Do you know what financial assistance is? If not, you’re definitely not alone – this is an area of corporate law that many overlook when contemplating a capital transaction but is one that can have serious consequences if ignored.

Last month the RBA's Payment System Board released their annual report. This annual report offers payments nerds a wealth of fresh stats and a good summary of key trends. This year's version did not disappoint. Read all about the key takeaways here.

Important changes to ESOP rules were introduced in October 2022, including significant changes to the disclosure requirements and the risk profile for anyone involved in promoting ESOPs.

If you have either an existing ESOP, or are thinking about introducing an ESOP, then you will need to ensure that you are familiar with the new rules.

To get a sense of what has changed, please read our full article on the reform using the link here.

Last year, the Australian government introduced significant reforms to the rules governing unfair contract terms. Gone are the days of “rolling the dice” that an unfair term will simply be unenforceable, with outright bans coming into effect, coupled with the risk of significant fines for non-compliance.

These reforms will take effect on 10 November 2023 and represent a fundamental shift in policy, ushering in a new era of risk and accountability for businesses using standard form contracts. Businesses only have a few months to ensure that their standard form contracts are compliant.

As 2023 begins to unfold, there are somewhat contentious predictions of a global recession, but amidst the uncertainty, there are also opportunities for consolidation and disciplined M&A players. In this note, we set out our key predictions for M&A in 2023.

Tiger & Bear Partners has decided that it’s time to bring back our joy rides and the constant chatter about them. For us, this is picking up where we left off. For others, this post may be the start of a new habit. If you’re reading this, think of a small thing that you can do today that brings you joy. Then do it and tell everyone about it.

If you hear “Red Bull”, “Apple”, “Netflix” or “Qantas”, odds are you have an immediate reaction and you may not have even used the product! Why? All these companies invest heavily in their brand and allow it to transcend their products or services and become a broader representation of their business, their vision and most importantly you, their customer.

I’ve written before on the importance of reimagining the model for energy retailers and now I want to explore the convergence between telco and energy. I don’t mean that in the simple sense that energy retailers will sell mobile plans and vice versa. What I mean is that connectivity, as provided by telco infrastructure giants, will become fundamental to energy retailers.

Open Energy is almost upon us. By November this year, the big 3 retailers will need to comply with the Consumer Data Right laws as accredited data holders (ADHs) and share their customer’s data with their consent by November this year. If you’re a tier two retailer or intermediary and want to leverage CDR data from November to help your prospective customers make more informed purchasing decisions, you need to start thinking now.

We've seen how lots of different businesses allocate and deploy L&D budgets. More recently, we decided to turn our minds to our own business in context of investing in our continued development. We have taken a different approach and thought to share the experience. In short, we picked an approach that keeps the team focussed on one general area but allows each person to choose the right version of the experience to suit their circumstances.

Often the first approach to a problem is to “just get in a room to work it out”. But does this ever really work? Or is it just an inefficient way to do work by committee. The most fruitful and effective meetings are those where someone takes ownership for that meeting. Someone has to put their hand up in the first instance to take the lead and have the first crack to avoid the group pondering what should be on the blank page.

Culture is the bedrock of high performing organisations: it can flatten the health curve of employees, especially the mental health curve. While the planet has been focussed on flattening the Covid curve, savvy managers have continued to focus on the health gradient of their employees.

It’s easy to neglect a stakeholder group, particularly if that stakeholder group isn’t one that you have frequent direct interaction with, or they don’t play a direct role in a particular project or transaction that you’re working on. But every stakeholder has a role to play at some stage In any project, transaction or strategy and it is important that they are front of mind from the outset.

Founders have naturally dedicated countless years toward building a successful product or service offering and raising capital. Once they have kicked some huge goals in both fields, M&A is now on their radar. While every situation is different, I thought to consolidate some general principles which I think are good practice and should have broad application for start-ups considering M&A.

From my experience as a legal secretary and a very hands-on executive assistant, I have supported multiple M&A integration, separation and due diligence workstreams. However, I had not led a project as complex, as time sensitive or as nuanced as a wind up and I found myself managing this project over the course of 5 months.

While the Board and management and deal advisors may all be clear what the strategic rationale for the transaction is along the way, if this is not communicated to the wider business, particularly those responsible for the technical, cultural and operational aspects then all those strategic benefits may be erased and much of the deal value can be eroded.