☕ GFC Mk II

Good morning. GFC Mk II may be afoot after Credit Suisse collapsed to an all-time low overnight. The lost 25%+ of its value after its largest shareholder said it wouldn't add to its investment. Plus, their chairmen declined to comment on whether they would need government assistance. Its bonds are trading at distressed levels. 

Good morning. GFC Mk II may be afoot after Credit Suisse collapsed to an all-time low overnight.

The bank lost 25%+ of its value after its largest shareholder said it wouldn't add to its investment. Plus, their chairmen declined to comment on whether they would need government assistance. Its bonds now trade at distressed levels.

Btw... last chance to join the AFL tipping competition. The prize pool is at $2.4k. Join here.

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ps. as good as a "foot tipping" competition might sound, yesterday's email was meant to say "footy" not “foot”.

LOI Subscriber #TBD

MARKET MOVERS

*Stock data as of the market close. Commodities and crypto data in USD.

Market news: Neuren Pharma has been a 7x bagger since the start of the year, with the shares exploding after receiving FDA approval for one of its drug.

Karst Peak, a hedge fund that bought a 14% stake 3 years ago at around $1, published this investment note last year and must be pretty chuffed with their trade.

THE QUICK SYNC

  • Credit Suisse shares tank after Saudi backer rules out further assistance. (CNBC)

  • Electricity prices set to surge up to 30% as regulators reveal draft pricing plans. (ABC)

  • ChatGPT maker OpenAI unveils new model GPT-4. (ALJ)

  • TikTok’s leadership is discussing the possibility of separating from its parent, ByteDance. (AFR)

  • Environmental lobby group accuses 5 Aussie super funds of greenwashing. (Australian)

  • Crikey boss Peter Fray set to depart amid Murdoch lawsuit. (SMH)

  • Russian fighters collide with US drone, force it down close to Ukraine. (ABC)

  • Argentina's inflation rate tops 100% for the first time in three decades. (ALJ)

TRADING FLOOR

M&A:

  • Global Data Centre Group had a 10% stake crossed right after Sandon Capital disclosed a new 5.6% stake; may signal corporate activity. (AFR)

  • Sun Cable received at least one external bid that wasn't Cannon-Brookes or Forrest. (AFR)

    • MCB and Forrest face competition to control Sun Cable. (AFR | BNA)

    • Brookfield, Macquarie, Iberdrola and QIC believed to be in the mix for Sun Cable. (Australian)

  • Kelsian Group announces its $487m US acquisition and associated equity raising. (AFR)

  • Next Capital has called in Grant Samuel to test appetite for Silverchef. (AFR)

  • Honan Insurance dials up 8ths deal in 12mths by acquiring Certus Insurance. (AFR)

  • Spaceship, the superannuation startup, has been testing M&A interest. (AFR)

  • Barings has acquired specialist asset manager, Gryphon Capital. (AFR)

  • Purely Byron administrators have started looking for buyers after collapse. (AFR | SMH)

  • Gold Road is believed to have agreed not to buy more shares in De Grey Mining for a certain period. (The Australian)

  • Andrew Forrest was believed to have been looking at the meat processing business owned by Teys and Cargill before the sale was pulled. (The Australian)

Capital Markets:

  • Close the Loop is raising $40m at no discount to fund its US acquisition. (AFR)

  • Brookfield’s taps CBA, DBS, MUFG and SMBC to arrange $1.6bn for Healthscope deal. (AFR)

VC:

  • Downsizer, a Sydney-based proptech startup, has secured A$3.75m in seed capital led by Correlation Australia Holdings (CAH). (StartupDaily)

Others:

  • Jefferies sales trader joins mid-market firm EP Advisors (AFR)

  • QIC is set to lose two of its most senior Australian infrastructure dealmakers; Matina Papathanasiou and Angela Karl. (AFR)

TOGETHER WITH WHOLESALE INVESTOR

Starting this week, LOI readers now have exclusive complimentary passes to Australia’s largest venture capital conference, Emergence 2023, hosted by Wholesale Investor, March 23-24.

  • 750+ Aussie VCs, Investors and Deal Makers… professionals from the VC and Capital Markets space will gather in Sydney CBD to learn, network and access exciting scale-up opportunities.

  • 40+ leading speakers and panellists… including folks from Five Sigma, TEN13, Empress Capital, NAB Ventures, BMYG, INP Capital, Flying Fox Ventures, Kotti Capital, Apollo Crypto, Aussie Angels, Gencap Wealth, Investible, Backbone Partners and Antler

  • 80+ Founders… across emerging and core sectors will be presenting their opportunities directly to you.

Dealflow, insights, and networking… claim your complimentary pass as an LOI reader here.

THE WATERCOOLER

THE TRADE

  • Strategy & Corporate Development Manager — OFX (Learn More)

  • Business Development, Vice President (M&A) — GenesisCare (Learn More)

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