Insiders say Ashurst is close to a US merger

More companies fight when deals unravel

BHP loses on Fundão dam, bids appeal

Sources say Ashurst is finally closing in on a merger with a US-founded firm. The firm hasn’t confirmed the talks, but reports say insiders see that merger momentum is building. The US market heats up with merger chatter, fuelled by talent wars, scale pressures and soaring costs: Point Blank

Lander & Rogers has poached competition specialist Philip Aitken from HSF Kramer as the new merger control regime kicks in on 1 January. Aitken brings 13 years across AU/UK/EU with deals like NAB–Citigroup, Olex’s cartel win and Jemena’s enforcement fights: Point Blank

A&O Shearman quietly settled its professional negligence fight with Nationwide over a batch of unlisted medium-term notes that triggered an £83m tax hit. The question was whether A&O failed to instruct BNY Mellon to secure the listing. The firm settled confidentially, ending the dispute without admissions: NB

M&A: A clear M&A trend this year is buyers walking away during pre-completion and parties being far more willing to litigate when deals wobble. The flashpoint has been material adverse change clauses and JV pre-completion rights, now under intense scrutiny. Cosette’s failed $600m bid for Mayne Pharma was struck down by the NSW Supreme Court in Australia’s first MAC judgment. In resources, Peabody’s attempt to exit its $5.9bn coal acquisition from Anglo American after a mine ignition has escalated into arbitration. And in infrastructure, Dexus and APAC are locked in a confidentiality-breach fight that could reshape JV governance and pre-emptive rights: Corrs Chambers Westgarth

Employment: The FWC has ruled an employee was constructively dismissed after her employer botched its handling of a sexual harassment complaint, leaving her with “no real choice” but to resign. The part-time airport worker waited weeks for an investigation outcome that her colleague received in writing far earlier, was given mixed messages about the findings, and was told to keep working alongside the alleged harasser with no meaningful adjustments. The Commission said the delays, inconsistent communication and failure to address her safety concerns were “sufficiently egregious”, making her resignation a dismissal under the FW Act: Allens

Consumer: A Federal Government review has found the Australian Consumer Law is still “fit for purpose” for AI-enabled products, with no need for a sweeping rewrite or AI-specific chapter. The core protections—misleading conduct bans, consumer guarantees and product safety rules—already apply to AI systems. But the Review flags tweaks ahead: clarifying what counts as “goods” in an AI bundle, refining who is a “manufacturer” in complex AI supply chains, and tightening defences for safety-defect claims where software is updated post-sale. The ACCC doesn’t get new enforcement powers (for now), but scrutiny of AI-enabled goods and services will rise: Clayton Utz

Two activists are weighing legal action after officers detonated a stinger grenade at a Melbourne protest — a device that explodes with a flash, a bang and rubber pellets. One activist said they were standing peacefully when it went off, leaving burns and bruising. Police later confirmed deploying two stingers, four flash-bangs, rubber bullets and pepperball rounds, but offered no warning before the blast: The Guardian

Australia is about to welcome the world’s first recognised climate refugees. From 2026, 280 Tuvaluans a year will resettle here under the Falepili Union — a treaty that lets Tuvalu keep its UN vote and vast fishing zone even if its land disappears. But the deal has strings attached, including a security clause requiring Tuvalu to seek Australia’s approval before making any security deals with other countries: The Economist

POSCO: is buying into MinRes’ lithium empire, paying US$765m for a 30% stake in a new JV that gives it an indirect 15% slice of Wodgina and Mt Marion. The deal implies a $3.9bn valuation for MinRes’ half-stakes, while MinRes keeps operational control alongside Albemarle and Ganfeng. DLA Piper acts for POSCO while HSF Kramer steers MinRes: Point Blank

Mayne Pharma: has won a lifeline from the Takeovers Panel, which will hear its bid to force Cosette to meet FIRB conditions for their $672m merger and has extended the scheme end date to 24 November. Cosette wants to walk after flagging plans to shut Mayne’s Adelaide plant, a move Treasury says kills national-interest approval. A Supreme Court showdown looms on 18 November: The Lawerly

A UK court has found BHP liable for the 2015 Fundão dam collapse, saying the miner was negligent and the disaster was foreseeable. About 620,000 Brazilians are seeking £36bn, though many have already been compensated in Brazil. BHP will appeal, arguing the UK claim duplicates existing remediation: Capital Brief

The UN has warned Australia that WA’s return to its old Aboriginal Heritage Act may breach racial-discrimination obligations, citing a lack of consultation and inadequate protection for cultural sites. The intervention comes after the UN’s shock application to join three court challenges to Woodside’s North West Shelf extension: The Australian

JPMorgan Chase is expanding in Dubai, shifting a senior banker from London as it chases more Middle Eastern, VC-backed business. With the UAE emerging as a global finance hub and rivals like Citi bulking up too, competition in the UAE is heating fast: FinExtra

Westpac CEO Anthony Miller has warned staff the bank’s costs are “too high”, with CFO Nathan Goonan saying Westpac risks becoming the most expensive of the big four by next year. With a 53% cost-to-income ratio and tech spend surging, the pair say reining in expenses is now the no 1 investor concern: AFR

Goodman Group is in talks with ESR to buy a Sydney Airport land parcel for about $700m. That’s roughly $100m less than Qantas sold it for in 2021. With Qantas still leasing parts of the site and approvals in place for multistorey warehouses, Greg Goodman plans a multibillion-dollar logistics precinct: The Australian

Lendlease may have won its fight with Hostplus, but heavy redemption requests mean it now has little choice but to sell down the entire $2.8bn APPF Retail fund. With Erina Fair already gone for $895m, the remaining half-stakes in Sunshine Plaza, Macarthur Square, Lakeside Joondalup and Westfield Carindale are likely next: AFR

Google is pouring $60bn into Texas through 2027 to ramp up cloud and AI infrastructure, adding new data-centre campuses across the state. With tech giants piling into Texas’ deregulated, renewables-rich grid, Google is also launching a $US30m Energy Impact Fund to ease grid strain. It’s part of a record capex push as Google chases AI computing dominance: The Australian

OpenAI says it wants to “build alongside Australia”, signalling a bigger local push despite Canberra siding with creatives on copyright. With a new Sydney office and senior exec Oliver Jay courting ministers, the $765bn AI giant says Australia’s stability and Five Eyes status make it a natural hub: Capital Brief