☕️AI Antidote

Good morning.

Deloitte believes its use of AI will help evaluate its workers’ skills in order to shift them to more in-demand roles within the business, helping the company avoid dramatic hirings and firings into the future.

The company reportedly hired 130,000 employees in 2023, but also announced large cuts as growth slowed. While it sounds almost utopian to think an AI tool could overhaul a corporation’s entire workforce structure (reminiscent of the advice Deloitte preaches to its own clients perhaps?), could Deloitte just want employees to start drinking the AI-kool-aid before the tech becomes a scapegoat for further layoffs?

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Sigma Healthcare, which had been riding a record surge following confirmation of its plans to merge with Chemist Warehouse, closed down almost 7% on Friday.

The stock’s stumble coincides with an ACCC decision released Friday, opposing Australian Clinical Labs’ proposed acquisition of pathology services provider, Healius. While the announcement gives ACL the ability to challenge the decision, it may cause investors to waver on the likelihood of the ACCC signing off on Sigma’s merger plans.

HMC Capital, which is raising up to $400 million from investors to subscribe to Sigma shares early next year, remained on an uphill climb, closing up 9% on Friday.

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The quick sync

• ACCC opposes a $1.58 billion merger of Australian Clinical Labs and Healius; ACL withdraws the offer. (Capital Brief)

• Carrefour offers up to €600 million for struggling French grocery retailer Casino. (Bloomberg)

• Allken-Livent lithium merger looks set to clear shareholder vote despite resistance from minor shareholder Ausbil. (AFR)

• Nine Entertainment and Seven West Media join Netflix and Amazon to voice concerns over the government’s “hyper inflationary” proposals on streaming content quotas. (Capital Brief)

• Government warns Google and Meta to negotiate compensation with media companies for use of their content or risk mediation. (AFR)

• MinRes has lofty ambitions to grow the business by 100% in the next 12 months. (Capital Brief)

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Trading floor

M&A

• Investors in Woodside Energy have expressed concern about its potential $80bn merger with Santos. (AFR)

  • Santos gains drilling approval for $5.8bn Barossa gas project. (AFR)

• Lendlease is selling Cairns Central shopping centre to Fawkner Property for $390m. (BNA)

• Morrow Sodali has purchased Sydney-headquartered branding and communications agency Designate for an undisclosed sum. (BNA)

• Linktree has made its second acquisition of a US-based competitor, Koji, in just over six months. (Startup Daily)

CAPITAL MARKETS

• Link Group advances £298m compensation scheme for fund losses, awaiting court decision in January. (Capital Brief)

• Iluka Resources shares fall 3.8% on rare earths refinery project delays and cost blowout. (Capital Brief)

VC

• None

People moves

• Nine Entertainment scrambles to assemble new leadership as James Chessell’s departure leaves a Fairfax-sized hole in executive ranks. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler