☕️ Unwanted Attention

Cettire faces new claims about its US tax obligations.

Good morning.

Cettire has rejected new claims that it is failing to meet its US tax obligations, after analysis published by the Taxloss account on Substack last week showed that the luxury retailer does not have active registrations for sales taxes in California nor Texas.

When contacted by Capital Brief, Cettire dismissed the claims, stating that the company is “registered for sales tax and remits sales tax in the states where it believes it has registration obligations.” Cettire added that company operated under another name in the states, but refused to provide its name or supporting documentation. 

ASX as at market close. Commodities and crypto in USD.

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Market movers

Shares in Beach Energy climbed almost 5% during trading on Thursday before settling to close at $1.84. The spike came after the oil and gas company announced it would reduce its headcount by 30%, including layoffs for several of its executive team. Beach said the layoffs are part of a "comprehensive strategic review," which aims to re-set the base business, deliver increasing returns to shareholders, and drive efficiency.

The quick sync

  • Australia’s largest lithium mine, Greenbushes, recorded an almost $6.3b profit in the 12 months to December 31. (AFR)

  • French renewables group Neoen is reportedly in talks to sell a 30% stake in its Australian unit to raise over €1b ($1.6 billion) to fund its Australian expansion. (Capital Brief)(Bloomberg)

  • Macquarie Capital-backed software and services tech firm, Plutora, appoints administrators and plans to shutter Australian operations. (AFR)

  • Taxi-booking app GoCatch and Uber will finally have their day in court, as GoCatch alleges that Uber breached transport laws and used spyware to take out the competition. (Capital Brief)

  • President of Nippon Steel, Tadashi Imai, has committed to forge ahead with plans to purchase the United States Steel Corp. despite recent opposition from President Biden. (Bloomberg)(Capital Brief)

M&A

  • Aussie Broadband initiates a $50m sell-down of Superloop. (AFR)

  • Bowen Basin’s Olive Downs is reportedly collaborating with Jefferies. (AFR)

  • Hanwha Group has reportedly reignited its interest in acquiring Austal. (The Australian)

Capital Markets

  • Alice Wells is orchestrating a $1.5m convertible note raise for Etto. (AFR)

  • Gretel Packer has reportedly become a 5% shareholder in property funds management business, Aliro Group. (The Australian)

  • APM is set to resume trading on Tuesday following a trading halt over the Easter weekend. (The Australian)

VC

  • Constantinople secures $50m in a Series A funding round led by Amsterdam-based Prosus Ventures. (AFR)

  • Femtek secures $1m in a funding round led by Arcanys Ventures and Techstars. (Smart Company)

People moves

  • None

☝️ Know about a deal or people move we don’t? Hit reply.

Together with Blackbird

Blackbird’s startup festival, Sunrise Australia is back! 1-2 May, Carriageworks Sydney

🌅 The Capital Brief team is heading to Sunrise at Carriageworks Sydney this 1 & 2 May - join us?

Sunrise is a startup festival by our friends at Blackbird. Over two days of ideas and innovation, the program includes:

📣 Three programs across three stages, check it out here
🌍 Big ideas + debates & provocations + personal growth workshops
🤝 Networking & facilitated 1:1 meetings
🥇 Founders live pitching
🌚 Music + art + performances 

Grab your tix here before they sell out!

The watercooler

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