Partner slams junior salaries

Perplexity lobs surprise $53bn bid

Federal Court reunites Epic Games

Rodney Forrest has found himself in a pickle. The former investment manager has pleaded guilty to two counts of insider trading in Platinum Asset Management shares and providing unlicensed financial advice. ASIC alleges Forrest bought $2.6m in Platinum shares and procured others to trade while holding takeover information, breaching s 1043A of the Corporations Act. This is the first outcome for ASIC’s new criminal insider trading taskforce and among the first matters in the Federal Court’s expanded criminal jurisdiction. Insider trading carries up to 15 years’ jail or fines of the greater of $1.485m or triple the benefit derived. Don’t insider trade, kids: ASIC

The Takeovers Panel in New World Resources 02 declined to find unacceptable circumstances after Central Asia Metals bought 5% on-market at 5.5c — above its agreed 5.3c bid — just hours after the announcement, without immediate disclosure. The trades occurred pre-bid period, so ASIC Market Integrity Rule 5.13.1 didn’t strictly apply. The Panel said it was “concerned” about the delay but not satisfied that a declaration was warranted. Unlike Virtus Health 03, where BGH Capital hadn’t yet bought above bid and was required to undertake immediate disclosure, New World involved actual sellers. Shareholders who sold on 20 June may have believed 5.3c was the highest available price, unaware Central Asia was underwriting 5.5c with a revised offer. HSF says this had even more potential to disadvantage group members than Virtus, yet the Panel took a more relaxed approach: HSF

ASIC chair Joe Longo has backed the Productivity Commission’s call for a cautious, light-touch approach to AI regulation, but says its interim report lacks detail on AI’s risks and opportunities. Speaking at KWM’s Digital Summit, Longo said existing laws already cover much ground, and businesses shouldn’t wait for new rules to bolster data governance, ethics and cybersecurity. ASIC is expanding its use of Microsoft Copilot and AI for data analysis, despite limited funding. Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government is pursuing a “responsible middle path” to capture AI’s benefits while managing risks, continuing work begun under former industry minister Ed Husic: Capital Brief

KPMG, Deloitte and PwC have exited 35 staff in the past year for misconduct ranging from sexual harassment to data breaches. KPMG cut 16 staff after 32 substantiated complaints, Deloitte exited 14 following 101 cases, and PwC removed 5. All three have seen headcount drop sharply amid falling revenues and heightened scrutiny of workplace culture: AFR

Gadens boss Mark Pistilli says international and top-tier firms chasing “US/UK-style returns” are dropping lower-margin work like employment and prop—leaving mid-tiers like Gadens to scoop it up. Charging up to 50% less than top-tier rivals, Gadens is targeting panel wins, Perth expansion and a lift from $200m to $500m billings, with partner numbers rising to as many as 150: Law.com

Former KWM Australia managing partner Tony O’Malley is now board chair at Wotton Kearney, succeeding Steve Gledden. The ex-PwC global legal services leader brings 25+ years in law, business and consulting, with stints advising Telstra and NBN Co. Gledden stays on as a non-executive director and MD of Wotton Kearny’s private equity arm, Straight Bat: Australasian Lawyer

Gilbert + Tobin has nabbed Ben Cosentino as a partner in its Real Assets team in Sydney. Cosentino is a seasoned M&A lawyer with domestic and cross-border infrastructure deal experience, working most recently in-house at the global asset manager Blackstone: G+T

ANU academic Dr Liz Allen told a Senate inquiry that former politician and ANU Chancellor Julie Bishop accused her of leaking confidential matters, berated her in a private meeting, threatened legal action, and even blocked her from leaving the room. Allen says the ordeal left her fearing for her job and pushed her to the brink of suicide. Bishop rejects any misconduct: ABC News

The RBA has cut the cash rate to 3.6%. CBA, Westpac, ANZ and NAB all moved to drop home loan rates, with some also tweaking deposit rates. Macquarie Bank was the fastest to make a move and will pass on the cut in three days. NAB expects lower rates to boost consumer confidence, hiring and business expansion: ABC

