☕️ Pie (EBITDA) Margins

Good morning.

There is nothing quite like a roadtrip pie-stop, and the spread put on by Heatherbrae’s is the stuff of legend. AFR reports that family owned Heatherbrae’s Pies, with highway-adjacent pitstops in Sutton Forest, Ourimbah and Heatherbrae, is ready to cash in. The pie-flinging business reportedly brought in $15 million in revenue last year, serving over 1.8 million customers.

With PAG and Retail Food Group recently showing appetite for the meaty parcels, only time will tell which hungry PE player will walk away with a piece of the pie.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

AGL shares soared over 12.5% on Thursday, reaching $8.80 by close of trading. The jump followed the release of the energy giant’s half-year results, which saw AGL post a four-fold increase in underlying net profit of $399 million from $87 million the previous corresponding period. Higher wholesale electricity pricing drove the positive results. AGL also upgraded its full-year guidance for underlying net profit from $580 million-$780 million to $680 million-$780 million.

The quick sync

• Why CBA’s head of business banking isn’t focused on lending to startups. (Capital Brief)

• Labor’s new EV rules could cost as much as $38b, according to the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. (AFR)

• Wentworth Independent, Allegra Spender, believes Labor’s stage 3 tax reversal could be the catalyst for tax reform. (Capital Brief)

• PwC made a $50,000 donation to the ALP at the height of the tax scandal crisis. (The Australian)

• Shares in AI chip designer, Arm, soared over 60% on the back of strong earnings and a positive profit forecast for the current quarter. (Financial Times)

• Zambrero founder accuses former CEO of the business of taking too much credit and is suing him for misleading and deceptive conduct. (AFR)

• SoftBank-backed Cohesity will buy Veritas’ data protection business, valuing the combined companies at US$7b ($10.8b). (Reuters)

• Panthera Finance taps Grant Samuel to launch the sale of its debt ledger books as part of ongoing restructuring. (AFR)

Trading floor

M&A

• Bain Capital and Morgan Stanley are courting I-MED Radiology. (The Australian)

• Airwallex partners with McLaren Formula 1 team for a multi-year deal. (Startup Daily)

• Tabcorp has pulled out of the $1b bid to buy Western Australia's state-owned bookmaker, citing unviable terms. (AFR)

• Gilbert + Tobin will incorporate banking and finance firm Wright Legal into its operations starting 1 April, 2024. (Capital Brief)

• Charter Hall merger idea floated by real estate deal-makers. (The Australian)

• Woodside Energy eyes international acquisitions post collapse of Santos merger talks. (AFR)

• Pacific Smiles seeks a higher offer from Genesis Capital. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

• Metals Acquisition Limited's IPO is expected to price at $17 per CDI. (AFR)

• Asian funds eye WICET refinancing amid looming loan default. (The Australian)

• Ex-Warrego Energy duo to launch D3 Energy on ASX with Peloton Capital. (AFR)

• City Cave Float & Wellness Centre expands into North America through a franchise model. (BNA)

• UBS revives ECM teams with list of IPO potentials, including familiar names like Virgin Australia and Guzman Y Gomez. (AFR)

• News Corp Australia and Foxtel Group revenue rises despite ad challenges. (SMH)

VC

• None

People moves

• TikTok's Australian boss to resign amid regulatory scrutiny. (Capital Brief)

• BlackRock names Jason Collins as Australia's head. (Capital Brief)

The watercooler