Woodside-Chevron gas swap

G’day.

Welcome to Point Blank.

Today’s brief:

• Woodside and Chevron trade spots in a multi-billion-dollar asset swap.

• ASX crackdown: Miss deadlines, face automatic suspensions.

• Citi says lithium stocks’ valuations are now reasonable.

Enjoy the Christmas lunch, we think we know how it’ll go… 👇

 💼 Practice Points

• A new ASX compliance update reminds listed companies of key dates for 2025. Failure to lodge the relevant documents on time (ie, by close of the Market Announcements Office on the due date) will result in an automatic suspension of the entity’s securities under LR 17.5. Listed clients should also have a nominated person responsible for communication with ASX in relation to Listing Rule matters (see LR 12.6).

• BNPL players like Afterpay and Zip just got hit with a reality check. Parliament passed a bill dragging them under the same credit laws that govern traditional lenders. Yep, the BNPL wild west is over. The Bill regulates low cost credit contracts (or LCCCs, which include BNPL). What’s on the compliance checklist? BNPL providers now need an Aussie Credit Licence, dispute resolution systems, and to play by responsible lending rules (albeit tweaked for smaller loans). And anti-avoidance provisions are locked and loaded, with penalties to match. Clients have 6 months from assent to fall in line.

• The Australian Government is gearing up for further consultation on introducing a modern slavery due diligence system. The government has committed to undertaking consultation on:

  • the introduction and operation of civil penalties for failing to submit, or providing a false modern slavery statement, and failing to comply with a request for remedial action; and

  • identifying how modern slavery legislation could be amended to enhance its due diligence requirements.

🏘️ Word on the Street 

• Brisbane-based firm Mullins Lawyers promotes 8, including 2 partners.

• Hogan Lovells’ exit from Australia has prompted AirTrunk founder Robin Khuda’s go-to finance lawyer, Bryan Paisley, to make a full-circle return to Baker McKenzie—the firm he left five years ago.

• The legal industry saw a whirlwind of mergers in 2024, with 41 completed by the end of Q3 alone. And the momentum’s not slowing down—7 unions are already announced for 2025, with more discussions in the pipeline, setting up next year for even more action. Analysts have also flagged an uptick in talks between US and UK firms, and these discussions extend to Magic Circle and Silver Circle firms. US players are eager to break into the London market and scale on a global level, and UK firms are looking to enter into the world’s most profitable market.

📢 Talking Points

• Perth’s ‘Golden Triangle’ welcomes a new elite: the family office boom. Among the sprawling riverside mansions and yacht clubs in Perth’s priciest suburb, Peppermint Grove, real estate listings now boast a new buzzword: “Perfect for a family office.” Much like the global hubs like New York and Singapore, family offices (boutique firms managing $100m+) are now taking root in Perth — all thanks to mining. But there is a supply shortage. With fewer than 15,000 finance pros in Perth, family office recruiters often tap LinkedIn for expats ready to trade Wall Street for Swan River. As Perth’s mining dynasties eye the next generation, the family office scene looks set to grow—proving that big money doesn’t need a big city to thrive.

• A woman serving 16 years for stabbing her roommate to death over $50 in 2014, has been granted temporary release from a Victorian prison for IVF treatment. The move has sparked a fiery debate over prisoner rights and punishment. The Allan government defended the decision, citing a 2010 court ruling that allows prisoners access to fertility treatment if they privately fund the process, including transport and guards. While Alicia Schiller covers the costs, the strain on the prison system’s already stretched resources adds another layer to the controversy.

• In the last sitting week, the Federal Parliament quietly passed the Surveillance Legislation (Confirmation of Application) Bill, which will effectively halt a High Court challenge over the legitimacy of warrants issued during a major organised crime operation between 2018 and 2021. The operation, which included the interception of encrypted messages, led to thousands of charges against more than 390 individuals. But prominent defence lawyers are raising concerns about the bill’s retrospective reach and warning it could set a troubling precedent.

🏦 The Treasury

Btw. Today is our last edition for 2024. We’ll be back on the tools mid-Jan ready with legal and business insights.

Until then, enjoy the well-deserved Christmas break. 🎄

-the Point Blank team

🤝 Deal Room

• In Australia, JPMorgan led the ECM table, but it was Goldman Sachs that came out on top for M&A with a $47.6bn deal value and 27 transactions in 2024. But there’s definitely more to come in 2025.

