PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: Perpetual (PPT AT) rejected a AUD 2.5bln takeover offer from Swedish private equity group EQT Partners, while deputy head of equities Anthony Aboud is set to leave the firm

AUSTRALIA

Endeavour Group (EDV AT) - Co. said independent non-executive directors Rod van Onselen and Joe Pollard will retire at the AGM, with a search for new directors underway. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Iluka Resources (ILU AT) - Co. agreed to receive rare-earth concentrate supply from VHM’s Goschen deposit, with VHM to supply 146,000 tonnes of concentrate over 18 years and Iluka to provide a AUD 40mln secured convertible note. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Intelligent Monitoring Group (IMB AT) - Co. is set to more than double in size through a AUD 346mln acquisition of ADT’s UK residential security monitoring business from Johnson Controls International. (AFR)

Lendlease (LLC AT) - Co. sealed a joint venture with The Crown Estate to help extract its UK arm from offshore projects and cut gearing. (The Australian)

National Australia Bank (NAB AT) - Co. internal investigation reportedly revealed sophisticated mortgage fraud syndicates involving real estate and investment advisory firms, accountants and brokers. (AFR)

Northern Star Resources (NST AT) - Co. named Suresh Vadnagra as CEO effective October 5, while FY26 gold sales were 1.543mln oz, in line with revised guidance. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Perpetual (PPT AT) - Co. reportedly rejected a AUD 2.5bln takeover offer from Swedish private equity group EQT Partners, while deputy head of equities Anthony Aboud is set to leave the firm after more than 14 years. (The Australian/AFR)

Broker Ratings/Price Target

Aristocrat Leisure (ALL AT) price target raised 8.3% to AUD 65.00/shr by Macquarie.
JB Hi-Fi (JBH AT) downgraded by UBS.
Santos (STO AT) price target raised 1.1% to AUD 9.00/shr by Macquarie.
South32 (S32 AT) price target cut 2% to AUD 4.50/shr by Macquarie.

JAPAN

Kawasaki Heavy Industries (7012 JT) - Co. plans to raise roughly JPY 200bln through new shares and convertible bonds to fund investments into physical AI and other growth areas. (Nikkei)

Mazda Motor (7261 JT) - Co.’s North American Operations reported June sales rose 11.3% Y/Y to 37,167 vehicles. (Dow Jones Newswires)

SoftBank (9984 JT) - C. revived talks for a USD 10bln loan against OpenAI stake, and added concessions, according to sources. (Newswires)

Subaru (7270 JT) - Co.’s Subaru of America reported June sales rose 18.1% Y/Y to 54,909 vehicles. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316 JT) - Co.’s banking unit and other lenders are to provide up to JPY 80bln in financing alongside JBIC to develop India’s power grid. (Nikkei)

Toyota Motor (7203 JT) - Co.’s North America June US sales rose 10.1% Y/Y to 212,793 vehicles, while Q2 sales rose 1.1% Y/Y to 673,971 vehicles. (Dow Jones Newswires)

SOUTH KOREA

Hyundai Motor (005380 KS) - Co. said global sales fell 5.9% Y/Y to 338,313 vehicles in June, while Hyundai Motor America H1 US sales rose 3% Y/Y to a record 450,568 vehicles. (Yonhap)

Kia (000270 KS) - Co. said global sales rose 9.5% Y/Y to 295,720 vehicles in June, while Kia America H1 US sales rose 3% Y/Y to a record 430,727 vehicles. (Yonhap)

Korea Electric Power (015760 KS) - Co.’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power reported a heavy-water leak at the Wolsong-4 reactor, with nuclear safety officials saying no radiation issue was detected. (Yonhap)

Autos - Hyundai Motor (005380 KS), BYD (1211 HK), Mercedes-Benz Group (MBG GY) are among six automakers to recall more than 146,000 vehicles in South Korea due to faulty parts. (Yonhap)