Index Rebal Trades & Special Situations, Quiddity Advisors

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

Index Rebal Trades & Special Situations

Quiddity Advisors

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Event-Driven

Advance Logistics Investment / Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Today after the close, small-cap logistics JREIT <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/itochu-advance-logistics-investment" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28286:1" rel="noopener">Itochu Advance Logistics Investment (3493 JP)</a> ("IAL") announced a follow-on equity offering to fund part of their recently-announced property acquisition. </li>
<li>The primary offer quantity is 70,773 units. In addition, there will also be an over-allotment quantity of 3,500 units. The total size of this offering could be roughly ¥10bn (~US$76mn). </li>
<li>Below is a closer look at the details of this offering and the potential of this offering to trigger strong secondary market performance in the following weeks.</li>
</ul>


Today after the close, small-cap logistics JREIT Itochu Advance Logistics Investment (3493 JP) ("IAL") announced a follow-on equity offering to fund part of their recently-announced property acquisition. 
The primary offer quantity is 70,773 units. In addition, there will also be an over-allotment quantity of 3,500 units. The total size of this offering could be roughly ¥10bn (~US$76mn). 
Below is a closer look at the details of this offering and the potential of this offering to trigger strong secondary market performance in the following weeks.


Itochu Advance Logistics (3493 JP): Offering Could Trigger Outperformance Vs Peers

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. 

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul>
<li>Major wholesalers in food, pharmaceuticals and books continue to prosper due to their role in both serving and protecting fragmented distribution channels.</li>
<li>Profits returned last year as clients picked themselves up after Covid, but as inflation sets in, these middlemen are being squeezed by both manufacturers and retailers and profits may slump.</li>
<li>They now need to offer an ever increasing array of value-added services to continue to grow and not all have the capability. More M&amp;A may be on the cards.</li>
</ul>


Major wholesalers in food, pharmaceuticals and books continue to prosper due to their role in both serving and protecting fragmented distribution channels.
Profits returned last year as clients picked themselves up after Covid, but as inflation sets in, these middlemen are being squeezed by both manufacturers and retailers and profits may slump.
They now need to offer an ever increasing array of value-added services to continue to grow and not all have the capability. More M&amp;A may be on the cards.


Major Japan Wholesalers up 2.8% in 2021, but Problems Looming

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>A few years back, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/itochu-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:18448:1" rel="noopener">Itochu Corp (8001 JP)</a> announced its intention to aggressively grow its consumer brand business. </li>
<li>It has just confirmed deals with Eddie Bauer and Barbour after a year in which it also signed Reebok and Under Armour.</li>
<li>Although a small part of the Itochu empire, the consumer brand business, alongside retail interests such as Familymart, are key to the trading firm's longer term profits.</li>
</ul>


A few years back, Itochu Corp (8001 JP) announced its intention to aggressively grow its consumer brand business. 
It has just confirmed deals with Eddie Bauer and Barbour after a year in which it also signed Reebok and Under Armour.
Although a small part of the Itochu empire, the consumer brand business, alongside retail interests such as Familymart, are key to the trading firm's longer term profits.


<ul>
<li>Japan’s cosmetics market is the focus of attention from many large international businesses thanks to strong sales and new growth businesses. </li>
<li>The latest is Amazon, which is to become the biggest shareholder in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/istyle-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9010:1" rel="noopener">Istyle Inc (3660 JP)</a>, providing a major boost to the @Cosme operator.</li>
<li>IStyle, meanwhile, plans to offer cosmetics brands the chance to open popup stores within its retail chain for fixed monthly fees.</li>
</ul>


Japan’s cosmetics market is the focus of attention from many large international businesses thanks to strong sales and new growth businesses. 
The latest is Amazon, which is to become the biggest shareholder in Istyle Inc (3660 JP), providing a major boost to the @Cosme operator.
IStyle, meanwhile, plans to offer cosmetics brands the chance to open popup stores within its retail chain for fixed monthly fees.


IStyle's @Cosme Gets a Boost from Amazon Investment

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

<ul>
<li>Thursday post-close, HS announced Q1 earnings, and Khan Bank Q2 earnings. Both magnificent. Book Value is up HUGE, and combined HS Q1-Khan Q2 is ¥7.7bn - 20% of mkt cap.</li>
<li>On Friday 29 July, HS Holdings (8699 JP) announced it had sold HS Debt Collection Agency - the last "earning asset" except for the 55% stake in Khan Bank. </li>
<li>This lifts shadow book value even higher... Deep value with a catalyst. BUT... in an otherwise unannounced postscript to Q1 earnings, HS announced it bought a stake in a... <em>pawnshop?</em>
</li>
</ul>


Thursday post-close, HS announced Q1 earnings, and Khan Bank Q2 earnings. Both magnificent. Book Value is up HUGE, and combined HS Q1-Khan Q2 is ¥7.7bn - 20% of mkt cap.
On Friday 29 July, HS Holdings (8699 JP) announced it had sold HS Debt Collection Agency - the last "earning asset" except for the 55% stake in Khan Bank. 
This lifts shadow book value even higher... Deep value with a catalyst. BUT... in an otherwise unannounced postscript to Q1 earnings, HS announced it bought a stake in a... pawnshop?



HS Holdings (8699 JP) - Huge Q1, Even Better Q2 Ahead, The 2nd To Last Asset Sale... And a Pawnshop?

Japan

ITOCHU Corporation is a general trading firm handling textiles, wood, machinery, metals, food, chemicals, construction materials, commodities, and energy related products such as oil and gas. The Company operates around the world. Itochu diversifies by operating in satellite communication and data communication businesses.

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Itochu Corp (8001 JP)

Itochu Advance Logistics (3493 JP): Offering Could Trigger Outperformance Vs Peers

IAL's latest equity offering is significantly less dilutive in comparison to their previous offerings. There could be some DPU accretion and the...

Janaghan Jeyakumar, CFA

Major Japan Wholesalers up 2.8% in 2021, but Problems Looming

Wholesalers in Japan had a good year last year. The biggest firms like Medipal may prosper but there are challenges for the sector which could...

Michael Causton

Itochu Grabs Eddie Bauer and Barbour

Itochu Corp has become a major player in brand distribution in the last decade but is now aggressively acquiring brand rights to cement its...

Michael Causton

IStyle's @Cosme Gets a Boost from Amazon Investment

iStyle is a leading cosmetics social platform and retailer and was already well-positioned to take advantage of Japan's cosmetics boom but will now...

Michael Causton

HS Holdings (8699 JP) - Huge Q1, Even Better Q2 Ahead, The 2nd To Last Asset Sale... And a Pawnshop?

HS Holdings (8699) reports great Q1, even better incoming Q2 (mostly known already), and sells the last remaining financial asset. All good. THEN...

Travis Lundy

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