Prosecutor's shock reveal

👋 G’day

Today’s brief:

• Crown prosecutor resigns after admitting in court he can’t win.

• Perpetual cuts $80m in costs, including jobs.

• Banks will keep HECS in borrowing calculations, in a blow to FHBs

Happy Friday – we’ve got the latest to close out your week 👇

PRACTICE POINTS

Instant coffee clash

• Well known coffee brands ‘Moccona’ and ‘Vittoria’ are fighting over their coffee jars, specifically the jars’ shape. Cut a long story short, Cantarella (which markets and sells ‘Vittoria’) was hit with an infringement claim, passing off, and ACL contravention claims. Moccona reckons Cantarella has infringed on its protected jar shape, which may cause confusion for those who oddly like instant coffee. In the Federal Court decision, Wheelahan J decided both jars can sit on the shelf as there was no infringement. Check out the case if you like instant coffee or shape trade marks – we won’t judge either way.

• ASIC’s move to crack down on opaque private markets is stirring up mixed reactions. With private investments on the rise, ASIC is concerned about dodgy disclosures, opaque investment structures, and super funds diving deeper into unlisted assets.

  • ASFA’s Mary Delahunty agrees on tightening the reins but points out that every minute spent dealing with redundant regulatory requests is “a minute lost on serving members and building their retirement funds.”

  • On the other hand, Corrs’ Sandy Mak thinks ASIC should oversee private market operators more closely to encourage pubic investment.

  • But maybe private isn't the problem. ASIC Chair Joe Longo recognises retreat from public markets and suggests that perhaps it’s time to rewrite the rules for listed companies.

• From this week, gig workers now have the right to file unfair deactivation claims with the Fair Work Commission, while road industry contractors can lodge unfair termination applications. This opens the door for more protections for workers in these sectors, giving them a legal avenue to challenge unfair treatment.

WORD ON THE STREET

Slater & Gordon strikes again

• It’s really not getting any better for Slater & Gordon:

  • A former employee, whose name matches one in the metadata of the leaked salary spreadsheet, opts for the Shaggy defence. They are adamant they were “absolutely not” involved in the email sent to all staff.

  • Meanwhile, the ambulance chasers have become the chasees, as rival compensation law firms target victims of the firm's mass data breach - 2 affected Slater & Gordon employees say they've already been privately contacted by other firms about whether they're considering taking action.

  • And just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, a 2nd former HR manager is suing Slater & Gordon. She claims she was suspended after raising concerns about working conditions and blowing the whistle on a decade-long underpayment scandal.

• Got $30m to spare? MinRes MD Chris Ellison is looking to part ways with his yacht — he's slipping down the rich list with the MinRes share price in the bin and an ASIC investigation into his tax scandal underway. Under Ellison's watch, the yacht played host to A-listers like Tom Cruise and 1980s rock legend Billy Idol: The Australian

• ‘How do you win?” Crown: “We don’t”. In an extraordinary exchange at the NSW District Court, a crown prosecutor admitted their case had no chance of success, leading the judge to ask “Then why are we here?” The prosecutor admitted they couldn’t rule out that the case would fail because of a reasonable excuse for the alleged crime. The shock concession came amid rising concerns within the DPP’s decision to run sexual assault cases with serious concerns of evidentiary validity. The prosecutor since resigned and joined the private bar causing a stir inside the DPP: The Australian

TALKING POINTS

HECS shackles stay

• The HECS shackles shall remain. Despite Treasurer Jim Chalmers urging APRA to let banks ignore student debt when assessing borrowing capacity, the regulator isn't budging. APRA remains worried about Australia’s high household debt and insists that lenders continue factoring in student loans: The Australian

• Legal demand hit a high in FY 2024, with growth across nearly all practice areas and locations, marking one of the best years on record. But as FY 2025 rolls in, the Australian legal market is cooling off. Demand is starting to dip in several sectors, and growth is now focused on a smaller group of practices and offices. In fact, 26% of legal buyers expect to cut their spending. In a turn of events, Australian GCs are showing more interest in international law firms, which could spell trouble for local players: Reuters

