Next Week At A Glance – 28 Sept – 2 Oct 2026

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            [5] => ((AX1))
            [6] => ((WDS))
            [7] => ((INA))
            [8] => ((PPT))
            [9] => ((MQG))
            [10] => ((NXT))
            [11] => ((PPT))
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            [13] => ((TLX))
            [14] => ((TWE))
            [15] => ((PTX))
            [16] => ((TGN))
            [17] => ((CSC))
            [18] => ((ASB))
            [19] => ((IEL))
            [20] => ((USL))
            [21] => ((SOL))
            [22] => ((KPG))
            [23] => ((IAG))
            [24] => ((KMD))
            [25] => ((IEL))
            [26] => ((RWC))
            [27] => ((MEK))
            [28] => ((OML))
            [29] => ((HLS))
            [30] => ((KMD))
            [31] => ((VEA))
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            [19] => IEL
            [20] => USL
            [21] => SOL
            [22] => KPG
            [23] => IAG
            [24] => KMD
            [25] => IEL
            [26] => RWC
            [27] => MEK
            [28] => OML
            [29] => HLS
            [30] => KMD
            [31] => VEA
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This story features ANZ GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED, and other companies.
For more info SHARE ANALYSIS: ANZ
The company is included in ASX20, ASX50, ASX100, ASX200, ASX300 and ALL-ORDS

A brief look at important company events and economic data releases next week.

For a more comprehensive preview of next week’s events, please refer to “The Monday Report”, published each Monday morning. For all economic data release dates, ex-div dates and times and other relevant information, please refer to the FNArena Calendar.

The week that was in Australian finance:

• It looks like the United Nations meet and chat will come and go without a peace deal between the US/Iran, as President Trump ‘seemingly’ continues to play chicken with Iran as to who will buckle first, while oil prices and bond yields move higher and inflation fears become more pronounced. A repeat of the 1970s? Or, as the US President says, is a deal coming post-midterms in early November?
• For Australian investors, September is shaping up to be a ‘mensis horribilis’, a horrible month, with the ASX200 down over -5% and a 25bps rate hike looming over Tuesday’s RBA meeting.
• This week there were very few sectors which stood up to the selling. Healthcare and Consumer Discretionary managed to buck the trend, albeit only just. Utilities were the hardest hit, down over -4%, as an inverse bond yield proxy. Concerns over AI agents like Meta’s Muse coming to eat the telcos’ lunch saw the Communications sector fall almost -3%.
• The good news, if it can be ethically framed that way, was the uptick in August’s unemployment rate to 4.6% from 4.5%, which represents the employment side of the RBA’s dual mandate.
• As noted by Morgan Stanley, “This labour market softening is occurring faster than RBA forecasts, which has the unemployment rate at these levels by mid-2027. Despite this, recent communication from the RBA suggests they are comfortable with some rise in the unemployment rate, with Governor Bullock highlighting a range of 4.5-5% as sufficient.” Like other major central banks, an RBA rate hike is expected next week, with ANZ Bank ((ANZ)) and CommBank ((CBA)) joining the chorus this week.
• While Australian investors are feeling the pain, it’s worth pointing out that while the S&P500 is only down -1.5% from its highs, the breadth of market performance has continued to deteriorate, with more stocks hitting 52-week lows than reaching new highs. Much of the index heavy lifting this week was in Meta, Intel and AMD.
• The big news, of course, is the RBA meeting on Tuesday next week and the end of September, which has, thus far, been hard work for Australian investors. The August CPI print is also out next Wednesday.
• The good news is some almost $12bn in dividend payments will reach investors’ accounts next week, including institutions sitting on a ton of cash (this week, $16.2bn in dividends were paid). Historically, the market bottoms around the middle of October, so we might be in for some more weakness and volatility before the big guns start to deploy some cash.

The team at FNArena wishes you a great weekend.

Corporate news in the week that was: 

