Good evening,

All that waiting at Tyro Payments might be about to come to something good.

Street Talk can reveal that tech billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes’ Grok Ventures has been nudging Tyro’s board to re-engage with Potentia Capital after it broke off discussions with all suitors in mid-December.

Tyro has a new chairwoman on the way and its largest shareholder is telling it to get serious about a bid.

Still, Potentia is likely to need to trek higher to $1.85-odd to woo shareholders, a jump from the $1.60 it last offered.

As for Westpac, it seems to have packed its bags and reversed out neatly — there’s no trace of it to be found on the scene.

We also spotted Origin Energy’s (part) suitor, Brookfield Asset Management, chatting up potential funding buddies for its share of the $18.4 billion joint bid.

What Brookfield’s looking for are partners who understand Origin Energy (apparently it’s more complex than say, AusNet) and are willing to split its share of the equity bill for its energy markets business. It’s a sign Brookfield is keen, despite failing to produce a binding bid when exclusivity expired on Tuesday.

The hold-up is understood to be EIG as it rechecks its numbers after the government’s intervention in gas markets.

Lastly, investment banking’s annual poaching season is off to a dismal start, NYSE-listed FiscalNote is asking Bell Potter and Macquarie to organise some chats with local fundies, and ACCC has begun its review of Woolworths’ pet goods play.

Happy reading,

Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood
Street Talk Editors