Daily Roundup

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Steadfast Group has received a significant boost to its proposed transaction, with KKR joining Amwins and Dragoneer as a co-lead investment partner in the retail brokerage business. The move, confirmed when the Steadfast Board received KKR's joinder on 8 July, doesn't change the transaction timeline, though it's worth noting that no binding agreement has been reached yet. Trading in Steadfast securities was paused ahead of this announcement, though shareholders don't need to take any action at this stage.

GR Engineering Services is moving full steam ahead with a $229 million EPC contract for the Tower Hill Gold Project in Western Australia. The company has already kicked off engineering works and procurement of long lead items. There's an interesting wrinkle here—Genesis Minerals' proposed acquisition of Vault Minerals could unlock synergies by processing ore through an existing plant rather than building a new one. The good news for GR Engineering investors is that there's no adverse impact expected on FY2026 results, and the company's pipeline remains strong heading into FY2027.

Over in the gaming space, Playside Studios' MOUSE: P.I. For Hire has crossed the 1 million unit sales milestone across all platforms. The detective game has racked up estimated gross platform sales of US$28.7 million, with net revenue to PlaySide hitting approximately US$17.6 million. Players are clearly enjoying it too—the game boasts a 94% review score on Steam and maintains a "Very Positive" rating. With the game now available in physical form at major retailers globally and paid DLC in the works, Playside is positioning itself for sustained momentum.

SKS Technologies Group has secured a $28 million early works contract for MEL2, a hyperscale data centre in Melbourne's northwest. The project encompasses substation work, internal fit-out, and infrastructure installation for what's expected to deliver over 354MW of capacity. This win is particularly significant as it represents repeat business and will boost SKS's order book to $312 million for FY27—a sevenfold increase since June 2023. The company is eyeing even bigger ambitions, anticipating it will more than double its capacity from 1.4GW in 2025 to 3.2GW by 2030.

Finally, Mcpherson's Ltd has released a preliminary trading update that signals headwinds ahead. The company expects FY26 revenue between $115.0 million and $120.0 million, down from $139.0 million in FY25, with underlying EBITDA estimated at just $4.0 million to $4.5 million compared to $7.3 million previously. The company is also taking non-cash intangible asset impairments of $15.0 million to $20.0 million, reflecting underperformance relative to plan. Net cash has declined to an expected $4.5 million from $8.8 million. Mcpherson's will release its full audited results on 27 August.