• Abacus Group ((ABG)) agrees to sell its 19.6% stake in Storage King Group ((SKG)) for $284.8m via a strategic sale to Ki Corporation and an institutional block trade
• Maas Group Holdings ((MGH)) receives FIRB approval for the $1.703bn sale of its construction materials business to Heidelberg Materials Australia
• Frasers extends its $0.65 per share takeover offer for Accent Group ((AX1)) to January 29, 2027
• Osaka Gas agrees to acquire a 5% stake in Woodside Energy Group’s ((WDS)) $30bn-plus Browse LNG project from BP
• Ingenia Communities Group ((INA)) rejects Warburg Pincus’s revised $3bn takeover proposal despite shareholder pressure to engage with the private equity firm
• BGH Capital and Allegro Funds enter exclusive talks to merge TheirCare and Camp Australia, potentially creating a childcare platform with around $40m in EBITDA
• IFM Investors and AIP appoint Azure Capital to advise on their joint bid for Stack Infrastructure’s APAC data centre platform
• Australian fintech Tangerpay merges with UK laundromat software company CleanCloud, creating a business valued at more than $70m
• EQT submits an improved takeover proposal for Perpetual ((PPT)) after its previous $22.50 per share offer was rejected
• Macquarie Group ((MQG)) freezes investments into two Alceon private credit funds amid increased scrutiny of Australia’s private credit sector
• Thoma Bravo is considering relisting Nearmap on the ASX through a potential multibillion-dollar IPO as it explores an exit
• Best Practice leads a $5.4m private funding round for AI-powered clinical search company Medcast, investing $1.5m
• Foresight raises a US$660m continuation fund to transfer its 30% stake in Australian bus operator Kinetic from an existing fund
• NextDC ((NXT)) settles $1.1bn of convertible notes to help fund its accelerated data centre buildout, with the securities to trade on Vienna’s Multilateral Trading Facility
• Bathla Group’s voluntary administration is extended to September 2027 while administrators seek additional funding to continue construction projects
• Hysata receives $49m of ARENA funding for a $98m hydrogen electrolyser manufacturing line at Port Kembla
• Deleted Firmus job advertisements indicated plans for 2m GPUs, up to 5GW of power and nine US$1bn-plus customer accounts by 2028, alongside its planned US$7bn IPO
• CSIRO increases its backing of Main Sequence’s Atmosphere pre-seed fund fourfold to $20m to support deep-tech startups emerging from Australian science
• Perpetual ((PPT)) rejected EQT’s further revised takeover proposal and ended engagement with the private equity firm, citing transaction execution risks
• Ingenia Communities Group ((INA)) rejected Warburg Pincus’ revised $5.05 per share takeover proposal but remains open to a higher offer
• Telix Pharmaceuticals ((TLX)) agreed to acquire German radiopharmaceutical company ITM for US$1.65bn
• KordaMentha will remain in control of the Whyalla steelworks until at least March 2027 after the court extended the administration deadline
• Treasury Wine Estates ((TWE)) sold the historic Seppelt brand to Stonier, which is partly backed by Celina Thickins, for an undisclosed sum
• Brand Collective acquired Glue Store’s IP and customer database, along with Running Bare and The DOM, to establish a new marketplace division
• Prescient Therapeutics ((PTX)) is seeking $8m through a share purchase plan to fund clinical trials of its cancer treatment candidate
• Fever raised US$250m from investors including EQT, Point72, Baillie Gifford and Sydney-based Athletic Ventures
• Tungsten Mining ((TGN)) appointed Jefferies and Euroz Hartleys to seek $50m to fund development of its Watershed tungsten project in Queensland
• Airwallex faces renewed scrutiny in the US over its Chinese ties as the payments group prepares for a potential 2027 IPO
• CS Energy is in advanced talks to sell its $1.3bn Lotus Creek wind farm to QIC-backed Tilt Renewables
• Innovaero is raising $40m through an ASX IPO as the autonomous defence drone company seeks to expand and secure further Defence sales
• Nvidia’s equity investments and commercial ties with Firmus are attracting attention as the Australian AI infrastructure company progresses towards a proposed $7bn IPO
• Capstone Copper ((CSC)) agrees to sell its Cozamin copper mine in Mexico to Luca Mining for up to US$385m
• Andrew Forrest is assessing competing $1.9bn bids for Austal ((ASB)), with his 19.3% stake potentially influential in the takeover outcome
• IDP Education ((IEL)) rejects Blackstone’s unsolicited $696m takeover proposal
• Country Road Group is reportedly attracting buyer interest despite pushing back on speculation the retail group is for sale
• Unico Silver ((USL)) launches a $60m equity raising to replenish its balance sheet
• Canadian copper explorer Gladiator Metals is set to dual-list on the NSX at a market capitalisation of almost $250m, potentially the exchange’s largest float in around a decade
• Washington H. Soul Pattinson ((SOL)) is shifting further away from listed equities towards real assets, credit and private companies as it reshapes its $13.8bn investment portfolio
• ASIC issues interim stop orders on three Remara Cash Management Fund private credit products
• Firmus’ proposed IPO structure gives the former owners of Benmax significant exposure to the planned listing following its acquisition of the air-conditioning business
• Kelly+Partners ((KPG)) plans to shift its listing from the ASX to Nasdaq, subject to resolving CEO Brett Kelly’s $6.3m company loan
• Bathla’s reliance on private credit after losing access to banks has left lenders with more than $3bn of exposure following its collapse
• Insurance Australia Group ((IAG)) will appeal the ACCC’s rejection of its proposed $1.4bn acquisition of RAC Insurance
• KMD Brands ((KMD)) is engaging with multiple interested parties over potential takeover proposals after previously rejecting approaches
• IDP Education ((IEL)) rejected a second takeover proposal from Blackstone, valuing the company at around $700m, saying it undervalued the business
• The Global Beauty Group has appointed McGrathNicol to seek a buyer as its founders explore a sale of the Melbourne-based beauty device business
• Digital Realty has emerged as a potential bidder for Stack Infrastructure’s APAC data centre business
• Riverside-backed Altius is acquiring Converge International to expand its workplace wellness platform ahead of a potential sale valued at more than $500m
• Strategic rivals are reportedly considering counter-bids for Reliance Worldwide ((RWC)) following Brookfield’s agreed $3.6bn takeover
• Meeka Metals ((MEK)) is seeking to raise $30m at $0.10 per share amid operational issues
• ACCC clears I Squared Capital’s $898m takeover of oOh!media ((OML)), with shareholder approval still required
• Healius ((HLS)) agrees to sell Agilex Biolabs to TPG-backed Novotech for around $150m
• Ellerston Capital is acquiring around 12% of Luxury Escapes from the Leibovich brothers at a $525m equity valuation
• Bathla’s administrators are preparing to sell subdivision and land bank assets after short-term funding ran out and construction stopped at another 13 sites
• KMD Brands ((KMD)) continues to consider takeover options following a more than -NZ$300m annual loss
• Channel Infrastructure is pursuing ExxonMobil’s New Zealand business and could partner with Vitol or Viva Energy ((VEA))
• Airwallex’s US IPO ambitions face increased scrutiny over its Chinese operations, employees and investor base
• Investors are backing Wiluna Mining’s proposed $180m IPO as strong gold prices support interest in the formerly insolvent miner

For a calendar of earnings result releases and a summary of earnings results to date, refer to FNArena’s Corporate Results Monitor (https://www.fnarena.com/index.php/reporting_season/)

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