Thematic Investing in Tech and Media, CM Research

Cyrus Mewawalla

Thematic Investing in Tech and Media

Thematic TMT investing

CM Research

CM Research is an independent research house based in London, England. We provide global thematic research in the Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) sectors. 

Our focus is on disruptive technologies: how will they unfold; which industries will be impacted; and who will be the ultimate winners and losers. 

Our aim is to help investors predict share prices and corporate executives stay one step ahead of the technology trends that are shaping their industry. 

We research technology investment themes in detail and then feed the results into a scorecard system to quantify the impact of several conflicting themes on individual stocks. 

Recent themes covered include internet TV, the Internet of Things, Big Data, Mobile payments, crowdfunding, artificial intelligence, the cloud, software defined networking and Generation Hashtag.

We cover the top 500 global TMT stocks by market capitalisation and several technology start-ups and pre-IPO companies too. 

In 2015, CM Research analysts outperformed the Bloomberg Benchmark Analyst Index - which measures how good analysts are at predicting stock prices - by 7.1%.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<p>During this decade, the digital data universe is expected to grow 75-fold from 1.2 zettabytes to 90 zettabytes. (1 zettabyte = 1 trillion gigabytes).</p><p>Ask any CEO how he expects to sell more products and cut more costs and he will tell you that Big Data features prominently in his strategy. Big Data refers to the technology processes by which companies can profit from the large amounts of data to which they have access.</p><p>But investors who want to ride the Big Data wave are finding that it is not that easy to identify where to invest.</p><p>In this report, we delve deep down into the Big Data supply chain and look at where the investment opportunities really lie.&nbsp;</p>

During this decade, the digital data universe is expected to grow 75-fold from 1.2 zettabytes to 90 zettabytes. (1 zettabyte = 1 trillion gigabytes).Ask any CEO how he expects to sell more products and cut more costs and he will tell you that Big Data features prominently in his strategy. Big Data refers to the technology processes by which companies can profit from the large amounts of data to which they have access.But investors who want to ride the Big Data wave are finding that it is not that easy to identify where to invest.In this report, we delve deep down into the Big Data supply chain and look at where the investment opportunities really lie.&nbsp;

Senior Credit Analyst, Lucror Analytics

Leonard Law, CFA

Senior Credit Analyst

High Yield Experts

Lucror Analytics

Lucror Analytics is a leading credit and ESG research specialist and a provider of technology solutions for differentiated fixed income strategies. Our roots are in bottom-up fundamental credit analysis with a specialization in high yield corporate credits from Europe, Asia and Latin America. We are one of few research specialists integrating ESG considerations with fundamental credit research through a dedicated ESG platform. Our ESG assessment covers five key criteria: Disclosure, E,S, & G Pillars, Controversies, ESG Impact on Credit and ESG Momentum.

Recognizing the importance and value-add of Factor Investing in fixed income, Lucror developed the Smart Quant Navigator (SQN), an intuitive platform that helps clients devise and implement factor-based strategies ranging from pure quant to active fundamental, with integrated ESG.

Our company has been at the forefront of developments in the fixed income markets, identifying opportunities and consistently delivering new products and value-adding solutions to clients. Lucror has close relationships with the largest and most reputable asset managers, family offices, hedge funds, investment and wealth managers globally.

<p>Lucror Analytics' ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).<br>We assess Iliad's ESG as "Adequate", in line with its "Adequate" Social and Governance scores, while the Environmental score is "Strong". Controversies are "Immaterial" and Disclosure is "Adequate".</p>

Lucror Analytics' ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable). We assess Iliad's ESG as "Adequate", in line with its "Adequate" Social and Governance scores, while the Environmental score is "Strong". Controversies are "Immaterial" and Disclosure is "Adequate".

