Telco/Internet specialist

Kirk Boodry

Redex Research

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

KDDI's new pricing is the closest that Japan has come to a pre-pay service since Vodafone bought Japan Telecom in 2001 whilst its Starlink announcement gives all four mobile operators a satellite option.

KDDI's new pricing is the closest that Japan has come to a pre-pay service since Vodafone bought Japan Telecom in 2001 whilst its Starlink announcement gives all four mobile operators a satellite option.

Japan Telecom Sector - Read Across from KDDI’s Pricing and Starlink Announcements

The telecom sector seems like a notable winner with a change in political leadership.  Pushing through mobile price reductions was one of the few policy successes for the Suga administration and record low approval ratings meant a revival of the issues was never entirely off the table. New leadership without historical ties to the regulator is an improvement. We remain positive on Japanese telecoms with Buy ratings for NTT, KDDI and Softbank.

The telecom sector seems like a notable winner with a change in political leadership.  Pushing through mobile price reductions was one of the few policy successes for the Suga administration and record low approval ratings meant a revival of the issues was never entirely off the table. New leadership without historical ties to the regulator is an improvement. We remain positive on Japanese telecoms with Buy ratings for NTT, KDDI and Softbank.   

Japan Telecoms - Surprise Resignation of the Prime Minister Should Ease Regulatory Pressure

IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

Uncompromised, Independent, Conflict-Free Research

Global Equity Research Ltd

Global Equity Research was started in 2017 by a group of experienced research professionals. It was founded on a passionate belief in the importance and the need for uncompromised, independent, conflict-free research. We aim to provide differentiated and actionable primary and bottom up fundamental research.

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kakaku-com-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:7408:1" rel="noopener">Kakaku.com Inc (2371 JP)</a>’s shares have been trading above Bain/<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ly-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:19603:1" rel="noopener">LY (4689 JP)</a>’s preconditional binding offer of JPY3,384 (if KDDI agrees to a share buyback, the offer is at JPY3,500).</li>
<li>I previously opined that the probability of a bidding war is low. However, disclosure on 2 July showed that EQT increased its offer to JPY3,300 on 22 June.</li>
<li>EQT can match Bain/LY’s JPY3,500 offer with a modest 2.4% increase to the effective cost of its 22 June offer. If it matches Bain/LY's effective cost, EQT can offer JPY3,643.</li>
</ul>



Kakaku.com Inc (2371 JP)’s shares have been trading above Bain/LY (4689 JP)’s preconditional binding offer of JPY3,384 (if KDDI agrees to a share buyback, the offer is at JPY3,500).
I previously opined that the probability of a bidding war is low. However, disclosure on 2 July showed that EQT increased its offer to JPY3,300 on 22 June.
EQT can match Bain/LY’s JPY3,500 offer with a modest 2.4% increase to the effective cost of its 22 June offer. If it matches Bain/LY's effective cost, EQT can offer JPY3,643.


Kakaku.com (2371 JP): Rethinking the Arb Trade

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets, JapanConsuming

Michael Causton

Expert on Japan Retail and Consumer Markets

Real Insight on Japanese Consumer Markets

JapanConsuming

JapanConsuming is a specialist research firm producing intelligence on Japanese retail and consumer markets. Founded in 2000, JapanConsuming has become the leading provider of insights on Japanese retailers and consumer trends to retailers, brands, government agencies and investors. As well as a highly regarded monthly report on the market, JapanConsuming produces in-depth reports on retail sectors, seminars on key trends and telephone consulting to investors on trends and retailers.

JapanConsuming was founded by Michael Causton and Roy Larke. 

Japan’s retail and distribution sector has long been seen as fragmented, even to the point of being accused of inefficiency. On the surface, concentration levels do remain low, but scratch that surface and a very different picture emerges.
By format and by category sector, larger companies are taking increasing share and, over the past five years, this trend has accelerated.
Now, given the pressures of Covid, there is ample opportunity for stronger players to gain ground by buying out weaker ones, while some mid-level companies are joining together, hoping to become a fish too big to swallow.
Business tie-ups are also increasing in number, particularly as physical retailers seek to bring in and learn skills necessary to succeed in e-commerce and to build omnichannel models.
The following is a detailed review of how concentration has increased along with a map of who own who in retailing today.
There is a strong possibility that we could see some really big deals, even ones that span format and geographical borders, as many mid-sized retailers recognise that independent survival is getting hard. Acquirers will use the current environment to diversify into new areas, expand volumes and market share, or simply acquire more retail property for long-term development.