• Better get your ducks in a row. Atlassian’s survey of 6,000 workers across six countries, including Australia, found that nearly two-thirds would be willing to fire a disorganised colleague. Even more telling: 78% said they’d rather take on extra work than work with someone who can’t keep it together: The Australian

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

Rio’s Aussie share risk

• Rio’s shareholders are firmly opposed to an equity raise in Australia. The reason? It could slash the premium of Rio’s Aussie-listed shares, which are worth $116.30, compared to just £48.66 ($98) for those traded in London. JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and Macquarie are all angling for the chance to lead the raise: The Australian

• PE-backed Real Pet Foods has tapped Citi Australia for a potential change of control transaction, with the deal expected to hit up to $1.2bn. If it goes through, it’ll rank among the biggest PE exits in Australia for 2025: AFR

• HMC Capital is getting serious about buying Brookfield’s Healthscope, bringing in Macquarie Capital as their investment banker to lead a consortium bid. Meanwhile, Brookfield is restructuring Healthscope after struggling with high operating costs and potential debt covenant breaches, with plans possibly including buying back debt at a discount: The Australian

• Oh, how quickly the heartbreak fades. Less than a week after KKR pulled the plug on Perpetual, the race to buy its wealth management unit is down to Oaktree, TA Associates, and FirstCape. Perpetual’s CEO is now promising the sale, along with cost-cutting efforts, will get the company’s debt back under control: The Australian, AFR

SECTOR SPECIFIC

Shareholders shut out

🚜 DIGGERS

• Snowy Hydro hit a rough patch this week, with an exploding ventilation fan sending shrapnel flying across the site. The Australian Workers Union called it "sheer fortune" that no one was killed. In response, Government owned-Snowy Hydro is demanding leadership changes from the Italian principal contractor, Future Generation joint venture, overseeing the project: AFR

• A recent trial in WA saw renewable diesel—made partly from cooking oil—power up Rio Tinto’s operations in the Pilbara, including ports, railways, and iron ore mines. The result? A 27,000-tonne reduction in Scope 1 emissions: Australian Mining

🏦 FIN

• Heads will roll at Perpetual, as the investment funds targets a $70-$80m in cost savings through staff redundancies. That’s because it saw a 65% drop in net profits. The firm plans to streamline its operations, particularly in its Australian head office. The move comes after Perpetual walked away from its $2.18bn deal with KKR, opting to focus on selling its wealth management business and reducing debt: The Australian

• Investment company Keybridge Capital held a shareholder meeting yesterday where a board spill vote was on the agenda. But shareholders were left out in the cold. The meeting was supposed to be a "hybrid", but when shareholders asked for dial-in details, they were shut out. Even those who showed up in person were prevented from entering: AFR 

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Centuria Capital is gearing up to float 2 new property funds this year, focusing on data infrastructure and real estate finance. With the rise of data centres, the company’s ResetData unit is undertaking the country’s first sovereign AI factory to democratise access to AI models. And with its alternative real estate assets now making up nearly a quarter of its $20.5bn funds, Centuria is bullish on the property market’s recovery: The Australian

• Qantas Airways is back in the dividend game, paying its first payout since before the pandemic. The move highlights the airline’s strong financial recovery, driven by soaring demand for air travel: Bloomberg

📱 TECH

• Grant Lee, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, is no stranger to investor offers. But his software company, Gamma, isn’t seeking more funding. Instead, it’s using AI to boost productivity in customer service, marketing, coding, and research. With just 28 employees, Gamma generates "tens of millions" in annual recurring revenue, serves nearly 50m users, and is profitable: AFR

• Ovum, the new startup on a mission to fix the gender data gap. With a $1.7m funding boost, the company is launching the first AI-powered health assistant designed specifically for women. Founded by former doctor Ariella Heffernan-Marks, Ovum’s goal is to fix the gender data gap that’s long existed in medical research by giving women a personal health ally while collecting data that could drive better diagnoses, treatments, and understanding of female health: Capital Brief

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