European Event-Driven Analyst

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

Event-Driven

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<li>KKR intends to offer €0.505/ordinary&amp;savings, a 44% premium and 5.2x EV/Fwd EBITDA. KKR is willing to split Telecom Italia, by separating the network (Infra Co) from the services (ServiceCo).</li>
<li>The attempt would need 67% of the ords float tendered and no interference from the Italian Government. The market is cautious, but believes this time can happen.</li>
<li>In light of the possible offer, I change my recommendation to <strong>long TIT IM</strong>, <strong>long TITR IM</strong>, <strong>TP 0.505/share</strong>. Gross spread is 10.5%. The premium savings/ordinary shares has decreased to 0.9%.</li>
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KKR intends to offer €0.505/ordinary&amp;savings, a 44% premium and 5.2x EV/Fwd EBITDA. KKR is willing to split Telecom Italia, by separating the network (Infra Co) from the services (ServiceCo).
The attempt would need 67% of the ords float tendered and no interference from the Italian Government. The market is cautious, but believes this time can happen.
In light of the possible offer, I change my recommendation to long TIT IM, long TITR IM, TP 0.505/share. Gross spread is 10.5%. The premium savings/ordinary shares has decreased to 0.9%.


KKR Potential Offer for The (W)Hole of Telecom Italia

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<li>KKR is looking at alternatives ranging from raising its stake in Telecom Italia’s grid operations to pursuing a full takeover of the unit, as an alternative to the merger of FiberCop (the crown jewel) with Open Fiber, by which Telecom Italia would own a minority stake in the merged entity.</li>
<li>The merger seems designed to facilitate the generation of cash (by partial disposal and/or enhancing the share price by focusing analysts’ attention on its SOTP). Ongoing restructuring has created uncertainty in Telecom Italia’s intentions and potential actions, which in turn will introduce increased volatility into the pricing of Telecom Italia equity and debt. Vivendi, sitting on a 67% paper loss, is (rightly in my view) concerned.</li>
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<p>I would look to put on any the following strategies: short credit/buy protection, short TIT IM (my SOTP valuation is €0.29/ordinary share), and long savings/short ords.</p>
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KKR is looking at alternatives ranging from raising its stake in Telecom Italia’s grid operations to pursuing a full takeover of the unit, as an alternative to the merger of FiberCop (the crown jewel) with Open Fiber, by which Telecom Italia would own a minority stake in the merged entity.
The merger seems designed to facilitate the generation of cash (by partial disposal and/or enhancing the share price by focusing analysts’ attention on its SOTP). Ongoing restructuring has created uncertainty in Telecom Italia’s intentions and potential actions, which in turn will introduce increased volatility into the pricing of Telecom Italia equity and debt. Vivendi, sitting on a 67% paper loss, is (rightly in my view) concerned.






I would look to put on any the following strategies: short credit/buy protection, short TIT IM (my SOTP valuation is €0.29/ordinary share), and long savings/short ords.











