Freshfields managing partner Alan Mason wants to spin off its AI unit, Freshfields Lab, for outside investors or an IPO, citing legal tech valuations of 25 to 40 times revenue. Partner Ethan Klingsberg reckons it’s “better than Harvey and Legora”. Mason accidentally forwarded their emails to the “$Freshfields All” mailing list: FT, AFR

⚖️ Consumer: The ACCC is suing Kmart in the Federal Court over two sets of alleged product safety failures. First, Kmart sold millions of units of its OXX nail glue, which can cause burns if it touches fabric. Customers reported burns from 2017, some needing skin grafts, but Kmart didn’t add a warning until December 2024. The ACCC says selling the glue without that warning was misleading. Second, Kmart allegedly sold about 64,000 watches, many made for kids, without the mandatory button battery testing. The ACCC is seeking penalties. It’s a reminder that once a retailer knows about a safety risk, staying silent can breach the ACL: ACCC

⚖️ Digital Assets: ASIC has opened consultation on how it plans to implement Australia’s new digital asset regime, which starts on 8 April 2027. Under Consultation Paper 392, businesses that hold crypto for clients (Digital Asset Platforms) or record real-world assets as tokens (Tokenised Custody Platforms) will need an AFS licence, or a variation to an existing one. They’ll also need customer disclosure documents and platform rules, and must meet ASIC’s standards on custody, trading, settlement and capital. The guiding principle is “same activity, same risk, same regulatory outcome”. Existing licensees and earlier applicants get a fast-tracked licensing path. Submissions close 27 November 2026: ASIC

⚖️ Insolvency: When Glencore sold the Tahmoor coal mine to GFG Alliance in 2018, part of the price was a royalty on coal produced, payable in perpetuity. Now in liquidation, Tahmoor Coal has sold the mine for $175m, with the buyer taking on the royalty, valued at around $49.1m. The liquidators argued the royalty deed was an “unprofitable contract” they could disclaim under s 568(1A) of the Corporations Act, boosting the sale price. The NSW Court of Appeal disagreed. A contract isn’t unprofitable just because creditors would be better off without it. It must impose onerous obligations without reciprocal benefit or obstruct the liquidation: Supreme Court of NSW

Three men have each been jailed for 158 years and nine months over the murders of Perth brothers Jake and Callum Robinson and their American friend Carter Rhoad, who were robbed and shot dead on a surf trip in Mexico in 2024. A judge-only trial found them guilty of aggravated homicide. The defence has 10 days to appeal: ABC News

Ahead of a blockbuster IPO, Anthropic plans to put 5% of its shares into a Public Benefit Fund to help tackle AI’s hit to jobs. The fund’s an LLC, not a nonprofit, and the board can top it up by 2% each time Anthropic’s value grows 50%. It can’t be used for lobbying or political giving: Bloomberg

💰 Japan’s Daiichi Life has lobbed a $7.8bn non-binding scheme proposal for Challenger Group, offering $11.80 a share for the 79.5% it doesn’t already own. That’s a 17.7% premium, with the bid conditional on DD, a SID and APRA sign-off: ASX

⛏️ Gold Fields boss Mike Fraser has spent the week pitching his unsolicited $38.7bn cash-and-scrip bid for Northern Star to investors, touting synergies from neighbouring mines. The target’s board isn’t budging, with chair Michael Chaney saying the offer now sits below Northern Star’s share price: AFR

🔍 Liberal Senator Dave Sharma wants ASIC to probe Firmus’ collapsed ~$8bn IPO, after bankers flagged an oversubscribed book before offshore demand vanished. Lawyers aren’t convinced there’s a case. Hamilton Locke’s Guy Sanderson calls the intervention “very unusual”, given no retail investor lost a cent: Capital Brief

Woodside has paused pre-commissioning at its Scarborough gas project after Greenpeace protesters climbed aboard and camped overnight. Woodside called the response “potentially costly” and wants authorities to enforce the law “to the fullest extent”. Two protesters were taken into custody: Bloomberg

Macquarie Capital is shedding senior bankers, with WA head Stuart Owen exiting after 20+ years. APAC infrastructure head Tom Butcher was also made redundant. It caps a torrid year of departures to rivals and staff complaints about senior managers, despite the division posting a $1.49bn profit, up 43%: AFR

ASIC is suing sacked Super Retail CEO Anthony Heraghty for allegedly breaching his directors’ duties over an undisclosed affair with the company’s HR boss. Newly released court documents allege the pair shared a hotel room in Tasmania, toured Europe, and he warned his then-wife their texts were “discoverable”: The Australian

Microsoft has pulled out of a UK data centre deal with neocloud Nscale, just as the startup eyes a US$3bn IPO this month. The Essex site has been hit by power delays, and Nscale relies on Microsoft and Anthropic for about 85% of its contracts. It follows Aussie data centre firm Firmus scrapping its IPO: Bloomberg