☕️ Canva’s Payday

Good morning.

Canva has closed one of the largest secondary share sales in global startup history, delivering a US$1.5 billion ($2.27 billion) payday to its early investors.

Sources cited by Capital Brief confirmed not only that the sale has been finalised, but that the design software firm is in the final stages of hiring a new CFO, following the controversial departure of Damian Singh earlier this year. The new CFO will be charged with leading the company as it prepares for a Wall Street IPO as early as 2025.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in oOh!media surged 4.46% to close at $1.76 during trading on Thursday, following UBS releasing first rating on the outdoor advertising company as a "buy." UBS analysts set their first rating for the Sydney-based company as "buy" with a target price of $2.05. They described oOh!media as a "quality outdoor media business" with an approximate 39% market share in Australia and New Zealand. The bank expects the Australian advertising market to recover in the second half of the 2024 calendar year and for the company's high fixed cost base to generate further profit growth when revenue accelerates.

The quick sync

• Cedar Pacific partners with Japanese timber, housing and materials giant, Sumitomo Forestry, for a $1.2b portfolio of build-to-rent apartments. (AFR)

• Will Bitcoin’s impending ‘halving’ event push the crypto into a new, higher price range, or plunge miners in a race to the bottom? (Capital Brief)

• Trafigura Group admits that founder and former CEO Claude Dauphin approved bribe payments for oil deals in Brazil. (AFR)

• Heavy emitters gain a six-month extension on the start of Treasury’s new climate reporting regime. (Capital Brief)

• Alphabet is considering making an offer on the US$32b software firm, HubSpot. (Reuters)

• Linfox's Peter Fox pledges to sustain Armaguard for three years, contingent on increased payments from banks and major retailers for its cash transit services. (AFR)

M&A

• Alceon Private Equity has finalised the acquisition of a 50% stake in Boss Engineering, marking its largest deal yet. (AFR)

• The newly merged wealth manager JB Were and Jarden has reportedly expressed interest in acquiring Fisher Funds. (The Australian)

• Suncorp Group offloads New Zealand life insurance arm Asteron Life for NZ$410m. (BNA)

• Potentia Capital is exploring options for NewBook, with talks about a possible sale process ahead. (AFR)

• Boral's independent directors stand firm despite a lower valuation amid criticism from Seven Group Holdings. (AFR)

• Brookfield considered acquiring Lendlease alongside Downer but dropped the plan due to its complexity or lack of perceived value.

  (The Australian)

• BlueScope Steel is conducting due diligence on South32's Illawarra Metallurgical Coal. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• Investment banks test fund managers' interest in buying more Sigma Healthcare shares, amid speculation of further sales by HMC Capital. (The Australian)

• Atmo Biosciences is seeking a $15m capital injection to bring its ingestible gas-sensing capsule to market. (AFR)

• Madison Dearborn Partners is considering privatising APM, while the target's board insists that CVC needs to raise its offer to at least $2 per share. (The Australian)

VC

• Remarkable has supported US med tech startup, Aurie, in its US$6m seed raise. (Startup Daily)

• Starboard Maritime Intelligence has secured NZ$5m in a seed round led by Kiwi VC Altered Capital. (Startup Daily)

People moves

• JANA Investment Advisors has made two internal appointments for its Investment Trusts division: Claire Simpson as the consultancy’s head of investments, and David Schnell as head of diversified portfolios. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler