Is it Groundhog Day again?. Last February, Grab and GoTo Group were said to have reopened merger talks. A year later, like clockwork, reports have resurfaced that the merger is apparently in the works – again.Image credit: Timmy LoenThis time, the deal might value the Indonesian player at more than US$7 billion. Bloomberg reports that one option being discussed is an all-share purchase, which would value GoTo at over 100 rupiah (US$0.006) per share, a premium of about 20% over its value before news of the potential deal broke. One might be forgiven for feeling like they’re in a time loop – just like in the 1993 American comedy Groundhog Day, where a weatherman is forced to relive February 2 repeatedly

Fast-growing digital private equity manager Moonfare has further expanded its international operations by opening for business in Australia.Since its establishment in 2016, Moonfare has become a leading provider of private equity investments in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. Now, eligible1 Australian investors can also benefit from access to carefully curated funds from top-tier private equity managers such as KKR, EQT and the Carlyle Group at low minimums, with direct investments and Moonfare proprietary strategies also available.“There is clearly a growing appetite for private equity investing in Australia. But so far access has been limited, especially for people wanting exposure to non-domestic managers and strategies. Moonfare’s digital private equity platform plans to fill that gap by providing seamless access to globally leading top-quartile managers,” said Steffen Pauls, Moonfare’s Founder and co-Chief Executive.Australia’s private wealth market is growing. The country has the highest proportion of private wealth investors across the APAC region, with high-net worth assets under management standing at over USD $1 trillion2,3; it has the fifth largest average wealth globally4. Australian investors are also increasingly interested in investing in alternatives, but some reports suggest they want better education and market access5, both of which Moonfare was established to deliver.Moonfare’s proprietary portfolio investments provide instant diversification across a range of strategies at low minimums, including buyout, growth equity, venture and infrastructure

Moonfare, the digital private equity manager, is pleased to announce the appointment of Heike Hövekamp as Chief Legal & Compliance Officer and member of the Executive Committee.Heike joins Moonfare from Société Générale (SG), where she worked for the last two years as Head of Compliance, and was previously SG’s Head of Markets Compliance Advisory in the firm’s Frankfurt office. Prior to this she spent 12 years working for Commerzbank in various legal and compliance roles. She began her career as an associate at the law firm Hengeler Mueller.“Heike brings with her over 20 years of experience in legal and compliance in the financial services industry and will further strengthen Moonfare’s operational capability as we enter this next, important phase of expanding private markets opportunities to many more investors,” said Steffen Pauls, Moonfare’s founder and Co-CEO.Heike will report to Moonfare’s Co-CEO, Lorenz Jüngling, who added: “Moonfare is becoming arguably the leading trusted partner for opening up private markets globally and we are committed, as we progress on this journey, to having best-in-class legal and compliance functionality. Heike will provide us with that, and I welcome her to Moonfare and to our Executive Committee.”