Good evening,

Could Austal be close to calling time on the ASX? Street Talk understands the company has called in JPMorgan as it fields interest from investment funds specialising in defence.

We hear several North American groups are circling Austal, hoping to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the AUKUS defence pact between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom.

Austal’s major shareholder is mining billionaire Andrew Forrest via Tattarang.

Elsewhere, Street Talk can reveal South32 boss Graham Kerr has big-ticket M&A on his mind after hiring RBC Capital Markets to help prepare an indicative bid for the $US2 billion-plus Khoemacau Copper Mining in Botswana.

On the private side, it’s never a dull day at Andy Gray and Tim Reed’s Potentia Capital, which has drafted in Macquarie Capital’s bankers to weigh options for its superannuation services business SuperChoice; pre-IPO investor Bombora has ploughed funds into autism management tool Autism 360, putting it on track for an ASX listing; and Greenwhich Capital has acquired Sydney’s 24/7 Fuels alongside industry specialist Conplant.

Happy reading,
Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Street Talk editors