☕️ Life360 Liftoff

Good morning.

A town hall led by Vice Media COO Cory Haik to explain the company’s move to layoff hundreds of staff descended into chaos last week, as a steady stream of dislike emojis began to flood her address. Haik abruptly ended the meeting when emojis from disgruntled staff didn’t slow. Given the uptick in layoffs over the past year, WSJ noted the emergence of the ‘layoff memo’ and how C-suite execs are perfecting the art of delivering unfortunate employment news. Haik’s inability to handle poor emoji feedback shows that some execs still have a long way to go.  

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in Life360 soared almost 40% during trading on Friday to close at $11.30, after narrowing its calendar year losses as year-on-year revenue climbed by a third. The location sharing app reported CY23 revenue of US$305 million ($470 million), a 33% uplift on the prior year, and in line with guidance of US$300 million to US$310 million. Global monthly active users grew 26% year on year to reach 61.4 million. The company has said that 2024 plans include creating a new advertising revenue stream that offers partners enhanced access to Life360's free user base of 20 million.res

The quick sync

• Australian banks are increasing their transition financing efforts to help their clients reach decarbonisation targets. (Capital Brief)

• Former-ACCC head Allan Fels calls for competition inquiry to investigate insurance price increases. (The Australian)

• Why IFM Investors’ chief economist wants the government to devise a clearer plan for the energy transition. (Capital Brief)

• Boeing is in talks to acquire the Spirit AeroSystems, the fuselage supplier which is at the centre of the quality issues plaguing the Boeing 737 Max airliner. (Financial Times)

• Macquarie slashes valuation of edtech startup Byju’s after Julius Baer accuses the bank of inflated assumptions. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• NEXTDC mulls buying data centre portfolio from Global Switch. (AFR)

• AF Legal Group acquires contested wills practice from GTC for $3.75m. (BNA)

• Developer Nigel Satterley acquires Kingswood Golf Course for a reported $215-$220m, outbidding Mirvac. (AFR)

• Hearts & Minds board seeks assurances that Saba Capital will not wind up the ASX-listed charity investment vehicle. (AFR)

• Top investors gather in Sydney for Pacfic Equity Partners’ AGM. (AFR)

• Financial viability of ASX cannabis players Cann Group and Althea Group's comes under question. (BNA)

• Bidding for Perpetual's $1b corporate trust unit advances as Permira teams up with UBS for its bid. (The Australian)

• Anchorage Capital Partners nears acquisition of EL&F from Maui Capital. (AFR)

• Embark Early Education acquires nine childcare centres for $25.2m. (BNA)

• Affinity Equity Partners is closing in on the Guardian Early Learning acquisition from Partners Group. (The Australian)

• Strong demand for recent Aussie bond offerings: Brisbane Airport's 10-year secured bond targeted $500m but received $2.5b; Liberty Financial's 5-year senior unsecured bond sought $250m but attracted over $600m. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• GreenCollar invests in EnergyLink Services to drive agribusiness decarbonisation. (BNA)

VC

• None

People moves

• Ex-Macquarie star trader Nick O’Kane will head up Mercuria’s gas and power portfolio. (The Australian)

• Blackwattle poaches teams of analysts from Antipodes to launch its global equities strategy. (AFR)

• Anchorage Capital Partners eyes James Warburton for leadership in Southern Cross Media bid. (The Australian)

The watercooler