Slater & Gordon salary leak

👋 G’day

Today’s brief:

• A rogue email to Slater & Gordon staff sparks police investigation.

• Perpetual cancels deal with KKR over tax liability.

• MECCA beauty empire may soon be sold.

Massive movements since we last spoke.

Here are the insights you need to start your week. 👇

PRACTICE POINTS

Compensation clash

• The Yindjibarndi people are demanding $1.8bn for the destruction of over 200 Aboriginal heritage sites at the Fortescue mine, while the WA government has proposed a much smaller $5m-$10m comp package. Gilbert + Tobin partner Marshall McKenna has warned that if the Federal Court sets a low compensation amount, resource companies might reconsider their agreements with traditional owners. Companies typically offer more than what the court would award to ensure project certainty and maintain their social license to operate, meaning this could significantly reshape compensation structures in the resources sector: The Australian

• The Government’s Nature Positive Bills are not proceeding. The Federal Senate recently passed a motion that shelved the 3 Nature Positive Bills that aimed to overhaul the EPBC Act. Off the back of Professor Graeme Samuel AC's Final Report, these Bills looked to establish Environment Protection Australia and Environment Information Australia and implement related amendments / transitional provisions. Depending on how the election plays out, these reforms could be revived: KWM

• AussieSuper has copped a $27m penalty for flouting superannuation rules on consolidating customer accounts. ASIC claimed AussieSuper failed to properly identify customers with multiple accounts and merge them when it was in their best interest to do so: Lawyerly

WORD ON THE STREET

Firmwide email exposes salaries

• 10am on Friday, Slater & Gordon staff were blind copied into an email purportedly from outgoing chief people officer Mari Ruiz-Matthyssen—except it was from an imposter. The rogue email, sent from a Gmail account, included a spreadsheet with salary, bonus, and performance ratings for 906 staff as well as a plethora of allegations. The sender had strong views on CEO Dina Tutungi, who apparently is only concerned with her $690k bottom line. Slater & Gordon swiftly denied Ruiz-Matthyssen’s involvement, calling it a “lone wolf” incident. CEO Tutungi has called in Victoria Police and cybersecurity experts to get to the bottom of it. Watch this space: AFR

• Environmental powerhouse Elizabeth Wild joins Jones Day’s Sydney government team after 6 years at NRF. With 30+ years of experience, she focuses on remediation law and managing issues with contaminated land: Lawyerly

• Baker McKenzie is on fire. The global firm has reeled in Expedia’s leading tax guy Dixon Hearder—back at his old stomping ground after a decade. His appointment comes 2 months after Baker McKenzie picked up AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda’s finance lawyer Bryan Paisley: AFR

TALKING POINTS

Luigi Mangione fights evidence

• Luigi Mangione, accused of gunning down a health insurance CEO in New York, is taking aim at the evidence. His lawyer’s arguing an illegal search during his Pennsylvania arrest, calling out "serious search and seizure issues” and pushing to have the evidence tossed: ABC

• Treasurer Jim Chalmers is heading to Washington DC to argue for Australia's exclusion from tariffs, with trade and tariffs being a key topic in his discussions. Chalmers will meet with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent but emphasized that tariffs won’t be the only focus of the talks: Bloomberg

• Elon Musk has given US federal employees just over 48 hours to explain their work from the past week or risk being fired, following a push from Donald Trump to "get more aggressive" on government cuts. Musk, aiming to reduce spending, has also offered employees the option to resign if they don't want to return to the office full-time: Yahoo!

• Does Warren know something we don’t? Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has cash to splash but is refusing to do it. The conglomerate has a record US$334.2bn in the bank and is facing mounting pressure from investors to explain why. In his annual letter, Buffet reminded investors that the great majority of the firm’s money remains invested in equities. Still, Buffet remains a net seller of shares, which could indicate he is concerned about a softening US economy: AFR

TREASURY

DEAL ROOM

Perpetual axes KKR deal

• Perpetual confirmed that the deal with private equity firm KKR to acquire its Corporate Trust and Wealth Management business has been terminated. After extensive discussions and a ruling from the Australian Taxation Office raising tax liability concerns, the independent expert concluded the revised terms were not in the best interests of shareholders.

• Krispy Kreme has enlisted JP Morgan and Arnold Bloch Liebler to explore a potential refranchising of its Australia and New Zealand operations, and it’s going by the code name “Project Macaroon”. The doughnut giant is after a new partner to take over the ANZ business: AFR

• Australia’s beauty empire, MECCA, is finally ready to strike a deal. After years of turning down investment bankers’ advances, the $1bn makeup giant could soon be handed off to the highest bidder: AFR

• Private equity and infrastructure investors are eyeing Zenith Energy, but don’t count out its current shareholders just yet. Odds are that one of its shareholders could exercise their pre-emptive rights — while OP Trust is looking to sell, Pacific Equity Partners is eyeing a bigger piece of the pie: The Australian

• Australia’s second-largest coal miner, Yancoal, is set to spend its $1.8bn war chest on new acquisitions. And get this, they’re not just eyeing Australian assets; they’re open to expanding beyond coal and even across borders: AFR

SECTOR SPECIFIC

Largest crypto theft in history

🚜 DIGGERS

• Rewind to 2023. MinRes had big plans to spin off its lithium assets into a new holding company, eyeing a US stock listing. The idea? Cashing in on a much higher valuation multiple for its WA lithium portfolio across the pond. If it worked, MinRes shareholders could’ve struck gold. But then... the lithium price tanked, forcing MinRes to close its Bald Hill lithium ops late last year. Oh, how the mighty have fallen: AFR

• Arca, a Canadian start-up, is using mining tailings to absorb carbon dioxide through a process similar to rust formation. The company has raised $12.65m, including from Side Stage and Saniel Ventures, and is testing its tech with BHP in WA. The company has sold carbon credits to major players like Shopify, and sees gigatonnes of CO2 absorption potential: The Australian

• Jervois Global, once a $1.6bn cobalt giant, has called in King & Wood Mallesons to block shareholder demands for an emergency meeting. Investors are fuming, accusing the board of pushing the company toward voluntary administration. AussieSuper, holding over 23% of the stock, is looking at a $100m+ loss: The Australian

🏦 FIN

• Dubai-based crypto exchange Bybit is reeling after hackers made off with a record US$1.5bn (A$2.4bn) in digital assets—marking the largest crypto theft in history: The Australian

• HSBC is overhauling its business with a $1.8bn revamp, planning to restructure its main units and scale back investment banking. The bank expects to save $300m in 2025 and $1.5bn in 2026, using the savings to cover upfront costs of the overhaul, including severance packages for bankers: Reuters

🏡 RETAIL & REAL ESTATE

• Guzman y Gomez is struggling to break into the US market despite supersizing its burritos. The fast food chain has opened 16 new stores in Australia since July but a push to break into the competitive US market with five stores in Chicago has not fared as well. The chain saw a 12.7% decline in US sales. But founder and CEO Steven Marks said: “we’re building brand and it takes time”: The Guardian

• Plenary has secured a $1bn valuation and is set to bid on housing projects worth 70% of its total portfolio this year after selling a 49% stake to Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund ADQ. The developer will target four major projects totalling 3400 homes. Despite a slow start to 2025, housing approvals hit a two-year high in 2024, and Plenary is bidding on key government tenders, including 1000 homes in North Melbourne and Perth: AFR

📱 TECH

• Four WiseTech directors will leave the board next month, citing differing views on the role of founder Richard White. Lisa Brock, Richard Dammery, Michael Malone, and Fiona Pak-Poy will step down from the $40bn giant, following concerns over White’s new position as founder and founding CEO. This comes after two new allegations against White earlier this month, with WiseTech confirming they are still finalizing the terms of his new role: The Australian

• While Microsoft unvails a quantum computer that can fit in your pocket, Apple’s has dropped its latest budget iPhone, the iPhone 16e, aiming to snatch a bigger slice of the mid-range smartphone market: Forbes

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