EY partner faces scandal

PRACTICE POINTS

Takeovers Panel lifts the bar

• Takeovers Panel raises the bar on reviews. Once a Panel decision is made, parties can seek a review—but if no declaration or orders are made, they’ll need the President’s blessing. And lately, the answer is no. In Invest Blue and Tissue Repair, the President refused consent, citing no fresh evidence or legal errors. It’s a clear signal the Panel is tightening discretion and wants to avoid rehashing weak cases. The move may limit deal delays and bring more deal certainty to fast-moving transactions: HSF

• ASIC has published guidance on what small businesses need to know about climate-reporting. From 1 Jan 2025, large companies must report on climate-related risks, plans and strategies—and small biz might get pulled in. If a small business has a customer or supplier that is a large business or financial institution, they may ask for further info to help them comply. They could ask for things like electricity bills to help them report on their energy usage.

• Federal Court clarifies directors' duties post-merger. In a recent decision, Pacific Current Group brought proceedings against its former directors, alleging breaches of duties in a merger with Northern Lights. Four non-executive directors escaped liability, but the ex-CEO was found in breach for failing to inform the board of risks tied to a key asset. The case draws a clear line: executive directors face higher standards, especially around due diligence, disclosure, and reliance on the business judgment rule.

WORD ON THE STREET

Ex-EY partner’s $700k scandal

• Former EY partner Peter White is accused of pocketing $700k in secret commissions while running illegal tax schemes for wealthy clients. The ATO alleges White used EY’s reputation to convince clients to take part in tax schemes linked to his friend without disclosing his cut. He’s now fighting $1.5m in penalties. Andrew Berger KC is repping White: AFR

• Clifford Chance has extended its partnership Wexler AI after a successful six-month pilot. Wexler is delivering results in fact extraction, chronology creation, Q&A functionality, and inconsistency mapping, helping enhance dispute resolution by efficiently processing large volumes of documents: LPI 

• Justice Thomas Bradley has been appointed to the Court of Appeal from the Queensland Supreme Court, while Judge Paul Smith AM has been elevated from District Court Judge Administrator to the Supreme Court.

TALKING POINTS

ASX on blast

• The RBA and ASIC have fired off a joint letter blasting ASX’s handling of operational risk, following the December settlement meltdown. They’ve demanded a technical review of CHESS by an external expert, with findings to be made public. The RBA is also reassessing ASX’s compliance outside the usual cycle, warning that if things don’t improve fast, further regulatory action is coming. ASX says it’s “absolutely committed to rebuilding confidence,” but the regulators say change has been too slow: Capital Brief

• KKR in corrected its own correction. The private equity giant released its monthly investment update, which valued its net tangible assets at $2.45 per unit and the share price at $2.33. It then released a statement saying it got those numbers switched. Not ideal, but we learn. Except… KKR released another correction statement stating the correction was wrong and the original figures are right. Yikes. Well, you’d hope their not in the business of getting the numbers right: AFR

• Every major city, except Hobart, reported an increase in house prices. The Home Value Index rose 0.4% a new high in March. The boost was largely driven by an interest rate cut, with Sydney and Melbourne leading the charge, showing positive growth: Bloomberg

• Queensland toughens youth crime laws—again. Last year, QLD mandated adult sentences for murder, manslaughter and home invasions. Now, the state's “adult crime, adult time” regime will also cover attempted murder, rape, arson and more, with juvenile offenders facing up to life in prison. The changes come after a 13-year-old stabbed a supermarket worker, and follow public anger that such crimes weren’t included in the first crackdown: The Australian

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

Sigma’s $1bn growth play

• Fresh off its $33bn Chemist Warehouse merger, Sigma is mulling a convertible bond raising—potentially $1bn—to help refinance debt and fund growth. But with market volatility complicating things, a couple hundred million raise may be the safer bet. Goldman Sachs is expected to run the deal: The Australian

• AV Jennings’ board has recommended a $369m scheme bid from Proprium Capital Partners and its Australian property group AVID, offering 65.5 cents per share, a 98.5% premium over its November share price. The deal follows the end of talks with Ho Bee Land, which failed to submit a binding proposal after offering 70 cents per share. Allens acts for AV Jennings.

• HSF have deep dived into NBIOs from 2022 to 2024, finding that most deals stay hush-hush until an agreement is inked, with only 12% leaked and only 20% disclosed voluntarily. And voluntary disclosures can drive value for the target’s shareholders, with 26% of cases leading to a rival bid and a further 26% of cases where there was a unilateral price raise.

• Qantas Super has officially merged with Australian Retirement Trust, transferring 25,000 members and $9bn in funds. CEO Michael Clancy called the decision "bittersweet" but in the best interest of members, marking the end of Qantas Super’s 86-year history. Members now join ART's 2.4 million-strong base, benefiting from enhanced global investments and support: Investor Daily

SECTOR SPECIFIC

Rio Tinto’s secret

🚜 DIGGERS

• Rio’s payout to Juukan Gorge foundation stays secret – The Juukan Gorge Legacy Foundation, set up with Rio after the 2020 heritage blast, won approval to hide its financials “to avoid pricing heritage destruction”. Despite earning $3m+ annually, most figures are redacted. Critics warn the decision could weaken accountability standards for Indigenous organisations: AFR

• Australia lifted its 2025 commodity export forecast to $387bn, which is down almost 7% from the forecast a year ago. The Dept of Industry, Science and Resources warned of a slide to $343bn by 2030 as prices for iron ore, coal and LNG drop ~40%: Bloomberg

🏦 FIN

• Under fire from ASIC’s scathing review, Australia’s biggest super funds say they’re lifting their game on death benefit claims, pledging faster payouts, better service and more support for vulnerable members. Rest, ART and Brighter Super say they’ve already tripled claim speeds, cut backlogs, and launched dedicated teams to fix the mess: The Australian

• Westpac CEO Anthony Miller has outlined an ambitious $3bn technology simplification plan called Unite, aimed at reducing the bank’s operating systems over four years. With expenses climbing to $11bn, the initiative will streamline St George, Bank of Melbourne, and BankSA brands onto Westpac’s platform, cutting costs and improving efficiency. This includes $600m in 2025, $450m for uniform mortgage offers, and $300m for a new loan origination system: AFR 

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Dutton will pledge an extra $1.5bn to revive the stalled Melbourne Airport Rail Link. He’s also vowing to scrap Labor’s $200bn Suburban Rail Loop, calling it a “cruel hoax”. The move targets key Victorian swing seats and puts transport front and centre in the election pitch: Capital Brief

• Woolies cut prices hard in March, narrowing its gap with Aldi to 7.8%—the closest in two years—as it scrambles to recover lost sales and appease the ACCC ahead of its final supermarket report: AFR

📱 TECH & START UP

• ChatGPT’s OpenAI is developing a new ‘open-weights’ AI model with reasoning capabilities, set for release in the coming months. Unlike open-source models, open-weights models allow users to access and modify how the model makes connections without seeing the underlying source code or training data. The move comes as a response to the success of DeepSeek's R1 and Meta’s Llama models: Yahoo!

• Big investors are backing Richard White to stay—temporarily—but want a “gradual transition” to a new CEO, calling for a sensible succession plan. And the WiseTech is no longer in breach of ASX’s independence requirements, with former chair Andrew Harrison taking over as lead independent director: AFR