate, has offered to buy the remaining shares of pharmaceutical company Myovant at $22.75 (USD), implying a $2.4B (USD) equity value. (BBG)

• India is offering to sell a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank which is currently valued at $5.6B (USD). (BBG)

• L3Harris Technologies, an aerospace and defence company, has agreed to buy geostationary satellite company Viasta's Data Links Unit for $1.96B (USD). (BBG)

• Brookfield Asset Management has taken a minority stake in independent publisher Primary Wave Music and committed $1.7B(USD) to buy copyrights. (WSJ)

• Providence Equity Partners, a PE firm, has won the ~$1.36B (USD) auction for French software firm A2Mac1. (RT)

• South Korean Internet giant Naver Corp has agreed to buy online secondhand marketplace Poshmark Inc in a deal worth ~$1.2B (USD). (BBG)

• Assa Aboly, a Swedish lockmaker, is considering selling its Yale and Emtek lock brands in a deal that could be worth between $1-$2B (USD) to try and win US approval for its Spectrum deal. (RT)

• JPMorgan has been told it would need to pay $1B (USD) for full ownership of China International Funds Management, its Chinese mutual fund joint venture. (RT)

• Link Group has received a $1B (AUD) non-binding bid for its corporate markets unit. The most obvious suitor is Dye and Durham. (AFR)

• Telenor, a telecommunication company, has sold a 30% stake in its Norwegian fibre network to a consortium led by PE firm KKR & insurance company Oslo Pensjonsforsikring for ~$1B (USD). (BBG)

• The owner of Parfums de Marly, a luxury scent maker, is weighing up a sale. It could be valued at more than $495m (USD). (BBG)

• Mark Wahlberg-backed F45 Training Holdings, a fitness chain, has received a $385m (USD) take-private offer from existing shareholder Kennedy Lewis Investment Management. (RT)

• Brazilian power company Copel is set to acquire two wind farms from EDP Renovaveis Brasil in a ~$345m (USD) deal. (RT)

• Interfor, a Canadian lumber producer, has agreed to buy Chaleur Forest Products in a $236.4m (USD) deal. (RT)

• Australian mid-market buyout firm Next Capital has purchased online comparison business Compare Club in a deal worth upwards of $100m (AUD). (AFR)

• Australian-based sales software group Bigtincan has made an offer for software company LiveTiles. It is believed to be a cash or scrip deal offering 8¢ (AUD) a share which is a 50% premium. It would value the equity at $70m (AUD). (AFR)

• AstraZeneca will pay a 660% premium for US-based gene therapy developer LogicBio Therapeutics, bringing the total cost to $68m (USD). (RT)

• McGrath Estate Agents will buy a $7m (AUD) stake in its Central Coast franchisee. (AFR)

• Richard Teatum, an English entrepreneur, has bought an 8.9% stake in the retail business Joules Group for over $1m (USD). (BBG)

• Mizuho is in talks to buy 20% stake in Rakuten Securities.(BBG)

• Chinese automotive company Zhejiang Geely has bought a 7.6% stake in Aston Martin. (RT)

• There has been more buying of ASX-listed West Africa gold play Tietto Minerals shares as Petra Capital crossed the 30.4m share mark. Fingers point to Zhaojin Mining Industry Company or Chijin International (HK) Limited. (AFR)

• Chinese crypto mogul Leon Li has sold his controlling stake in cryptocurrency exchange firm Huobi. (BBG)

• Pimco, Sixth Street and investor group Centerbridge Partners are among the bidders on the shortlist for Credit Suisse's securitised product group. (BBG)

• CVS, a retail pharmacy and healthcare provider, is in exclusive talks to buy healthcare provider Cano Health. (BBG)

• Brookdale Senior Living is exploring options including a sale. (BBG)

• London-listed IT firm Softline said it would sell its Russian business to its founder Igor Borovikov. (RT)

• Softbank is weighing a sale of its stake in Spanish-language TV broadcaster TelevisaUnivision. (BBG)

• Credit Suisse is exploring the sale of storied hotel Mandarin Oriental Savoy. (BBG)