Japan’s retail and distribution sector has long been seen as fragmented, even to the point of being accused of inefficiency. On the surface, concentration levels do remain low, but scratch that surface and a very different picture emerges.
By format and by category sector, larger companies are taking increasing share and, over the past five years, this trend has accelerated.
Now, given the pressures of Covid, there is ample opportunity for stronger players to gain ground by buying out weaker ones, while some mid-level companies are joining together, hoping to become a fish too big to swallow.
Business tie-ups are also increasing in number, particularly as physical retailers seek to bring in and learn skills necessary to succeed in e-commerce and to build omnichannel models.
The following is a detailed review of how concentration has increased along with a map of who own who in retailing today.
There is a strong possibility that we could see some really big deals, even ones that span format and geographical borders, as many mid-sized retailers recognise that independent survival is getting hard. Acquirers will use the current environment to diversify into new areas, expand volumes and market share, or simply acquire more retail property for long-term development.

Who Owns Who: Concentration Levels Accelerate in Japan Retail, with More M&A to Come

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

On Friday 11 June, the TSE published its final revisions to the Corporate Governance Code which had been undergoing review by the Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code and subsequently comment for the past many months. The new Code went into effect as of 11 June. The first revision to the Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement were published as well. The new version of Japan's Corporate Governance Code is <a href="https://www.jpx.co.jp/english/news/1020/b5b4pj0000046kxj-att/b5b4pj0000046l07.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a> with the tracked change version <a href="https://www.jpx.co.jp/english/news/1020/b5b4pj0000046kxj-att/b5b4pj0000046l0c.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. This is the second revision of the Code (the first revision was in 2018).The revisions to the JFSA Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement are <a href="https://www.jpx.co.jp/english/news/1020/b5b4pj0000046kxj-att/b5b4pj0000046l3e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. Tracked changes are <a href="https://www.jpx.co.jp/english/news/1020/b5b4pj0000046kxj-att/b5b4pj0000046l50.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.The major changes to the Code recommend enhancements to Board independence, diversity, Sustainability and ESG, and also recommend improvements to investor accessibility and voting and a small change to listed parent-listed subsidiary relationships which unfortunately will not do much to counter abuse by companies of listed sub minority shareholders. Below is more discussion of the changes and what they mean.But I remind investors, these changes are almost all box-ticking exercises. They will not improve governance for shareholders except at the margins. Companies which "get" good governance are still rare. And those which don't get it seem to abuse shareholders on a regular basis. And for that, investors still need more cowbell.

On Friday 11 June, the TSE published its final revisions to the Corporate Governance Code which had been undergoing review by the Council of Experts Concerning the Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code and subsequently comment for the past many months. The new Code went into effect as of 11 June. The first revision to the Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement were published as well. The new version of Japan's Corporate Governance Code is here with the tracked change version here. This is the second revision of the Code (the first revision was in 2018).The revisions to the JFSA Guidelines for Investor and Company Engagement are here. Tracked changes are here.The major changes to the Code recommend enhancements to Board independence, diversity, Sustainability and ESG, and also recommend improvements to investor accessibility and voting and a small change to listed parent-listed subsidiary relationships which unfortunately will not do much to counter abuse by companies of listed sub minority shareholders. Below is more discussion of the changes and what they mean.But I remind investors, these changes are almost all box-ticking exercises. They will not improve governance for shareholders except at the margins. Companies which "get" good governance are still rare. And those which don't get it seem to abuse shareholders on a regular basis. And for that, investors still need more cowbell.

TSE Prime: Japan's Corporate Governance Code Finalized So Boxes Will Be Furiously Ticked

Japan

KDDI CORPORATION provides mobile communication services and sells mobile devices.  The Company also is a broadband provider.

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KDDI Corp (9433 JP)

Japan Telecom Sector - Read Across from KDDI’s Pricing and Starlink Announcements

KDDI's new pricing is the closest Japan has come to a pre-pay service since Vodafone bought Japan Telecom in 2001 whilst its Starlink announcement...

Kirk Boodry

Japan Telecoms - Surprise Resignation of the Prime Minister Should Ease Regulatory Pressure

The telecom sector wins with political change. Mobile price cuts were one of the few policy successes for this PM and record low approval meant a...

Kirk Boodry

Kakaku.com (2371 JP): Rethinking the Arb Trade

The EQT offer is a structurally lower-cost proposal than Bain/LY’s on a like-for-like basis. EQT bid JPY3,300 on 22 June and can match Bain/LY’s...

Arun George

Who Owns Who: Concentration Levels Accelerate in Japan Retail, with More M&A to Come

Japanese retail is in the process of extensive concentration and market consolidation through M&A, organic expansion and tie-ups. Numerous...

Michael Causton

TSE Prime: Japan's Corporate Governance Code Finalized So Boxes Will Be Furiously Ticked

The TSE on Friday announced the revisions to the Governance Code. This codifies the "governance thresholds" required to join TSE Prime next year....

Travis Lundy

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