WA's lithium lifeline

G’day.

Welcome to Point Blank.

Today’s brief:

• WA government announced a $150m lithium rescue package to stabilise struggling miners.

• New Workday Student software to lift Australian Universities

• Labor’s parliamentary bill blitz pays off, with key social media ban through.

It’s the last Friday of the month before the Christmas cheer. Unlike those office Secret Santa gifts, we hope everyone’s advent calendars are at the ready.

Here’s what you need to know 👇

 💼 Practice Points

• A coalition of investment banks is rallying for a major shake-up of the ASX’s listing process—hoping to breathe life into the IPO market. JPMorgan enlisted Big6 firm KWM to help draft a submission to the ASX and ASIC, calling for faster, more US-style timelines. The submissions push for a streamlined listing process that cuts down on red tape and gets companies to market quickly.

• The ACCC has been calling out Webjet for allegedly misleading customers for more than five years. According to the regulator, the company promoted airfares without fully disclosing additional fees, ranging from $35 to $55. On top of that, Webjet allegedly hit customers with extra charges averaging $770, with one case requiring a staggering $21,764.

• The Federal Government wants lawyers’ feedback on two key regulatory updates. First, it wants to expand consumer data rights to non-bank lenders, letting consumers share bank data with lenders for better deals on mortgages and car loans. Second, it’s proposing a Crypto Asset Reporting Framework, giving tax authorities the tools to collect and share crypto transaction data. Got thoughts? The Government wants to hear them.

🏘️ Word on the Street 

• HSF is expanding its European footprint, with plans to open a new office in Luxembourg early next year. The move is aimed at strengthening its private capital capabilities, with Luxembourg being "an attractive financial centre and hub for the fund and broader corporate groups operating across Europe".

• Former practice group manager sues his ex-firm Landers & Rogers. He claims they made his role redundant after he faced difficulties at work since beginning to use a wheelchair due to multiple sclerosis, including in relation to his request for automated bathroom doors.

• Tony Coburn, ex-HSF leading financial services expert, has jumped ship to MinterEllison—making him the eighth lawyer to join Minters in just one month.

• Dentons swoops up tax team from rival Hamilton Locke. Damien Bourke and his tax disputes team made the move to Denton’s Brisbane office this month. The month prior, Dentons also poached an employment and safety team from Holding Redlich.

📢 Talking Points

• Yesterday, we mentioned that Albo was aiming to pass 36 bills in one day. Well, mission accomplished—almost. The Albanese government secured Senate passage for 31 of those bills, marking the most bills passed in a single day since 52 bills were rushed through in June 2013. After months of pushback from the Greens and Coalition, both sides folded on key issues. The controversial new social media ban for under-16s made it through. As did the bill to overhaul the Reserve Bank in a last-minute deal – the RBA’s board will now be split in two, with a monetary policy committee and a board to manage its day-to-day running. Not a bad day at the office for Albo.

• Now how’s your screen time looking? Well, Gen Zs are spending a staggering 6 hours a day online, driven by TikTok (64 minutes daily) and Snapchat (55 minutes), according to a UK study. Australian stats aren’t far off, with a Kepios survey finding the average Aussie aged 16-64 racks up almost 6 hours of daily screentime, suggesting our Gen Zs could be even more addicted.

• US drug company Allergan is facing a class action from women whose breast implants were recalled after being tied to cancer. The plaintiffs, backed by Williams Roberts, claim the implants breach the ACL's “acceptable quality” guarantee and are going after compensation for their losses, costs, and—let’s not forget—mental distress.

🏦 The Treasury

• Speaking at a CEDA event, RBA governor Michele Bullock reiterated that “it’s hard to tell” what the impact of tariffs might be on Australia. But she thinks it could bring benefits – if they happen. Suggesting the move could be postering from the new administration.

🤝 Deal Room

• Macquarie Asset Management is back for another shot at London-listed waste firm Renewi. The waste management company, which operates across the Netherlands and Belgium, had rejected Macquarie’s previous bids, calling them undervalued. With a £701m (A$1.4bn) bid on the table, the board seems ready to back this time. Renewi shares soared 47%—their biggest jump since 2009—after Macquarie’s £8.70-per-share offer, a 57% premium to the previous close.

• With Genesis Capital now in control of Pacific Smiles, all eyes are on Crescent Capital, who lost out in the takeover race. But they’re not sitting idle—as part of its plan to expand its National Dental Centre, Crescent could turn its focus on Ekera Dental, which operates 46 clinics across the country.

• Peabody Energy’s next move after snapping up Anglo American’s $5.8bn coal mines? Securing the funding. Coal might have been a pariah with lenders just a few years ago, but now, with prices skyrocketing and coal remaining a key piece of the energy transition, banks and credit funds are lining up to lend.

• Despite earlier rumours of Macquarie pulling out, Macquarie Asset Management is back in the race to acquire I-MED, Australia’s largest radiology company, in what could be a $3bn deal. But if Macquarie doesn’t seal the deal, an I-MED IPO could be on the cards as early as next year.

🏗 Sector Specific

Diggers

• The WA Gov has unveiled a $150m lithium rescue package. The package includes $50m in interest-free loans to stabilize the industry amid plummeting global lithium prices. Lithium, once trading at $US8000/tonne in 2022, has crashed below $US800—forcing miners like MinRes and Liontown Resources to cut production or halt operations. The package also includes fee waivers for ports, water, and energy to keep the sector afloat.

• The Environmental Defenders Office will be forced to cough up $9m in legal costs to Santos for its failed attempt to stop the company's Barossa gas project in the Northern Territory.

Fin

• CBA is putting AI to work, resolving 15,000 customer payment disputes every day—way more than its call centres can handle. And that's just the start. The bank says it has half a dozen other ways to use the tech to slash costs and improve service.

Tech

• Silicon Valley’s fix for Aussie universities? Ditch the paper. Workday, a California-based HR software giant, has launched Workday Student, an AI-powered platform aimed at lifting Australian universities back up the global rankings. Designed to cut costs, reduce dropout rates, and streamline the student experience, the platform replaces clunky, paper-based systems—yes, Uni Melb did complete structural works to accommodate the amount of paper around.

• The US FTC is taking a hard look at Microsoft, launching an antitrust investigation into its software, cloud computing, and AI products. The probe will also focus on the accusation that Microsoft is using heavy-handed licensing tactics to prevent customers from shifting their data off its Azure cloud service to rival platforms.

Retail & Real Estate

• Mirvac taps study duty exemption offloaded over half of its 186 luxury apartments in Melbourne's riverside Trielle tower, with 20% snapped up by overseas buyers. Units range from $700K to a $14m penthouse. Meanwhile, in Sydney, Mirvac’s Harbourside project sold 150 apartments—grossing $600M—despite no such tax breaks.

• News Corp’s REA Group is taking real estate rival Domain to court, accusing them of misleading conduct and copyright infringement over property photos and floor plans. REA claims Domain scraped data from REA’s exclusive listings for its own property reports.

• Star Entertainment faced a 41% protest vote against its remuneration report at this year’s AGM. Adding fuel to the fire, the CEO also warned shareholders about the company’s serious liquidity issues, revealing that Star is running a negative cash flow every month.

PS. How court should go.