☕️Rude (2024) Awakening

Good morning.

Our beloved Billions anti-heroes may have cleaned up at the Golden Globes, but it’s the real life drama that Bill Ackman is bringing to 2024 that’s demanding attention.

After his late 2023 campaign which brought down Harvard and UPenn presidents following their statements on campus hate speech, the billionaire hedge fund manager launched into 2024 with a fervour to see heads roll at Business Insider after reporters accused his wife of plagiarism. Ackman has now turned his arsenal toward reviewing the work of all current BI staff and MIT faculty members for plagiarism.

We’ve seen other billionaires take heat for spreading their attention too thin, let’s see how Ackman’s fund Axe Capital Pershing Square Capital manages to pull back his focus.

🏆 LOI Subscriber #TBD

Market movers

Magellan “sobered up today with a slap in the face,” according to Bell Potter’s Richard Coppleson.

Magellan Financial Group suffered its largest drop in 13 weeks, falling over 7% during trading Monday to hit just under $9 on closing. The plunge follows Citi’s decision to downgrade MFG to a “sell” rating, made all the more bitter by MFG rival, GQG, gaining 3% after reporting impressive net inflows for 2023.

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The quick sync

• Boeing shares tumble as reputational fall-out from Alaska Airlines’ cabin door blow-out hits home. (AFR)

• KKR, Blackrock and Deutsche are prowling Australian turf for private credit talent. (Capital Brief)

• When it comes to buying out rival fund managers, GQG Partners have their finger on the trigger. (Capital Brief)

• Bet365 boss Denise Coates raked in a $420m salary during the last financial year, up 3.4% from the year prior. (Bloomberg)

• How generative AI is set to shake up banking in 2024. (Capital Brief)

• Asset managers assume positions in price war for spot bitcoin ETFs as pivotal SEC ruling looms. (Financial Times)

• Contractor Worley engaged in corrupt conduct when bidding for contracts to rebuild Ecuador’s oil and gas industry, an international tribunal found. (The Australian)

Trading floor

M&A

• Chesapeake Energy and Southwestern Energy are reportedly in talks to become the largest US natural gas producer. (Capital Brief)

• Potentia Capital wins the battle for Whispir control over EVP. (AFR)

• Isomorphic Labs has partnered with Novartis and Eli Lilly & Co to apply AI to medical research. (Capital Brief)

• Centuria Capital Group acquires a glasshouse facility in South Australia for $21.5m. (BNA)

• PEP acquires 80% of ATOM, eyes growth, and bolt-on acquisitions to challenge Wesfarmers. (AFR)

• Allkem finalises Livent merger, and creates Arcadium Lithium with ASX and Wall Street listings. (Capital Brief)

• Wayward Brewing Co and Local Drinks Collective entered voluntary administration. (BNA)

CAPITAL MARKETS

• Telix Pharmaceuticals shares rise 2% as it explores potential NASDAQ IPO, retaining ASX listing. (Capital Brief)

• Kinetic Group, Australia's largest bus operator, seeks a strategic investor. (AFR)

• Amer Sports, Wilson tennis racquet manufacturer, files for IPO in the US. (Capital Brief)

VC

• Ideally raises $2m in a Seed round, backed by Auckland VC Icehouse Ventures, for expansion in the Australian market. (Startup Daily)

• Acusensus expands into South Australia with a $5m, five-year deal. (BNA)

• The Australian Business Growth Fund (ABGF) has invested $10m in Solbari, a sun protection clothing brand. (Startup Daily)

• Perplexity AI secured $73.6m in its latest funding round with investments from notable figures. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• Grant Koch, co-head of DLA Piper’s private equity practice, departed the firm in late 2023. (AFR)

Together with Power Writing

This isn’t your typical course. We’re not your typical instructors. That’s why you should read on.

Power Writing was created by Kal & Christopher...

• Kal is a former Macquarie banker who started and sold Letter of Intent (yes, this very newsletter).

• Christopher is a former McKinsey partner and COO who took a startup from 0 to a $3bn IPO in 5 years.

In other words, we aren’t professors. We’ve seen firsthand the huge impact your writing can have on your professional performance. It sounds obvious, yet no one ever teaches you to write for work. We want to change that.

Don’t let those writing habits from your uni days — big words, long sentences, dense paragraphs with no formatting, conclusions at the end — hold you back at work. Learn the techniques to be concise and precise so your work gets recognised and you get promoted.

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Start 2024 by levelling up. Learn more here.

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