Are juniors overpaid? We say, hell no - but across the pond, Simmons & Simmons senior partner Julian Taylor says newly qualified solicitor pay at top firms is “crazy” and drives clients “mad”. He warns that the pay arms race distorts the talent market and pressures pricing, urging firms not to match every offer. US firms now pay London NQs more than some UK firm partners earn on day one… What do you think? NB

Perplexity, the AI startup, has lobbed a US$34.5bn ($A52.8bn) offer for Google’s Chrome browser, pledging to keep Google as the default search engine and invest US$3bn (A$4.6bn) into Chrome and Chromium over two years. The move comes as US courts weigh forcing Google to sell Chrome after an antitrust ruling—OpenAI, Yahoo, and Apollo are also circling: Capital Brief

EMR Capital has relaunched the sale of its 52% stake in Queensland’s Kestrel coking coal mine, a $US3bn ($4.6bn) asset producing 7.1m tonnes a year. Stanmore and Yancoal are in the mix, with Adaro, the 48% holder, also a potential seller. The Bowen Basin mine was bought from Rio Tinto in 2018 for $US2.25bn (A$3.5bn): The Australian

AvidSys Group: owned by the Perth-based Gautam family, is the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in an unnamed Formula One team valued at over US$1bn (A$1.5bn). Fresh from buying India’s Chennai Bulls rugby side, AvidSys plans to syndicate 15% to local co-investors. The lure? F1’s luxury appeal, elite status and the new Concorde Agreement, which gives F1 teams a bigger slice of the revenue from TV rights: AFR

Taxpayers, our money’s going to Gina again. The gov is set to lift taxpayer support for Gina Rinehart-backed Arafura Rare Earths to $1.2bn, with Export Finance Australia weighing a $153m equity stake in its Nolans project near Alice Springs. The funding aims to deliver Australia’s first rare earths mine and refinery in the NT: The Australian

Speaking with The Australian, Jakob Stausholm defends his legacy as Rio Tinto CEO. Stausholm will step down next week after nearly five years at the helm. He’s been credited with repairing trust post–Juukan Gorge, tackling toxic culture, and pushing the miner into lithium, copper and Simandou iron ore. His tenure delivered a 64% total return, though critics say costs weren’t cut fast enough. Simon Trott will soon take the reins: The Australian

CBA has posted a $10.133bn full-year profit, up 7%, with lending growth and resilient net interest margins driving the result. A $2.60 final dividend beat forecasts, taking the full-year payout to $4.85 (79% payout ratio). 85% of borrowers are ahead on repayments, while a $2.6bn loan loss buffer remains in place: Capital Brief

Westpac CEO Anthony Miller has warned Victoria’s plan to legislate WFH rights risks creating a split workplace, with branch staff in-office five days a week while others work remotely. Miller says flexibility is important but must not compromise productivity, urging that “we still need to perform, we still need to deliver”: AFR

Sushi Hub CEO Raymond Chen wants a $1bn valuation before selling a stake, after posting $200m in sales last year and preparing to open its 200th store. The chain has rebuffed private equity overtures, including from Odyssey PE. Now on its radar is NZ and US expansion as it chases GYG-style growth: AFR

Star Entertainment will sell its 50% stake in Brisbane’s Queen’s Wharf to partners Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium, averting a $1.4bn debt crisis. Star will manage the casino temporarily while a replacement operator is found, which might even be Crown Resorts. The JV partners say the deal safeguards 2,700 jobs and keeps the precinct on track ahead of the 2032 Olympics: The Australian

Big news - Fortnite will be back on Apple devices. Epic Games has scored a landmark Federal Court win over Apple and Google, with both found to have breached competition law by blocking third-party payments and limiting app distribution. On top of that, two class actions joined with Epic’s cases also succeeded, alleging the tech giants harmed Australians and app developers by restricting fair access to digital marketplaces: AFR, The Australian

Meta has labelled as “bogus” claims it scraped content from ABC, News Corp, Nine and Seven sites to train its AI models, but stopped short of ruling it out. The leak, via Drop Site News, listed 100k sites. The AI boom has sparked a race among publishers to secure compensation for content, with many blocking AI crawlers: Capital Brief