☕️ Mouthy Stoush

Good morning.

Insults are flying at the court hearing between Mike Ashley and Morgan Stanley, as Ashley’s firm sues the US bank for imposing a US$995 million ($1.52 billion) margin call on his derivatives trade positions in Hugo Boss shares in 2021. He said the deposit demand hit him like a “nuclear bomb,” and that the bank acted in part on account of “snobbery.”  

MS’s lawyers returned fire, calling the claim “divorced from reality” and that Ashley’s firm has embarked on “lawfare” on an extraordinary scale.

The winners here will certainly be the lawyers, who are making full use of their silver tongues, and charging handsomely for it.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Shares in retail jewellery brand Lovisa surged over 10% to $27.30 during trading yesterday, after the company beat expectations with double-digit sales and profit growth for H1 2024. The company reported net profit of $53.5 million for the six months to December 2023, up 12% from the prior corresponding period. While comparable store sales were down 4.4% on 1H23 on the back of challenging trading conditions, Lovisa added 53 net new stores to its portfolio and revenue increased 18.2% year-on-year to $373 million.

Lovisa short-sellers are now feeling the squeeze, having accelerated their positions in the lead up to earnings, allocating a total of around $100 million in shorts.

The quick sync

• The Australian nickel industry faces an existential crisis as the burden of global oversupply forces miners to adjust to a new normal. (Capital Brief)

• Former Aquamamma CEO, Emma Gibson, says investors who lost money should have known that she had not verified the pitched financials, and should have read the documents more closely before investing. (AFR)

• Shares in Nvidia rose over 15% yesterday, adding over US$250 billion to its now US$1.9 trillion market capitalisation, making it the largest single-session increase in market value ever. (Bloomberg)(Reuters)

• Albanese government says a free trade deal with UAE will see the gulf state invest in extraction and processing of Australian critical minerals. (AFR)

• Japan’s Nikkei 225 reached a record intra-day high on the back of this week’s tech rally, breaking above its 1989 peak. (Capital Brief)(Bloomberg)

• Equities across the US, Europe and Japan have hit all-time highs on the back of Nvidia’s surging shares. (Bloomberg)

Trading floor

M&A

• The EBOS-Greencross deal may have life left in it. (The Australian)

• Interest from big retailers and investors in troubled Godfreys Group acquisition. (BNA)

• Private equity firms opt for business restructuring over sales in the current market. (The Australian)

• Alinta Energy is poised to acquire Tetris Energy, a Melbourne-based early-stage renewable development platform boasting 3.4 gigawatts. (AFR)

• Aware Super’s PE team to co-invest Washington’s Galway Sustainable Capital, alongside Macquarie Asset Management GIG for a total of US$250m. (AFR)

• Reddit partners with Google for AI model training. (Capital Brief)

• Tensions rise in Southern Cross Media, ARN Media deal amid $9.8m loss. (The Australian)

• CSR advises shareholders to hold off on Saint-Gobain's $9 per share offer. (AFR)

Capital Markets

• Public companies eye ASX aspirants amid investor support for major deals. (AFR)

• Hipages Group Holdings has reported a $3.7m profit for the first half of FY24. (BNA)

• CVC Capital Partners eyes the Australian market with a $6.8b fund. (The Australian)

• Electromotiv is looking to raise $2m at a $1m pre-money valuation, with an option for an additional $1m. (AFR)

VC

• Ex-Disney star Bridgit Mendler launches Northwood Space for satellite communication. (Smart Company)

People moves

• Esther Perel has become an advisor for the Australian employee experience platform Culture Amp. (Startup Daily)

• SkyCity Entertainment's CEO Michael Ahearne will depart on March 8. (Capital Brief)

• Coviu's co-founder, Dr. Silvia Pfeiffer, has resigned as CEO after six years. (Startup Daily)

The watercooler