☕️Brokerage Battle

Superhero slashes brokerage fees to $2, pushing sector toward price war.

Good morning.

In a power move that will undoubtedly imbue Aussie retail traders with a new loyalty to financial disruptors, Superhero is set to aggressively lower its brokerage fees, positioning it as one of the lowest cost operators in the sector. Capital Brief reports that the neobroker will more than halve its brokerage fee from $5 to $2 on all ASX trades from today, ramping up pressure on rivals to reduce fees. The pricing change on all ASX trades under $20,000 positions Superhero ahead of competitors, including Stake at $3, as well as incumbents CommSec and CMC Markets.

ASX as at market close. Commodities and crypto in USD.

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Market movers

Shares in Star Entertainment slumped over 7% during trading on Friday to close at $0.51, after the casino operator reported a slide in revenue for the March quarter. The Star’s total net revenue for the quarter was $419.2 million, down 4.6% compared to the prior corresponding period. Main gaming floor revenue performed strongly at all of the Star's properties, however, the Star's net loss after tax of $6.8 million for the quarter was an 86.4% reduction on the $49.7 million loss posted for the same period last year.

The quick sync

  • Buyout firm CVC could kick off its US$16b ($24.76b) IPO in Amsterdam as early as today. (Wall Street Journal)

  • Japanese investment in Australian real estate tops $2b. (AFR)

  • Special manager Nick Weeks ‘passed over’ for chief operating officer role at Sydney’s Star Casino. (The Australian)

  • Markets weigh the impact of a potential Israeli retaliation after Iran’s weekend attack. (Capital Brief)

  • Payment provider Findi secures licence to roll out 4,000 branded ATMs across India. (AFR)

M&A

  • Ampol eyes EG's Australian service stations after Z Energy success. (The Australian)

  • Incitec Pivot’s $1b fertiliser divestment could face political scrutiny, warns Senator for Queensland, Susan McDonald. (AFR)

  • Realside to buy Maddington Central from Vicinity Centres for $107m, seeking equity backers. (AFR)

  • Potentia Capital seeks buyer for NewBook property management software business. (AFR)

  • Gold Road considers Greenstone purchase amid high gold prices. (The Australian)

  • Genex Power agrees to be acquired by Japan's J-Power. (Capital Brief)

  • Woodside retains Macedon and Pyrenees gas assets despite speculated interest from Carlyle. (The Australian)

  • Shareholders approve US$14.1b US Steel takeover by Nippon Steel. (Capital Brief)

Capital Markets

  • ArcActive to launch $65m institutional equity raising overseen by Pottinger's John Sheehy. (AFR)

  • BlackRock eyes debt financing role in National Group. (The Australian)

  • Carlyle selects JP Morgan and Kotak for Hexaware IPO in Mumbai. (Capital Brief)

VC

  • New Zealand lawtech VXT raises NZ$1.8m in pre-Series A round led by existing investor GD1. (Startup Daily)

People moves

  • None

☝️ Know about a deal or people move we don’t? Hit reply.

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