US causes a cluster of issues

Good Morning,

ASB and Kiwibank have pushed up some of their fixed-term home loan rates, the Reserve Bank of Australia has chosen to maintain the interest rates at 4.1%, Auckland bus drivers will strike on Monday & US allies are troubled by cluster bombs being sent to Ukraine.

Let’s jump in!

Before The Bell

Markets

• Stocks finished down in the US on a slow week in the markets (TRP)

• European stocks had a rough week as fears of further interest rate rises affected sentiment (TRP)

Earnings & Data

• New Zealand-based, privately owned tech company Datacom Group has had an 80.5% drop in net profit after tax for FY23, to $8 million from the $41m the prior year, after investing more into its strategic product businesses (NBR)

• Tesla Inc said it delivered a record number of vehicles in the second quarter, topping market estimates as price cuts an U.S. federal credits helped make its electric vehicles more affordable (RT)

• The number of new home consents has fallen back to 2021 levels, with just 45,159 new homes consented nationwide over the year to May, according to Stats NZ’s latest figures (Stuff)

• Samsung Electronics Co Ltd reported a likely 96% plunge in second-quarter operating profit on Friday, largely in line with forecasts, as an ongoing chip glut drives large losses in the tech giant's key business despite a supply cut (RT)

News Summary

Monday

• ASB and Kiwibank have pushed up some of their fixed-term home loan rates (Stuff)

• An Australian project management firm has filed a lawsuit against Twitter Inc in a U.S. court seeking cumulative payments of about $1m (AUD) over alleged non-payment of bills for work done in four countries(RT)

• Singapore home prices fell for the first time in three years in the second quarter, suggesting the market is cooling on the back of the latest property curbs (BBG)

Tuesday

• Charges laid in Singapore against PGG Wrightson chair Lee Joo Hai came as a surprise in New Zealand (NBR)

• Australia's fourth largest pension fund suspended new work with PwC Australia (RT)

• Credit Suisse’s private bankers are being told to dust off their resumes ahead of the selection of new managers following the takeover by UBS (BBG)

Wednesday

• The New Zealand economy is poised for a setback as export prices for meat and logs witness a significant decline (Herald)

• The Reserve Bank of Australia has chosen to maintain the interest rates at 4.1%, but has cautioned that further increases will be necessary to manage inflation (9 News)

• Taylor Swift's Eras Tour is projected to achieve an unprecedented milestone with record-breaking sales of $1 billion (CNBC)

Thursday

• Vista to lay off 6 to 8% of its workforce (NBR)

• Robo-debt judgment day is getting closer (AFR)

• US officials must limit contact with social media firms (BBC)

Friday

• Just a day after the launch of rival social media platform Threads, Twitter is already threatening legal action against Meta (1 News)

• Credit Suisse was sued in Japan over bonds linked to a fund that the bank ran with now-bankrupt Greensill Capital, underscoring the legal challenges that remain for the lender and its new owner UBS Group AG (BBG)

• Record demand from India sharply increased Airbus orders in June to leave the European planemaker with 1,044 net orders in the first half of the year (RT)

Weekend

• Auckland bus drivers will strike on Monday (Stuff)

• Farmers in Southland, NZ, are concerned after grazing was halted by the council (Stuff)

• 270,000 Queenslanders could be missing out on power rebate (9 News)

• US allies are troubled by cluster bombs being sent to Ukraine (BBC)

Deal Flow

Investments / M&A

Australia & New Zealand

• Australia’s United Malt Group said on Monday it agreed to a $1.5B (AUD) takeover offer from Malteries Soufflet, a branch of French agribusiness InVivo, in a deal aimed at building the world’s top malt producer (RT)

• UBS has won the mandate to sell Auckland Council’s 7% block of Auckland Airport valued at ~$880m (NZD)(AFR)

• Comvita’s share price increased 16c or 5.26% to $3.20 after telling the market it had bought HoneyWorld Singapore for $10.36m (GR)

• Listed insurer Tower is selling its Solomon Islands business to TransPacific Assurance for about $3.3m (NZD) (NBR)

• Pacific Equity Partners is considering a tilt at New Zealand-listed engineering business Scott Technology, which is 53 per cent owned by Brazilian meat processor JBS and has Macquarie Capital running a strategic review (AFR)

• New Zealand edtech Kami, whose classroom technology products are used by more than 35 million users across the world, is the next technology business headed towards the dealmaking circuit (AFR)

• It looks like Cromwell Property and Australian Unity have hammered out an unlisted REIT merger. Cromwell’s Direct Property Fund and Australian Unity’s Diversified Property Fund have signed an agreement to merge (AFR)

• Sydney-based Birch & Waite Foods, backed by Fortitude Investment Partners, has acquired Queensland’s Epicurean Foods which whips up dressings, sauces and desserts geared to higher-end customers (AFR)

• Philbara Minerals is thinking about buying Patriot Battery Metals (AFR)

Key Global

• India's HDFC Bank has finalised its $40B (USD) acquisition of the country's largest mortgage lender, making it the world's fourth-largest bank by market capitalisation (CNBC)

• Private equity firm GTCR is in advanced discussions to purchase a majority stake in the merchant business of Fidelity National Information Services. The deal, estimated to be valued between $15B (USD) and $20B (USD), marks a significant development in the payment processing industry (RT)

VC & Fundraising

• Avaada Group has concluded a groundbreaking funding round of $1.3 billion, reaffirming its dedication to green energy. This investment represents the largest equity round ever achieved by a green energy company in Asia (PRN)

• Global tech investor Insight Partners has raised $118 million USD in its second 20/20 Vision Capital fund that aims to invest in venture capital funds led by diverse managers (RT)

Equity Raises

Australia & New Zealand

• Chemicals distributor Redox’s $1.3B (AUD) initial public offering on Monday was the first ASX listing north of $100m in more than a year, leaving bankers hopeful the deal with coax more floats from Australia’s capital markets pipeline (AFR)

• Johns Lyng Group has raised $65m (AUD) (AFR)

• Dragonfly Biosciences, the UK-based maker of cannabidiol-based supplements and lotions, is locked and loaded for an initial public offering and ASX listing next month (AFR)

Key Global

• Birkenstock Owner Considers IPO at $6 Billion-Plus USD Value (BBG)

• Cinven, a buyout fund, and CPPIB, a Canadian pension fund, have enlisted the services of Morgan Stanley to prepare an IPO for Hotelbed, a Spanish company specialising in hotel rooms which are currently valued between $4.89 billion and $5.97 billion (RT)

• Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s renewable energy unit plans to raise 123 billion rupees ($1.5 billion USD) to fund his coal-dependent conglomerate’s green diversification following the fallout from a damaging short-seller broadside (BBG)

Debt, Restructuring & Bankruptcy

• All the pieces have fallen into place at Vector Metering, the smart metering play now half-owned by Queensland Investment Corporation. QIC Infrastructure and New Zealand-listed Vector, which owns the other half, have closed a $1.6B (AUD) green loan which will fund part of the deal and an ongoing rollout of meters in Australia and New Zealand (AFR)

• The Public Hospitality Group has raised $450m (AUD) in debt financing (AFR)

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