Meta's privacy payout

G’day.

Welcome to Point Blank.

Today’s brief:

• Meta settles Cambridge Analytica incident for $50m.

• EY sues its partners for jumping ship to a competitor.

• 12,000 businesses bite the dust, as concerns about GFC levels rise.

Enjoy that morning coffee with the latest to keep you ahead of the curve 👇

💼 Practice Points

• APRA’s latest super fund review? Not pretty… Of the 23 funds examined—managing 80% of the sector’s assets—more than half are falling short on key legal obligations around valuation governance and liquidity risk management. The regulator found that only 11 had dedicated valuation committees on their boards, even though those committees might not even have the expertise or resources to properly review valuations. There are even cases where individuals doing the valuations had pay or bonus incentives tied to the valuation outcomes. APRA has threatened further action if funds don't clean up their act, including action against executives or other individuals under the Financial Accountability Regime, which kicks into force for super funds on March 1. Minters gives a rundown of the regime here.

• HopgoodGanim is back with Part 9 of their 10-part Australian takeover defence series, and this time they’re diving into defensive tactics and “frustrating actions”. Quick recap: Australia’s takeover laws are a bit of a dampener on the aggressive defences you might see overseas. Once a bid is communicated—whether publicly or privately—the target’s directors can’t just do whatever they want to block it. If they take certain actions, the Takeovers Panel will declare unacceptable circumstances. Some classic defensive tactics include obtaining intention statements from key shareholders that they don’t support the bid, procuring alternative bidders to make better offers and criticising the bid for being opportunistic and highly conditional.

🏘️ Word on the Street 

• Richard Niall, former Solicitor-General of Victoria, has been tapped as the new Chief Justice of the Victoria Supreme Court.

• In case you missed it on Monday, top Aussie law firms were cutting lawyers for the first time in years, as the once-hot lawyer market cools. While law firms are winning on hiring, burnout continues to be a widespread issue.

• Norton Rose Fulbright promotes 2 partners just in time for Christmas. Rohan Sridhar and Vanessa Ward join the partnership effective 1 Jan.

📢 Talking Points

• After a long legal slog, Qantas and the Transport Workers Union have sealed a $120m compensation deal for the 1,683 ground staff whose jobs were unlawfully outsourced during the pandemic. The agreement, managed by Maurice Blackburn, means former workers will see amounts varying widely—from $10,000 to significantly more. This settlement comes after Qantas unsuccessfully fought the Federal Court’s ruling, with both the full court and the High Court backing Justice Michael Lee's original decision.

• ASIC data reveals record insolvency numbers, with 12k businesses folding between January and November as cozzie livs continues to bite. Clayton Utz partner Maria O’Brien warns that 2024’s corporate insolvency figures could outpace even the GFC peaks, and they’ve already shot well beyond pre-COVID levels.

• Meanwhile, Treasurer Chalmers tries to weave his way through the record-high insolvencies. Almost 26,000 businesses had become insolvent since the Albanese government came in. Chalmers says while business insolvencies are at an all-time high, the rate of insolvencies is less than they were during the Howard government.

• Open Arms, the government-funded crisis support service for Australian soldiers and veterans, is facing a major underpayment scandal. At least 2,500 workers have been underpaid on their super entitlements, and taxpayers may have to pay a $50m bill to settle the back payments.

🏦 The Treasury

🤝 Deal Room

• Bain Capital’s $4-a-share takeover offer? Not good enough, says Insignia. Insignia has shut down Bain’s $4 per share offer, calling it undervalued and not in the best interests of shareholders. Leaning on advisers, Citigroup, Gresham, and KWM, the board decided not to engage further with Bain.

• After a long tug-of-war over Pacific Smiles, Crescent Capital is casting its net wider—this time across the Tasman. The firm’s eyeing New Zealand’s Metro Performance Glass, with a buyout proposal that values the glass maker at $15m.

• Mosaic Brands is having a rough run. After entering VA and closing 160 stores—including the once-popular Katies—the retail giant has received just one credible bid for its troubled assets. And it’s from none other than its chairman, Richard Facioni.

• Singapore’s CapitaLand is diving into Australia’s booming private credit market with a $200m deal to acquire Wingate. Wingate plans to grow with CapitaLand's backing, targeting $1bn in additional Australian debt opportunities. The deal, including a $100 million earn-out, boosts CapitaLand’s funds under management to $134 billion, pending regulatory approval.

🏗 Sector Specific

Diggers

• BHP, Rio Tinto, and BlueScope are teaming up to build the world’s largest "green" iron-making electric smelting furnace. The high-tech facility will be constructed right next door to BHP's old nickel refinery in Kwinana.

• In other BHP news, one of their train drivers—stressed, recovering from two white-tailed spider bites, and sleeping with the lights on—crashed into a stationary train at the company’s iron ore operations. The incident has prompted BHP to ramp up the number of fatigue assessments for FIFO drivers.

• And BHP (ok, last one) is gearing up for uncertainty “related to trade flows, tariffs, industrial policy” with the return of US President Trump, says CEO Mike Henry.

• The government is bracing for an $8.5bn hit to its tax take over the next four years from a loss of mining export revenue, as Australia's largest trading partner, China, struggles to shore up its deteriorating economy.

Fin

• EY is taking legal action against 5 of its 17 former partners who jumped ship to the Australian arm of consulting firm Alvarez & Marsal, along with the firm itself. The lawsuit is set to test the enforceability of the restraint clauses in partnership agreements. Ironically, this move comes just as EY asked 8 of its partners to exit as part of a cost-cutting drive.

• Chalmers vows to keep pursuing higher taxes on super accounts worth more than $3m.

• ANZ is back in ASIC’s firing line, this time over allegations it charged fees to deceased customers' accounts and failed to fix the issue promptly. Around 20,000 customers are affected. After the bond trading scandal, the bank’s board is bracing for a strike on its pay report at the upcoming AGM. And if that wasn't enough, they're also warning of potential protests disrupting the meeting.

Tech & Media

• Meta has agreed to pay $50m to settle the long-running Cambridge Analytica legal battle with the Australian Information Commissioner, making it the largest-ever payment aimed at addressing privacy concerns for Aussies. The settlement will go toward compensating thousands of Australian Facebook users whose personal—often sensitive—information was improperly shared with third-party apps.

• Google’s advertising empire is under fire as Piper Alderman files a Federal Court class action accusing the tech giant of misusing its market power in the ad tech space. The claim, backed by litigation funder Woodsford, seeks compensation for Australian-based website and app publishers (including Sydney Times Media and Q News) allegedly left out of pocket due to Google’s conduct.

• Former PM Malcolm Turnbull says he will expand his private investments (which are worth a pretty penny) in cybersecurity, which he believes could be as rewarding as his portfolio of renewable energy interests.

Retail & Real Estate

• Myer’s move to double down on expansion plans is necessary to combat rising competition from disruptors like Shein and Temu. Myer’s $1bn takeover of Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments' apparel brands – the likes of Jeans, Portmans, Jay Jays, and more – aims to improve scale to 783 stores and $4bn in annual revenue.

• In sad news, two popular Melbourne pubs – the Carlton Club and the Windsor Castle Hotel – have collapsed. Administrators kicked off a fire sale for their assets. Major creditors include the ATO, NAB, as well as unsecured creditors who are in for about $1.5m.

🧐 Wednesday Wisdom