☕️ Down and Out

Good morning.

At the risk of going on about Dubber’s seemingly endless woes, turns out that recent events aren’t the first time former CEO, Steve McGovern, has found himself entangled in legal disputes.

The Australian reports that in addition to allegations that McGovern and a third party trustee (Mark Madafferi of Christopher William Legal) were involved in misappropriating $26.6 million of Dubber’s company funds, the law firm also acted for McGovern in two separate 2017 matters. The disputes were tied to McGovern’s alleged failure to pay back a $525,000 loan and $5.6 million on a mortgage default. Both matters were discontinued. Dubber was also sued in 2015 over a $30,000 loan in a dispute that was settled, and McGovern was sued by CBA in 2008 for mortgage defaults.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals surged over 11% during trading on Thursday to close at $13.72 on strong quarterly results. The company posted an 18% increase in unaudited total revenue to $175 million during the March quarter, compared to the previous quarter’s $148.1 million. US revenue grew by 18% to US$111.8 million ($173.66 million) during the quarter, which was primarily due to sales of TLX’s prostate cancer imaging product Illuccix. Telix’s shares have risen 57.03% over the past 12 months.

The quick sync

• Senior Apple exec Craig Federighi says European app rules will ‘make iOS like Android.’ (Capital Brief)

• DroneShield investors aren’t convinced that the small cap defence tech’s soaring stock price will stick. (Capital Brief)

• Pub tycoon Bruce Matheison has spent $18.46m to increase his stake in Star Entertainment Group to 9.59%, lifting his holdings in the troubled casino group for the second time in two months. (AFR)

• Aussie space tech startup Space Machines Company plans to launch new satellite fleet by 2026. (Capital Brief)

• Coventry Building Society nears £780m ($1.5b) deal to acquire UK’s Co-Op Bank. (Bloomberg)

M&A

• Big US tech companies scour Australian market for acquisition opportunities, drawn by low dollar value. (The Australian)

• MA Financial enters high-yield bond market with a $55m deal, marketed by Ord Minnett. (AFR)

• Shareholders await decision on Adamantem's $254m buyout offer for Qantm Intellectual Property. (The Australian)

• Analysts at Citi view Ansell's $990m acquisition of Kimberly-Clark's PPE unit as strategically sensible, though not risk-free. (The Australian)

• Whitehaven Coal is close to selling a minority stake in the Blackwater coal mine to JFE Steel Corp. (AFR)

• Louis Dreyfus prepares for a showdown over Namoi Cotton, engaging UBS and Arnold Bloch Leibler as Olam's takeover offer looms. (AFR)

• Lendlease is nearing a strategy update, with internal debate among top decision-makers. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• DroneShield plans to launch a $75m equity raise, managed by Shaw and Partners and Bell Potter Securities. (Capital Brief)

• Premier Investments purchased 3% of Myer's shares this week. (AFR)

• Spartan Resources launches $80m cash call underwritten by three brokers. (AFR)

VC

• Food distribution startup Prep gets $200,000 from Melbourne VC Skalata to link major food players with emerging brands. (Startup Daily)

• UniSuper commits US$400m to invest in Macquarie Asset Management’s Macquarie Green Energy and Climate Opportunities (MGECO) fund. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• The Superpower Institute, co-founded by Rod Sims and Ross Garnaut, appoints its first CEO. (Capital Brief)

• Jessica Mellor resigns as CEO of The Star Gold Coast amid the group’s second NSW inquiry. (Capital Brief)

Together with Tribe Global Ventures

Access vetted B2B venture capital opportunities direct from Tribe Global Ventures

Tribe Global Ventures are B2B specialist investors that have built, sold, and listed B2B companies as founders.

We leverage our collective experience to guide our portfolio companies to healthy and sustainable growth and value creation.

Sign-up to receive 4-6 investment opportunities in your inbox each year, chosen from hundreds of deals curated from our networks developed over 20 years in the early-stage innovation ecosystem.

Sophisticated Investors can join here.

No membership fees or obligation to invest. You choose the deals you like.

The watercooler