• Affinity Equity, a pan-Asian PE firm, is interested in timezone and bowling alleys owner TEEG. The Carlyle Group are also said to be interested. (AFR)

• ASX-listed VC firm Powerhouse Ventures have had its shares suspended after it failed to provide audited financial statements. The CEO said the statements should be with the exchange by or before the 5th of October. (NBR)

• Sydney buyout firm Crescent Capital is looking for an exit from Hall Contracting. (AFR)

• Asahi, a beer and software giant, has purchased StrangeLove, a premium low-calorie soft drink and mixers group. (AFR)

• Hedge fund Engine Capital wants a merger between the two gaming companies, Light & Wonder and Sciplay. (BBG)

• Wafra, a Kuwait-backed alternative asset manager, has purchased a minority stake in PE firm Oak Hill Capital. (BBG)

• Bertelsmann, a German media giant, has decided not to sell its stake in French TV group M6. (BBG)

• Vodafone has confirmed its potential merger with rival telecommunication company Three UK. (BBG)

• Phoenix Sun's owner Robert Sarver is trying to sell the team. (BBG)

• Polish refiner PKN Orlen expects its merger with Polish gas firm PGNiG to occur within weeks. (RT)

• Greece has initiated the process of selling its stake in Volos port. (RT)

• Sika, a selling admixture business, expects to complete a sale of its MBCC assets in the first half of next year. (RT)

• Livingbridge PE, a PE firm, has lined up for Mercury Capital's marketing research services business FiftyFive5 ahead of its auction. (AFR)

• Westland Milk, a subsidiary of China's Yili, has bought Waikato butter exporter Canary Foods. (Herald)

• HSBC looks into selling its operations in Canada. (BBG)

• India's competition regulator approves merger between the Indian unit of Sony and Zee Entertainment Enterprises. (RT)

• Elon Musk proposes moving forward with his Twitter deal. (AFR)

• California oil producer Berry Corp is exploring strategic options that could result in a sale. (RT)

• RattanIndia, an electrical company, will buy the remaining stake in electric motorcycle maker Revolt. (RT)

• Activist investor fund Petrus Advisers have taken a stake in Temenos, a Swiss banking software specialist. It questioned their ability to regain investor confidence and boost the share price. (BBG)

VC & Fundraising

• Tiger Global is targeting $6B (USD) for its new venture capital fund. (BBG)

• Antin, a PE firm, has raised more than $5B (USD) for its latest flagship fund that aims to invest in the energy, telecom, transport and social infrastructure sectors. (RT)

• Venture capital firm 83North has raised $400m (USD) for a new fund. (BBG)

• Agtech startup Inari finds $124m of new funding at $1.5 billion valuation. (AFN)

• Telehealth business InstantScripts which provides online medical prescriptions, is hunting for a new owner in a deal that could be worth ~$200m (AUD). (AFR)

• The outdoor navigation startup onX raised an $87.4 million Series B investment which was led by Summit Partners. (PRN)

• Tally, a startup that automates credit card payments, has raised $80m (USD) at an $855m (USD) valuation. Sway Ventures led the round. (BBG)

• Liquid Death, a water startup, has raised $70m (USD) at a $700m (USD) valuation. Science Ventures led the raise. (BBG)

• Australian VC firm Antler is sounding investors' interest for a second fund with a $60m (AUD) raise on the cards. (AFR)

• Vehicle subscription business Splend has signed a $15m (AUD) funding package with MA Growth Ventures. (AFR)

• Body composition scanning business Evolt 360 has raised $12 million (AUD) through private funding. (AFR)

• Behemoth Brewing Company, a New Zealand independent brewery, is seeking to raise $3m (NZD) via the investment platform Snowball Effect. (NBR)

• An Australian couple who founded the Global Voluntary Disclosure Project has received $3m (AUD) to roll out their smartwatches across the US. These watches allow disabled and vulnerable people to share data with first responders. They have also hired Clinton Capital Partners to raise a $10m (AUD) series A next year. (AFR)

• Aimer, an on-the-farm coach, developed by New Zealanders Jermey and Michelle Bryant, has received $1m (NZD) from agrifood tech accelerator and investorSprout. (NBR)

• Early-stage VC firm Investible has backed Kite Magnetics and 7 other companies that are climate tech-focused. (AFR)

• Entrepreneur Anna Mowbray has invested in NZ healthcare startup Health Now which allows consumers to split the payment of medical visits. (Herald)

Equity Raise

• Battery maker CALB opens flat after a $1.3 billion (USD) IPO. (BBG)

• Saudi Arabian utility company Marafiq has fully covered its $897m (USD) IPO in hours. (BBG)

• KKR has agreed to fund cybersecurity firm NetSPI with $500 million (USD). (BBG)

• Thai meet producer Betagro is planning to raise $462m (USD) in its Bangkok IPO. (BBG)

• Japanese chip firm Socionext has priced at the top range of its IPO and raised $461m (USD). (BBG)

• Blood biotech Aegros has mapped out its $300m + (AUD) ASX IPO plan for the third quarter of next year. First, it will raise $30m across two funding rounds. (AFR)

• Seven Group is seeking to raise $250 million (AUD) through exchangeable notes. (AFR)

• Hydrogen firm Calvera is seeking a €150 million in initial listing. (BBG)

• De Grey Mining was chasing $130m (AUD) in a placement followed by an additional $20m (AUD) share purchase plan. (AFR)

• Yarra Private Capital Discovery Fund looks to raise $100m for the pre-IPO fund (AFR)

• Aurelia Metals, an ASX listed base metals play is planning to raise $60m (AUD). (AFR)

• Pub landlord Harvest Hotels is seeking $42m (AUD). (AFR)

• Allegiance Coal was seeking $33.6m at a 42% discount. (AFR)

• Graphite play Talga Group is seeking interest in a $20 million (AUD) share placement. (AFR)

• Veterinary pharmaceutical company Avet aims to raise $10 million to acquire a bundle of Zoetis's products. (AFR)

• Alchemy Resources, a lithium and gold explorer, asked for $4m (AUD) via a share placement at a 24.2% discount. (AFR)

• NZX-listed UK-focused coffee chain Cooks Coffee Co is set to raise $3m (NZD) through a private placement and a renounceable rights offering. This is before it becomes dual-listed as it aims to list in the UK on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market this quarter. (NBR)

• Atlas Arteria's retail shortfall will be bought by institutions. (AFR)

• Credit Suisse is mulling outside investment for its investment bank spin-off. (BBG)

• The Japanese chip firm Socionext executed Japan's largest IPO this year. (BBG)

Debt Raises

• Firstmac is seeking bond investors for a $1.76 billion (AUD) RMBS deal. (AFR)

• Carsales have raised a record $1.6B (AUD) debt package. It is split into 18-month, three and five-year facilities. The debt package was from a syndicate of 10 banks with Mizuho, SMBC, and BNP Paribas joining the seven existing banks, which are made up of the Australian big four, MUFG, HSBC & the Bank of China. (AFR)

• Canadian seafood company Cooke Inc has raised a senior debt facility worth $957.5m (AUD). Two-thirds will be used to complete the acquisition of Australian salmon farmer Tassel Group. Norway's DNB Bank is leading the debt facility along with Rabobank and Export Development Canada. (AFR)

• QIC's Pacific Energy, a remote power play, has a new debt facility worth $860m (AUD). It refinanced its existing $500m debt facility with Westpac, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Industrial and the Commercial Bank of China into a larger multi-tranched loan. Mizuho and the Bank of China provided additional capital. The debt facility has $460m (AUD) maturing in 2025 and $400m (AUD) maturing in 2027. (AFR)

• A bank consortium led by Morgan Stanley faces $500m (USD) losses over the Twitter debt deal. (BBG)

• Non-financial lender Pepper Money has launched a $500m (AUD) residential mortgage-backed security. (AFR)

• Denison Gas has received $65m (AUD) in debt funding from Realside Financial. (AFR)

• Apollo & Sixth Street are no longer in talks to finance the Twitter deal. (RT)

• NZX-listed publican Good Spirits has amended its loan with Nomura to extend the term to the end of 2023. The deal is dependent on Good Spirits hitting certain milestones. (NBR)

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