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Mergers & acquisitions

Yesterday

Markets indicate a rising chance of a recession, yet central banks are not softening their hawkish messages.

Smiles all round at Morgan Stanley as Wall St bonus season opens

Most local bankers received 10 per cent to 15 per cent bonus increases compared to last year, with raises of as much as 50 per cent for the top performers.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Seagrass’s The Meat & Wine Co runs 13 African-inspired steak restaurants.

Crescent’s $200m-a-year Meat & Wine Co empire Seagrass courts buyers

The up-for-grabs business houses 19 steakhouses, with the African-inspired Meat & Wine Co pulling in about 60 per cent of the group’s revenues.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Olivia Wirth and Solomon Lew are teaming up for a deal that will make Myer much bigger.

Why Myer’s big deal with Premier is not a get-out-of-jail-free card

Big is one thing, better is another entirely. What is Myer buying in Premier Investments’ apparel brands?

  • Anthony Macdonald
Ben Hall, PAG’s new head of private credit for the Asia-Pacific region.

PAG Asia Capital hires KKR deal maker for credit strategy

Sources close to PAG say Ben Hall is expected to bring a corporate focus to the sprawling alternative asset manager’s private credit division.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Tourplan works with 350 tour operators to help them manage their bookings and tours.

NZ tourism software biz Tourplan up for sale

North Ridge Partners have been tapped to shop the $NZ150 million business to private equity types.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
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Scott Hartley.

Bain Capital matches $2.9b bid for Insignia in private equity shootout

The firm has met CC Capital’s offer and also signalled it is open to allowing Insignia shareholders to retain some of their stake.

  • Lucas Baird
The big Asutralian investment banks are hoping lower rates and a weaker Australian dollar will make completing deals easier.

After banking $4b in 2024, dealmakers expect a bumper year

Some of the country’s top dealmakers say a more certain outlook will finally dislodge transactions that have been stuck, paving the way for higher fees.

  • Updated
  • Emma Rapaport
The transition to a low-carbon economy is inevitable.

Alinta Energy taps investment banks as HK tycoon owner weighs options

Street Talk understands Hong Kong’s Chow Tai Fook has mandated investment banks UBS and RBC Capital Markets for advice ahead of a major renewables push.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

This Month

PEP told Fund IV investors the combined Equiniti-AST group had seen strong growth in earnings.

Pacific Equity Partners eyes closure at Equiniti fumble

As things currently stand, PEP’s Fund IV hopes for a $316 million payout, or 0.44- times the original investment.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Laser Clinics Australia has grown to 200 stores glopbally.

Laser Clinics to flash silky-smooth legs at bidders; KKR hires adviser

KKR’s Laser Clinics has fielded unsolicited interest from global PE players, prompting local PE boss David Lang to consider strategic options in 2025.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Insignia CEO Scott Hartley at the Financial Review Super & Wealth Summit in October.

Bain Capital set to match CC Capital at Insignia

Bain Capital, which bought out Virgin Australia in the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic and swept Estia Health off the ASX in 2023, is eager to take the fight to CC Capital.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Richard White, WiseTech Global’s founder, with chairman Richard Dammery.

WiseTech rolls into a new year like nothing happened

Don’t discount how important culture is to a company whose value is in its people and products, not hard assets in the ground.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Eiji Hashimoto: “We don’t think there is any other route that can strengthen the US steel industry more than this deal.”

Tariffs alone won’t strengthen industry, Nippon Steel boss warns Trump

At the heart of the debate is whether an acquisition of US Steel by a company based in Japan, a crucial Washington ally, would weaken the American steel sector.

  • Harry Dempsey
Insignia Financial CEO Scott Hartley.

CC Capital bids $2.9b for Insignia in private equity shootout

The New York-headquartered private equity firm lobbed a cash bid, trumping Bain Capital’s rejected offer.

  • Updated
  • Emma Rapaport
Get off the beach, the deals are back on!

Private equity’s $2.9b bolt from the blue kickstarts M&A wave

Get off the beach, the new year has begun with a doozy of a buyout bid. It is not straightforward, but it is a bit of fresh meat.

  • Updated
  • Anthony Macdonald
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Why the US wants BHP and Rio to get crazy rich in the Congo

BHP and Rio Tinto see just one problem with the big new copper mine Robert Friedland has built in the DRC. But the US government reckons it has the solution

  • Peter Ker
IFM Investors’ head of private equity, Stuart Wardman-Browne.

IFM Investors readies $600m private equity war chest with new fund

With its $500 million to $600 million target, IFM’s new private equity fund is its biggest mid-market PE fund to date.

  • Kanika Sood
A US Steel facility in Clairton, Pennsylvania.

Biden cites ‘national security’ in blocking US Steel sale

The decision to kill the deal is likely to trigger legal challenges from Nippon Steel and US Steel, which have complained about a lack of due process.

  • Jeff Stein and David J. Lynch

Who’s got a big miner lurking on their share register?

The next time a big miner like BHP, Rio or Fortescue lobs a takeover bid for a small explorer, the target will probably be one of the companies on this list.

  • Peter Ker
Australia’s battery minerals ambitions are taking a battering – add the ASX’s Jervois Global to the list.

How AusSuper’s big critical minerals bet went belly up

It’s a wake-up call for the companies that think life’s easy when you’re backed by Australia’s most powerful investor. It isn’t.

  • Anthony Macdonald

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/mergers---acquisitions-1mpf