KKR/Telecom Italia: Open Fiber Deal, Ongoing Restructuring, Strategies

<p>On 30 July, Xavier Niel, co-founder and controlling shareholder of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/iliad-sa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21486:1" rel="noopener">Iliad SA (ILD FP)</a> (70.63% of the share capital and 78.67% of the voting rights) launched a simplified public tender offer for the remaining iliad stake he does not own.</p>
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<p>The offer price will be <strong>€182/share</strong>, a premium of 61.0% on the closing share price on the prior trading session, c. 50% premium to the 1-month VWAP and 52.7% to the 3-month VWAP.</p>
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<p>This offer for the remaining 29.37% signals Niel's belief that iliad is undervalued, as per the typical “From now on, a new phase of development for Iliad will require quicker transformations and significant investments that will be easier to carry out as a private company,” Niel said in a statement. “Our ambition for Iliad is to accelerate to become a leader in telecommunications in Europe.”</p>
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<p>Niel had previously boosted its stake in 2019 by buying at €120/share as the stock stagnated at nearly half its all-time highs.</p>
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<p>It is a similar move to that carried out by Patrick Drahi, when he took private Altice Europe (see <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/altice-next-private-takeover-announcement" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:43240" rel="noopener">Altice - Next Private Takeover Announcement</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/altice-next-private-trading-above-terms" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:45873" rel="noopener">Altice - Next Private: Trading Above Terms</a>), because of low valuations of European telecoms. Private equity has been circling <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/koninklijke-kpn-nv" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21122:1" rel="noopener">Koninklijke KPN (KPN NA)</a> and KKR (in a consortium) has taken over <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/masmovil-ibercom-sa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29013:1" rel="noopener">Masmovil Ibercom SA (MAS SM)</a> and indirectly it is acquiring <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/euskaltel-sa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21263:1" rel="noopener">Euskaltel SA (EKT SM)</a>.</p>
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<li>Niel has bridge financing which should be comfortably refinanced with high-yield debt. He will be receiving c. €178 mn in dividends from FY2021e.</li>
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<p>Since November 2020, iliad's shares have lost nearly a third of their value, both on investor concerns about investments in Italy and price wars in France. European telecoms will also need to carry out significant capex for the 5G deployment and upgrade networks to high-speed fibre.</p>
<p>This is essentially an <strong>opportunistic bid</strong>, as Xavier Niel thinks the market is undervaluing his company, coupled with the planned Capex investments. This is not too disimilar to the <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kaz-minerals-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:21999:1" rel="noopener">KAZ Minerals (KAZ LN)</a> takeout offer.</p>
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<p>iliad has growth ambitions in Poland  to become a convergent player and on 30 July submitted an indicative bid to fully acquire <span title="" data-toggle="tooltip" data-offset="10%" data-trigger="manual" data-html="true" data-container="body" data-template='&lt;div class="tooltip" role="tooltip"&gt;&lt;div class="news-article-tooltip-arrow tooltip-arrow"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="tooltip-inner"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;' data-original-title="">Liberty-Global</span>-owned <span title="" data-toggle="tooltip" data-offset="10%" data-trigger="manual" data-html="true" data-container="body" data-template='&lt;div class="tooltip" role="tooltip"&gt;&lt;div class="news-article-tooltip-arrow tooltip-arrow"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class="tooltip-inner"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;' data-original-title="">UPC Poland</span>. The indicative bid values the Polish operator at 7.3 billion Polish zlotys. iliad said the valuation is based on EBITDA of 782 million zlotys this year for UPC Poland. iliad is debating whether to acquire a broadband operator in the Polish market, or establishing its own broadband company to deploy optic fiber technology in Poland. This follows on the September 2020 acquisition of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/play-communications-sa" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29661:1" rel="noopener">Play Communications SA (1P1 GR)</a> for €3.5 billion (<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/play-communications-iliad-offer-announcement" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:43457" rel="noopener">Play Communications - Iliad: Offer Announcement</a>).</p>
<p>The takeout and delisting of iliad represents an opportunity for Xavier Niel. The 5G capex schedule   and fiber broadband upgrades will require heavy investments that are discouraging investors from increasing positions in reportedly cheap European telcos. At the same time, it has been the large American tech companies that have reaped the benefits of the higher internet traffic.</p>
<p>The offer represents c. 4.9% CF yield and the shares are trading at c. 6.5x on 2021E EV/EBITDAaL. Although the offer is interesting, and will likely receive majority of acceptances, my estimate of fair value (DCF based) is <strong>€190.7/share</strong>, which represents a 4.7% upside to the offer price. Market seems to await a sweetened bid. On this basis, and considering the risk/reward, my recommendation is <strong>Long ILD FP</strong>.</p>
<p>iliad's shares closed, on 30 July, 61% higher at €182.05, just above the offer price, giving it a market cap of c. €10.85b n.</p>
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On 30 July, Xavier Niel, co-founder and controlling shareholder of Iliad SA (ILD FP) (70.63% of the share capital and 78.67% of the voting rights) launched a simplified public tender offer for the remaining iliad stake he does not own.



The offer price will be €182/share, a premium of 61.0% on the closing share price on the prior trading session, c. 50% premium to the 1-month VWAP and 52.7% to the 3-month VWAP.


