Mary Meeker backs Eucalyptus; MinRes co uld be a target; Firefinch knocks at fundies ’ doors

Good evening,

We’ve spotted a Silicon Valley celebrity at an Aussie capital raise.

Internet queen Mary Meeker is understood to have tipped money into Sydney online healthcare outfit Eucalyptus.

Meeker’s investment is via her latest venture BOND, which invests in tech-led businesses (and whose website lovingly displays all of Meeker’s annual internet reports since 1995 that in-part made her famous).

Interestingly, Eucalyptus is not Meeker’s only Australian connection.

She also sits on the board of Square, and so would have taken a good look at local BNPL outfit Afterpay.

Celebrity gushing aside, tonight we look at why Mineral Resources could be a takeover target and why watchers think Firefinch is the next raising candidate in the lithium sector.

Elsewhere, Next Capital has hired UBS to road test buyer appetite in its urban bus lines biz NZ Bus; and listed enterprise software play Damstra Technology is putting the final touches on a $20 million raise.

Happy reading,

Anthony Macdonald, Yolanda Redrup and Kanika Sood

Street Talk editors