Good evening,

There's no stopping Bega Cheese executive chairman Barry Irvin and his merry band of dealmakers.

In their quest to create "Australia's greatest food company", they're set to pick up Kirin's Lion Dairy and Drinks portfolio, which includes the Big M and Dare flavoured milk brands, Yoplait yoghurt and some other well-known staples.

To do it, Bega is planning to raise $400 million from investors via a rights issue and placement, as Street Talk revealed today. Bega is expected to sign the acquisition as early as tomorrow and launch the raising soon after.

Elsewhere, we take a look at the hit young cyber security thing that has private equity firms worked up, and reveal who's bidding for OPTrust's $1 billion-odd Australian bus business.

And we unveil the first M&A crystal ball report tipping deal trends for the new year, when the key will be to act faster.

Happy reading,

Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd

Street Talk Editors