This offer for the remaining 29.37% signals Niel's belief that iliad is undervalued, as per the typical “From now on, a new phase of development for Iliad will require quicker transformations and significant investments that will be easier to carry out as a private company,” Niel said in a statement. “Our ambition for Iliad is to accelerate to become a leader in telecommunications in Europe.”


Niel had previously boosted its stake in 2019 by buying at €120/share as the stock stagnated at nearly half its all-time highs.


It is a similar move to that carried out by Patrick Drahi, when he took private Altice Europe (see Altice - Next Private Takeover Announcement and Altice - Next Private: Trading Above Terms), because of low valuations of European telecoms. Private equity has been circling Koninklijke KPN (KPN NA) and KKR (in a consortium) has taken over Masmovil Ibercom SA (MAS SM) and indirectly it is acquiring Euskaltel SA (EKT SM).

Niel has bridge financing which should be comfortably refinanced with high-yield debt. He will be receiving c. €178 mn in dividends from FY2021e.


Since November 2020, iliad's shares have lost nearly a third of their value, both on investor concerns about investments in Italy and price wars in France. European telecoms will also need to carry out significant capex for the 5G deployment and upgrade networks to high-speed fibre.
This is essentially an opportunistic bid, as Xavier Niel thinks the market is undervaluing his company, coupled with the planned Capex investments. This is not too disimilar to the KAZ Minerals (KAZ LN) takeout offer.


iliad has growth ambitions in Poland  to become a convergent player and on 30 July submitted an indicative bid to fully acquire Liberty-Global-owned UPC Poland. The indicative bid values the Polish operator at 7.3 billion Polish zlotys. iliad said the valuation is based on EBITDA of 782 million zlotys this year for UPC Poland. iliad is debating whether to acquire a broadband operator in the Polish market, or establishing its own broadband company to deploy optic fiber technology in Poland. This follows on the September 2020 acquisition of Play Communications SA (1P1 GR) for €3.5 billion (Play Communications - Iliad: Offer Announcement).
The takeout and delisting of iliad represents an opportunity for Xavier Niel. The 5G capex schedule   and fiber broadband upgrades will require heavy investments that are discouraging investors from increasing positions in reportedly cheap European telcos. At the same time, it has been the large American tech companies that have reaped the benefits of the higher internet traffic.
The offer represents c. 4.9% CF yield and the shares are trading at c. 6.5x on 2021E EV/EBITDAaL. Although the offer is interesting, and will likely receive majority of acceptances, my estimate of fair value (DCF based) is €190.7/share, which represents a 4.7% upside to the offer price. Market seems to await a sweetened bid. On this basis, and considering the risk/reward, my recommendation is Long ILD FP.
iliad's shares closed, on 30 July, 61% higher at €182.05, just above the offer price, giving it a market cap of c. €10.85b n.




Xavier Niel/Iliad: An Offer Shareholders Can't Refuse?

France

Iliad S.A. provides a wide range of telecommunications services which include national telecommunication and dial-up, and high speed DSL and TV Internet access.

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Iliad SA (ILD FP)

Big Data as an Investment Theme

During this decade, the digital data universe is expected to grow 75-fold from 1.2 zettabytes to 90 zettabytes. (1 zettabyte = 1 trillion...

CM Research

Iliad - ESG Report - Lucror Analytics

Lucror Analytics' ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable). We assess Iliad's ESG as...

Lucror Analytics

KKR Potential Offer for The (W)Hole of Telecom Italia

In light of the possible offer, I change my recommendation to Long TIT IM, long TITR IM, TP 0.505/share. Additional upside could come from a...

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

KKR/Telecom Italia: Open Fiber Deal, Ongoing Restructuring, Strategies

I would look to put on any the following strategies: short credit/buy protection, short TIT IM (my SOTP valuation is €0.29/ordinary share), and...

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

Xavier Niel/Iliad: An Offer Shareholders Can't Refuse?

Although the offer will likely receive majority of acceptances, my TP is €190.7, a 4.7% upside to the offer. Market awaits a sweetened bid....

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

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