Good evening,

There’s an underbidders’ reunion underway at Vector Metering.

Street Talk’s already spotted five smart metering enthusiasts dial into Vector’s auction, which has first bids due September end.

The most interesting of the lot is QIC, which has shown up with Craigs Investment Partners and affiliate JPMorgan.

QIC tried to cut a bilateral deal with Intellihub owner Pacific Equity Partners last year. But when that didn’t work, it decided out to sit out the auction.

We’ve got the details on who’s prepping to enter Vector’s data room, and tyre kickers’ early read on the similarities and differences between the two businesses.

Elsewhere, we’ve got some colour on BHP’s surprise bid for OZ Minerals; JPMorgan had a $73 million Telix Pharmaceuticals block and resources junior Kin Mining was worried about missing out on gold M&A.

Happy reading,

Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood

Street Talk Editors