Global fitness influencer Kayla Itsines, and her business partner Tobi Pearce have re-acquired Sweat, the exercise app and brand they sold in 2021. The buyback was reportedly for a fraction of the rumoured $190 million paid for it during the height of Covid lockdowns. In a deal reminiscent of the time Kerry Packer regained control… Read more »
Optus customers woke up on Wednesday morning to find they were unable to get their social media fix, and they weren’t happy. Around 4am AEDT, customers started to report an inability to access both mobile and home internet services. Optus advised it was investigating the issue, with reports emerging around midday of some services coming… Read more »
More than 10 million Optus business and personal customers across Australia have lost communications on Wednesday morning across Australia, leaving them without internet access or the ability to make or receive calls, with several telcos using the Optus network also offline The problems, which are believed to have started around 4am, have effected everything from… Read more »
ASX-lister online retailer Kogan.com has put another feather in its cap, winning a “Shonky” award from consumer group CHOICE. The annual Shonky Awards recognise products and companies that deliver a poor experience for shoppers. Kogan was called out for “tricking customers” according to CHOICE, into signing up for its $99 ‘Kogan First trial. Tech featured… Read more »
Online dispute resolution platform Immediation was placed in voluntary administration last week, seven months after the startup’s founder and CEO departed amid a $2.8 million capital injection. Joanne Dunn and David McGrath from FTI Consulting were appointed administrators to 3 Australian entities: Immediation Pty Ltd (the head company), Immediation Platform, and Disputech IP Holdco, on… Read more »
Workplace software giant Atlassian made a second acquisition in October, alongside its $1.5 billion M&A deal US video messaging startup Loom, snapping up Melbourne IT data quality management busines AirTrack. AirTrack helps enterprises gather, aggregate, and analyse multiple sources of data used across IT to make it easier to pinpoint and remediate any issues. The… Read more »
National science agency CSIRO has expanded the qualifying criteria its Kick-Start program, which offers Australian small businesses can now access research and development (R&D) funding. Businesses with a turnover of up to $10 million are now eligible, up from the previous $1.5 million threshold. The Kick-Start program offers dollar-matched funding to access CSIRO’s research expertise… Read more »
Uber Australia has been fined $412,500 by regulator the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) after the rideshare and food delivery company sent more than 2 million emails in breach of Australian spam laws. An ACMA ivestigation concluded that Uber sent marketing emails to customers without an unsubscribe option, and on top of that, more… Read more »
Two local plant-based meat brands have merged as consumer interest in the sector wanes, alongside venture capital interest in the sector. All G Foods has spun out its Love Buds brand to joins vEEF by Fenn Foods to create a merged entity, the Aussie Plant Based Co. The two brands bring same, same but different,… Read more »
Welcome to Ignition Lane’s Tech Wrap, where they cut through the noise to bring you their favourite insights from the technology and startup world. Ignition Lane works with ambitious business leaders to apply the Startup Mindset to their technology, product and commercialisation problems. This wrap goes out free to subscribers. Here’s their review of all the big… Read more »
Australian workplace software giant Atlassian is spending US$975 million (A$1.5bn) to acquire seven-year-old US video messaging startup Loom. The deal represents around 2% of Atlassian’s (NASDAQ: TEAM) current market capital of around US$48 billion. But it’s also something of a bargain, with the price less than two-thirds of Loom’s peak valuation of US$1.53 billion in… Read more »
Nourish Foods, the parent company of organic children’s food brand Whole Kids, has new owners, with the Tempo Group buying the brand’s intellectual property from the company’s administrators. John McInerney and Matt Byrnes from Grant Thornton took charge of the business as receivers in mid-September, a week after it was placed in voluntary administration following… Read more »
ASX-listed WiseTech Global is back in acquisitive mode, snapping up Melbourne shipping container marketplace MatchBox Exchange. While the cost of the acquisition was not disclosed WiseTech (ASX:WTC) announced it had issued 445,769 new shares, worth around $27.6 million, “to the vendors to part-fund the consideration in relation to the acquisition of MatchBox Exchange”. MatchBox Exchange… Read more »
One of the startup sector’s biggest merger and acquisition deals will go ahead with rival restaurant ordering apps me&u and Mr Yum getting together. The Sydney and Melbourne startups have raised a combined $165 million in venture capital, having both been founded in 2018, but the deal won’t deliver an exit just yet for investors,… Read more »
Sydney fintech Upstreet, an app that enables shoppers to earn fractional ASX shares from their spending, is shutting down, less than 18 months after banking $3 million The closure comes just a fortnight after the fintech marked its fourth anniversary on social media, having raised nearly $5 million in its lifetime. While the Upstreet website… Read more »
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