Good evening,

Well, we didn't see that one coming! AustralianSuper is seeking to step up its direct infrastructure investment program in a major way, making a $5 billion bid for Vodafone NZ and renewable energy investment group Infratil.

The big bid, lobbed incredibly late in the year, is another reminder where the power is headed in Australian capital markets. Just like Aware Super's run at OptiComm before it, AustralianSuper has shown it's the big industry funds that have the capital and risk appetite to be making plays for Australian listed companies.

Once again, it's a listed infrastructure-type play with a telecommunications bent. Watch out Telstra, once it gets its InfraCo asset auctions firing, and Optus Towers!

In Street Talk tonight, we look at which investment bank is retreating from Australia and take a look at a couple of battery minerals deals occurring late in the year.

The first is IGO Ltd, which is seeking to buy into the Greenbushes lithium project as we revealed earlier this week, while Syrah Resources is also seeking a piece of the equity capital markets action.

Happy reading,

Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd
Street Talk Editors