☕️ Sigma Saviour

Good morning.

xAI, Musk’s six-month-old child AI startup, has set its sights on raising US$1 billion ($1.52 billion).

The company “wants to advance our collective understanding of the universe” and has already unveiled a conversational generative AI tool with a “rebellious streak”, Grok, that will answer “spicy questions” rejected by other AI systems.

Time will tell as to whether investors are ready to stump up the cash or if they’ll have too many “spicy” questions around Musk’s recent X woes.

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Market movers

Chemist Warehouse could pursue a backdoor listing through pharmaceutical giant, Sigma Healthcare, with the company’s trading halt set to be lifted by Friday with the release of the deal announcement.  

HMC Capital (formerly Home Consortium) has amassed an almost 20% stake in Sigma and was closely involved in plotting to reverse list the chemist juggernaut. HMC ticked up almost 15% on closing Wednesday after news broke of the potential transaction.  

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The quick sync

• Struggling to make it Appen: Why the tech firm’s pivot to AI is failing to appease investors. (Capital Brief)

• Google says it will leapfrog OpenAI with its large language AI model, Gemini, set for launch early 2024. (The Information)

• Short seller Muddy Waters bets against Blackstone Mortgage Trust, saying the real estate investment trust is exposed to a “perfect macro storm” of economic conditions. (Bloomberg)

• Carbon credits have a chequered history in Australia, but a much-needed overhaul is preparing them to play a bigger role in the race to net zero. (Capital Brief)

• Chinese Lithium stocks jump in Hong Kong, suggesting there is light at the end of the limp lithium tunnel. (AFR)

• Soul Patts submits bid to buy Perpetual with a $3.06 billion plan to demerge the fund’s asset management wealth management and corporate trust businesses. (Capital Brief)

Trading floor

M&A

• Perpetual reportedly enlists Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Luminis Partners to conduct a strategic review of its corporate trust and wealth management businesses. (The Australian)

• Jazwares, the world's fastest-growing toy company, has acquired Australian toy distributor Big Balloon for an undisclosed sum. (BNA)

• Chemist Warehouse's Sigma entry faces regulatory scrutiny over vertical integration concerns impacting competition on pricing. (The Australian)

CAPITAL MARKETS

• Plenary Group is looking for a long-term investor to bring new life to its balance sheet. (AFR)

• Qualitas Real Estate Income Fund has initiated a $50m capital raising to expand its loan book. (BNA)

• ACCC allows banks to engage in emergency talks with Armaguard on cash distribution arrangements. (AFR)

• Palisade has initiated discussions with institutional investors to garner support for a $1bn fundraising effort for its Intera Renewables platform. (AFR)

VC

• Healthtech startup Vantari VR secures $7m to train medical professionals using virtual reality. (AFR)

• Elon Musk's AI startup xAI files for a $1bn equity offering. (Capital Brief)

People moves

• None

The watercooler