• Global M&A is set to soar past US$4 trillion in 2025, riding a wave of optimism over Donald Trump’s deregulation and tax cuts. There should be fewer regulatory roadblocks, setting the stage for a US M&A spike after hitting $1.55 trillion this year. Europe’s deal scene climbed 20%, while Asia is turning its gaze to Japan and India as IPO conditions brighten for 2025.

• Woodside and Chevron are shaking up their gas portfolios in a multi-billion-dollar asset swap. The deal sees Woodside pick up Chevron’s 1/6^th stake in the North West Shelf venture, which will end Chevron's involvement in Australia's oldest LNG venture after 40 years. In return, Chevron takes on Woodside’s $34bn stake in the Wheatstone and Julimar-Brunello LNG projects. Woodside's CEO Meg O'Neill says the move will simplify their portfolio and improve efficiency by consolidating its position in its LNG assets.

• Wesfarmers is offloading its Coregas business to Japan’s Nippon Sanso Holdings for $770m. The deal is expected to net Wesfarmers a pre-tax profit of $230–$260m once finalised. The sale still needs a green light from the ACCC and FIRB.

• iPhone manufacturer, Foxconn’s latest move could derail the Nissan-Honda tie-up. Foxconn first tried to cozy up to Nissan about acquiring a stake, but when Nissan gave it the cold shoulder, it went straight to Nissan's major shareholder, Renault. Meanwhile, Honda's not happy, threatening to end its strategic software partnership with Nissan if it shakes hands with Foxconn.

• MaxoTel proposes its best and final offer for Vonex, in the absence of a superior proposal from Swoop or another entity. The offer’s on the table until 2 Jan. 

• Integral Diagnostics has completed its merger with Capitol Health to create an almost $1bn diagnostics imaging group.

🏗 Sector Specific

Diggers

• Lithium stocks have taken a hammering in 2024—junior players down 70%, producers off by up to 50%—but Citi says valuations are starting to look reasonable.

• The Federal Gov has picked the 7,100km zone for its new offshore wind turbine project. The zone stretches from Wynyard in the west to Waterhouse in the east, sitting 30km off the coast – which you shouldn’t see unless you’re squinting, says Energy Minister Chris Bowen.

• Plibersek has given the go-ahead to four Australian coal mines, but it comes with a catch. The government has imposed 240 environmental conditions across the four mines in the face of fierce opposition from the Greens. The four projects will support 3,000 jobs.

• Two Aussie companies, Novonix and Syrah Resources, have filed a complaint with US trade regulators, calling for a 920% tariff on Chinese graphite imports.

• Evolution CFO Barrie Van der Merwe is to leave the $9.6bn gold and copper producer to “pursue another opportunity in the industry”, the company says.

Fin

• Perpetual and ex-wealth advisor Daniel Elias have hit pause on their legal battle, entering talks ahead of a two-day hearing scheduled in the NSW Supreme Court. Elias left Perpetual for Morgan Stanley in August 2024, stepping into a senior VP role. Not long after, Perpetual accused him of poaching clients and filed a legal action to shut it down.

• Jack Dorsey’s Block is pushing back against Labor’s proposed ban on debit card surcharges, slamming it as a “significant regulatory overreach”. Block argues the ban would only solidify the big four banks' grip on the payments sector, stifling competition and making fee-bundling services like Square less competitive.

Tech & Media

• New rules overseen by the eSafety Commissioner will require cloud-based storage services like Apple’s iCloud, Google Drive, and Microsoft OneDrive, as well as messaging services like WhatsApp to prevent their services from being used to store and distribute harmful material like child sexual abuse material and pro-terror content. Breaching the rules could attract penalties of up to $49.5m.

Retail & Real Estate

• AGL Energy’s subsidiaries are $25m lighter after the Federal Court smacked them with a penalty for breaching energy retail rules. The issue? Failing to refund and notify around 500 Centrepay customers on time. Not a massive dint in their $730m forecast, but still. AGL thought the amount was “unexpectedly high” and may appeal.

• Amazon workers are striking, leaving work early Thursday at seven US facilities, right in the middle of the holiday shopping frenzy, hoping to push the retail giant into serious contract talks with their union.

And that’s a wrap.

We’ll still be on LinkedIn if you want to stay on top of industry news, insights, and more.