This Month
Does Barrenjoey plan to kill off the Magellan Financial brand?
The investment bank’s top brass are considering several options as what appears to be a reverse takeover of the funds management giant draws closer.
February
Mortgage fraud issues put the blowtorch on CBA
The bank’s application processes and the way documents are verified leave it vulnerable. The sector must lift its game to protect the integrity of the market.
January
UniSuper’s manoeuvrings at Qube sure to keep Macquarie on its toes
Landing the $11.6 billion buyout of the logistics giant is just one of the big challenges facing the investment and banking firm in the year ahead.
November 2025
The UBS banker who almost got the job as ANZ CEO
There was another well-known European banker that had well and truly impressed the local lending giant’s board as it searched for Shayne Elliott’s successor.
October 2025
M&A due diligence of more than 120 days borders on ridiculous
A war of words has erupted in the drawn-out founder-led bid for Humm and some shareholders have had enough. The board committee can’t keep dragging its heels.
Macquarie’s next data centre deals could leave AirTrunk in their wake
Estimates suggest the asset management giant’s remaining portfolio has a capacity more than four times that of AirTrunk. How quickly will it capitalise?
August 2025
This profit season shows the real peril of empire-building founders
Key man risk, conflicts of interest, a disregard for rules and accounting issues. Entrepreneurial executives can make investors a motza – or cost them dearly.
ASIC sues Equity Trustees, targets more superannuation platforms
The corporate regulator is suing superannuation business Equity Trustees for allegedly failing to conduct proper due diligence over the Shield Master Fund.
July 2025
Stubborn PE firms get stuck with non-bank lenders on their books
From La Trobe Financial to Pepper, there’s plenty of interest in the sector. But unrealistic expectations are getting in the way of real dealmaking.
June 2025
Think Santos is a FIRB headache? Austal is another thing altogether
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will have to make some big calls on allowing foreign investors to buy up critical Australian energy and defence assets this year.
A weak IPO market? Here’s one big reason missed in the debate
Investors have long memories, and poor trading by many initial public offerings over the past five years has played a big part in the souring sentiment.
May 2025
Big super mergers create havoc for fundies as mandates get yanked
It’s clear the days of investment managers raking in easy money ended long ago. And some of the best-known firms are getting hit hardest as demand dries up.
March 2025
WiseTech’s fully fledged governance crisis is only just beginning
Richard White is back in control, but the countdown is on for the logistics software giant to avoid the ASX’s wrath. So who will agree to sit on its board?
August 2024
Real estate portal Domain the ultimate fixer-upper for Nine’s board
It’s Australia in 2024, and property is (still) king. Getting the one-time growth engine firing again would make for some very happy shareholders.
Inghams director warns: Guzman y Gomez store will attract ‘riff-raff’
Behind the minor fracas is a bigger question about whether the country’s biggest poultry producer can continue to squeeze big profits from fast food chains.
DroneShield: a capital markets plaything or the real deal?
Even as sceptics question its valuation, the drone detection and jamming group has a near $1 billion market capitalisation.
July 2024
Why M&A arb funds are sitting out ‘the trade of the year’
Sierra Rutile has caught the eye of London’s ‘most daring emerging markets fund’, a Sierra Leone mining contractor and a global commodities trader in a three-way bidding war.
A letter and PowerPoint about News Corp made this activist fund $120m
A failed bid to merge with Fox Corporation pointed out the inherent value in a couple of News Corp’s assets. One investor cashed in on the rise.
Liontown lithium supply test of faith for Tesla after BHP nickel halt
Nickel and lithium have had a rocky ride over the past 18 months. But the outlook cannot be wider for the biggest local players in each commodity.
Competition for broadband intensifies as consumers crack down on bills
Small telcos such as Superloop and Aussie Broadband have been stealing internet customers from Telstra, TPG Telecom and Optus as consumers shop around.
