Partners poached

👋 G’day

Today’s brief:

• Piper Alderman poaches six Squires partners.

• This Aussie start-up is taking on cyber threats with AI.

• The world’s largest fund bets against the Australian economy.

Here’s the latest to kick start your week 👇

PRACTICE POINTS

Judges cannot engage in guesswork

• A $101m claim against guarantors was dismissed by the Federal Court, which found that errors in the Deed of Guarantee couldn't be corrected. The deed mistakenly guaranteed the debts of a different entity, Steller Investment Notes, not Steller Developments. The Court explained it can correct obvious errors in contracts, but only when (1) the literal meaning must create an absurdity, and (2) the intended meaning must be obvious to a high degree of certainty.

• APRA’s proposed 10-year director cap could force 500+ exits by 2028 if extended to the ASX300, hitting founder-led companies hardest. Big names affected include Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments, whose directors have been around since 2015. Critics, including AICD's Mark Rigotti, warn the rule might be too blunt, risking board instability and stifling valuable long-term experience: AFR

• Bidders are shifting towards takeover bids over schemes, particularly for larger target companies. Bids like FMG’s Red Hawk Mining bid and Seven Group’s Boral takeover, showcased successful strategies such as conditional price increases, and appealing directly to shareholders even without board support. These bids often launch at a nil or low premium, followed by a modest price increase, leveraging the bidder’s existing stakes to create momentum: HSF

WORD ON THE STREET

Piper Alderman raids Squires

• Piper Alderman has raided Squire Patton Boggs, taking six partners from the Sydney corporate, construction, and financial services teams. With their teams in tow, the firm has added a total of 16 new hires: Lawyerly

• Three current and former Slater & Gordon staff lodged complaints about a senior executive’s management style in 2024, prompting the firm to spend tens of thousands on leadership training. The complaints match up with accusations in the rogue email that rocked the firm in February. Two weeks later and the Victoria Police cybercrime squad is still investigating: AFR

• A classic case of overblown fee estimates. A former client is suing Holding Redlich, claiming the firm failed to disclose legal costs adequately in a 2018 personal injury case. The client alleges he was left “confused and overwhelmed” by contradictory cost estimates, expecting to pay $30,000 but facing higher fees just before mediation: Lawyerly

• Adelaide lawyer Lauren Jean Willgoose, 33, has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for causing the death of Anthony Walsh, 70, while driving drunk. Willgoose, who had 1.5 litres of wine, fled the scene and continued drinking at home. The judge slammed her actions as “morally reprehensible”: Lawyers Weekly

TALKING POINTS

Australia’s focus: Ukraine or China?

• Opposition Leader Peter Dutton criticised Albanese’s support for a European-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine, arguing Australia’s defence focus should be on China’s threat closer to home. While Macron convenes peacekeeping talks in Paris, Dutton says sending troops overseas is a misstep: AFR

• Cyclone Alfred hit Queensland, causing flash flooding and leaving 240,000+ people without power. The storm, downgraded to a “tropical low”, made landfall near Brisbane. Tragically, one man lost his life in floodwaters in northern New South Wales: ABC

• Despite a 17% swing against them, WA Labor secured 40 seats in the WA State Election, keeping their thumping majority for a third successive term. And of that 17% swing, only 5% went to the Libs. They doubled their seats to five, but that’s hardly a comeback story: ABC

• Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, is betting against the Australian economy. The firm launched its All Weather ETF, allowing retail investors to follow its own All Weather strategy. According to disclosures, the ETF includes modest short positions against Australia’s stock and bond markets: AFR

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

Greencross’ $4bn IPO

• $4bn pet care giant Greencross is edging closer to a sale or float, with its owner TPG Capital lining up Barrenjoey and Jefferies for a potential 2025 IPO. A UK-based suitor may push for a trade sale instead, with Pets at Home, VetPartners, and CVS Group among potential bidders. The pet space is hot—Woolworths recently paid $586m for PETstock and Real Petfood is currently up for sale: The Australian

• Prospective buyers are circling $6bn Aussie steel manufacturer InfraBuild, with fears of an inevitable collapse of the Sanjeev Gupta-backed company. Some lenders are offering loans at 70c on the dollar, with private equity firms like Gordon Brothers taking an interest in the debt: The Australian

• Snack and beverage company Soulfresh leads a consortium bid for Wallaby Foods, a Byron Bay-based snack maker, supplying Coles and Woolworths and focusing on vegan, gluten-free, and natural snacks. Private equity firms love healthy food brands, with Quadrant Private Equity owning My Muscle Chef and TPG Capital buying Nutrient Water-owner Made Group back in 2021: AFR

SECTOR SPECIFIC

Virgin’s £700m bid to break Eurostar

🚜 DIGGERS

• ASX-listed Cobre has inked a $US25m (A$40m) earn-in agreement with BHP Group, giving the mining giant a 75% stake in Cobre’s Kitlanya East and West copper projects. The deal, 17 months in the making, makes Cobre the first participant of BHP Xplor, an exploration accelerator program, to land a major partnership: AFR

• Billionaire Gerry Harvey, founder of Harvey Norman, is branching out from retail and property into PNG's lime and cement market, acquiring a 6.7% stake in ASX-listed Mayur Resources. The $100m fundraising will drive the Central Lime Project, aiming to supply 400k tonnes of quicklime annually and position Mayur as the next Boral: AFR

🏦 FIN

• Australia's biggest super fund, Aussie Super, is nearing its $100bn limit on ASX investments, pushing it to shift 70% of new funds overseas. CEO Paul Schroder says the fund is expanding in New York and London to diversify globally: AFR

• Lenders have granted Healthscope with a lifeline. Struggling with rising medical costs and lower insurer payouts, the hospital operator now has more time to pay the $13.19m in interest repayments. The 2-month extension gives also Healthscope more time to negotiate funding agreements with insurers: Bloomberg

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Virgin Group plans to raise £700m (A$1.4bn) to launch a high-frequency cross-Channel rail service, aiming to break Eurostar’s 30-year monopoly. The new line would connect London, Paris, and Brussels, with a future extension to Amsterdam by 2029: Capital Brief

• Westfield malls may be the centre of 4000+ homes. Scentre Group, Australia’s biggest shopping centre owner, is in advanced talks with the NSW government to rezone two Westfield malls for over 4000 new homes. With housing construction down, Scentre sees an opportunity to help supercharge the housing market by tapping into retail hubs in fast-growing areas: AFR

📱 TECH

• This Aussie start-up is being a helpful hacker to Australia biggest companies. Ex-Vow staffer Soroush Pour is tackling cyber threats with his Harmony Intelligence startup, which uses AI to act as an ethical hacker to spot vulnerabilities faster than traditional methods. The company now has to backing to accelerate, raising $4.76m for its AI-based security platform: The Australian

• The US DOJ abandons plans to force Google to sell AI investments, including its stake in Anthropic, saying it may cause "unintended consequences" in the AI market. However, the DOJ still wants Google to sell its Chrome browser and loosen search engine deals, as Trump vows to keep cracking down on Big Tech: Reuters

Want to tell us something? 

Reply to this email to tell us what we should cover.

New here?

👋 You’re in good company. You’re reading this alongside readers from HSF, KWM, Allens and Corrs. Sign up now for insights delivered directly to your inbox.