☕️In-house Watchdog

Former APRA chairman begins his watch at Macquarie.

Good morning.

In a move reminiscent of Billions’ Ari Spyros being brought in-house to assist Axe Capital, former APRA chairman, Wayne Byres, is beginning his stint as a non-exec director at Macquarie. The AFR reports that APRA imposed penalty capital restrictions on the bank around three years ago over risk management shortcomings, and was required to appoint special non-exec directors to address the governance concerns. Byres was chairman when the restrictions were handed down.

Macquarie sources say Byres has been brought on for his deep international connections, not to fix the APRA issues.

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

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Market movers

ResMed stock jumped 7.5% on Thursday, reaching $28.45 by close of trading after posting a 12% revenue boost during Q4 2023. Despite beating expectations on revenue growth, the respiratory health company saw margins squeezed with its gross margin contracting 0.5% to 55.6%. RMD is also shouldering restructuring costs of US$64.2 million.

The quick sync

  • Chinese regulators will limit short selling from Monday as it moves to address its worsening market downturn. (Reuters)

  • How payments fintechs have orchestrated a 25% landgrab of the payments processing sector, seizing market share from what was once the strict domain of major banks. (Capital Brief)

  • The world’s largest cement maker, Holcim, plans to spin off its US business next year, in a listing which could reach a valuation of up to US$30b. (Financial Times)

  • Disney’s local profits surge 33% ahead of its password sharing crack down. (Capital Brief)

  • Social media platform Reddit has been advised to consider a valuation of at least US$5b in its planned IPO. (Bloomberg)

  • Life360, an ASX-listed social tracking app holds grand ambitions to continue expansion and list on the NASDAQ. (Capital Brief)

  • Nine Entertainment’s bankers reportedly inquired whether PE firms including KKR and TPG were interested in its 60% controlling stake of Domain. (AFR)

Trading floor

M&A

  • Rugby Australia has enlisted Deloitte as its advisor amid the anticipated collapse of its Melbourne Rebels franchise. Restructuring partner Jason Tracy was appointed last Friday. (AFR)

  • GPG Australia has put together a $2b debt package for potential bidders, facilitated by Macquarie Capital. (AFR)

  • Crescent Capital eyes Pacific Smiles after Genesis Capital's rejected bid. (AFR)

Capital Markets

  • Metals Acquisition Limited eyes $1.15b secondary listing, increasing the raise from $200m to $300m. (AFR)

  • Female-founded Alt. Leather secures $1.1m from influential investors. (AFR)

VC

  • None

People moves

  • None

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