This Month
Has Australia’s largest bookmaker peaked?
Sportsbet has enjoyed a meteoric rise with its customer promotions and aggressive marketing strategy. Taking it to the next level may be difficult.
- Zoe Samios
The fate of ANZ and Suncorp deal is in the hands of these three people
The high-stakes legal battle over whether the $4.9 billion transaction should proceed is half done. And so far, it is unclear who’s on top.
- James Eyers
Why it’s so hard to make money from blood tests
There’s restructuring ahead at the No. 2 pathology provider Healius, which despite its activist ructions, has yielded a 30 per cent return since its 2023 low.
- Simon Evans
November
TechnologyOne has never made a big acquisition. Now it wants to
Private equity could reshape the competitive landscape for the Brisbane-based enterprise software group in the UK, where it has been keenly eyeing deals.
- Tess Bennett
After spending more than $270m, will Xero finally crack the US?
New chief executive Sukhinder Singh Cassidy has sought to reassure the market that the software company isn’t overspending in America.
- Tess Bennett
- Opinion
- Aviation
Australians will lose if Qantas wins against the ACCC
A victory for the airline would only serve to move the bar for air travel even lower, with dreadful ramifications for productivity.
- Ayesha de Kretser
October
Australia is Uber’s crown jewel after ‘collections’ surge to $9.2b
But new labour laws are likely to mean the company’s customers face higher prices as wages go up. The TWU says the jump in sales supports the need for change.
- Updated
- Nick Bonyhady
Rio, BHP and Fortescue at electrification crossroads
Iron ore miners in the Pilbara are under pressure to slash emissions and preparing to fork out billions on emissions-free trucks and renewables.
- Brad Thompson
Why are analysts so upbeat on IAG?
The insurer’s latest confession about old claims creeping up means it should have missed a key earnings target from last year.
- Liam Walsh
Telcos battle for internet calling provider
Symbio is the latest business caught up in an acquisition spree as small telecoms companies go after the biggest fish in the pond.
- Jenny Wiggins
- Analysis
- Aviation
Fundies have five demands for the Virgin Australia float
Virgin Australia’s IPO isn’t going to happen until the new calendar year, but local investors already have their Christmas wish-lists ready.
- Ayesha de Kretser
September
- Analysis
- Origin Energy
The $18.7b bid for Origin depends on this key question
The competition watchdog may be wary. Investors are sceptical. But can the $18.7 billion buyout jump-start the end of coal generation? Brookfield says yes.
- Angela Macdonald-Smith
Insurers behaving badly: who will pay the price?
Bloodied carpets. Repair delays. Sly pricing accusations. While investors warm to insurers, government oversight is rising and crackdowns have struck overseas.
- Liam Walsh
Perpetual vote tests mood after fund manager’s humble year
The Perpetual chairman is up for re-election, and even as Magellan and Platinum struggle, Perpetual’s challenges with its M&A-led strategy stand out.
- Jemima Whyte
Is another CHESS advisory group already coming off the wheels?
The ASX continues to face regulatory opprobrium and an embarrassing loss of face among the investing community. A new oversight body has its work cut out.
- James Eyers
August
Corporate Travel faces fallout over UK refugee barge
Fund managers are sticking with the company, but the Bibby Stockholm barge has sparked concerns from some investors, who fear it is a high-risk, high-profile job that will backfire.
- Liam Walsh and Ayesha de Kretser
Seek’s VC valuation will be a barometer for private markets
Employment Hero, one of the Seek Growth Fund’s holdings, is in discussions to raise more capital, at almost double its valuation.
- Jemima Whyte
- Analysis
- Analysis
Will the lithium price rout kill the next wave of Australian mines?
Lithium-rich spodumene concentrate prices would need to more than halve to jeopardise the next wave of ASX-listed miners’ lithium projects.
- Elouise Fowler, Peter Ker and Brad Thompson
July
Can Aurizon revive a 40-year-old rail line in central Australia?
The group has a grand vision of moving freight from Darwin to Melbourne on trains instead of ships. Importers don’t know if the plan will make financial sense.
- Jenny Wiggins
- Analysis
- Analysis
Two-horse race to eventually run Westpac is a gruelling marathon
Just two years after combining them, Westpac again split its consumer and business banks. Now Jason Yetton and Anthony Miller will each have to change the momentum.
- Lucas Baird
