Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>The founder and former chairman and CEO of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/nexon-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:16032:1" rel="noopener">Nexon (3659 JP)</a> passed away according to both Nexon and his holding company NXC. Both announced it late afternoon 1 March.</li>
<li>NXC - the near-parent  (47+% stake) of Nexon tried to sell Nexon/NXC in H1 2019 to no avail. Since then, profits have rebounded somewhat, and investments have multiplied. </li>
<li>The estate may wish to sell Nexon shares, or its entire stake, at some point near-term.</li>
</ul>


The founder and former chairman and CEO of Nexon (3659 JP) passed away according to both Nexon and his holding company NXC. Both announced it late afternoon 1 March.
NXC - the near-parent  (47+% stake) of Nexon tried to sell Nexon/NXC in H1 2019 to no avail. Since then, profits have rebounded somewhat, and investments have multiplied. 
The estate may wish to sell Nexon shares, or its entire stake, at some point near-term.


Nexon - Founder Kim Jung-Ju Passes, Raises Question if Nexon Deal Is Back In Play

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>As a result of the arrest of Kim Beom-Su, the near term impact on the Kakao companies (including Kakao Corp, Kakao Bank, Kakao Pay, and Kakao Games) is clearly negative.</li>
<li>Given that this is a highly publicized event, it is likely that this legal case will be PROLONGED and finally decided by the Supreme Court which could take several years.</li>
<li>Some of the scenarios include Kakao Group selling partial stakes in Kakao Bank and SM Entertainment but this is likely to get dragged on, resulting in further uncertainty.</li>
</ul>


As a result of the arrest of Kim Beom-Su, the near term impact on the Kakao companies (including Kakao Corp, Kakao Bank, Kakao Pay, and Kakao Games) is clearly negative.
Given that this is a highly publicized event, it is likely that this legal case will be PROLONGED and finally decided by the Supreme Court which could take several years.
Some of the scenarios include Kakao Group selling partial stakes in Kakao Bank and SM Entertainment but this is likely to get dragged on, resulting in further uncertainty.


Kakao Group Founder Kim Beom-Su Gets Arrested - What's Next?

<ul>
<li>Com2Us's net cash (including long-term financial investments) is 151% of its market cap. It is trading at P/B ratio of only 0.45x. </li>
<li>The company paid out 2,600 won in DPS in FY23. If we assume the same DPS, this would suggest a dividend yield of 6.7% at current price of 38,900 won. </li>
<li>Com2Us is a turnaround story. It had an operating profit of 1.2 billion won in 1Q 2024, improving from an operating loss of 13.3 billion won in 1Q 2023. </li>
</ul>


Com2Us's net cash (including long-term financial investments) is 151% of its market cap. It is trading at P/B ratio of only 0.45x. 
The company paid out 2,600 won in DPS in FY23. If we assume the same DPS, this would suggest a dividend yield of 6.7% at current price of 38,900 won. 
Com2Us is a turnaround story. It had an operating profit of 1.2 billion won in 1Q 2024, improving from an operating loss of 13.3 billion won in 1Q 2023. 


David Blennerhassett

<ul>
<li>The Toyota Group cross-holding ecosystem is in flux. They started with a small announcement by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/aisin-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:11809:1" rel="noopener">Aisin (7259 JP)</a> but moves have come fast and furious.</li>
<li>Apparently minorities are grumbling to the SFC about the low-balled Offer for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/asia-cement-china-holdings" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:3374:1" rel="noopener">Asia Cement China (743 HK)</a>. And for good reason. The best course of action? Vote against the Scheme.</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hanwha-corporation" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:10619:1" rel="noopener">Hanwha Corporation (000880 KS)</a> is trading at a steep NAV discount. And the controlling family is making  a partial Offer to gain majority control. </li>
</ul>


The Toyota Group cross-holding ecosystem is in flux. They started with a small announcement by Aisin (7259 JP) but moves have come fast and furious.
Apparently minorities are grumbling to the SFC about the low-balled Offer for Asia Cement China (743 HK). And for good reason. The best course of action? Vote against the Scheme.

Hanwha Corporation (000880 KS) is trading at a steep NAV discount. And the controlling family is making  a partial Offer to gain majority control. 


Last Week in Event SPACE: Toyota, Asia Cement, Hanwha Corp, Kokusai Electric, Keisei Electric

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

Equity Capital Markets

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/shift-up-corp" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:36232:1" rel="noopener">Shift Up (462870 KS)</a> raised around US$320m in its South Korean IPO, after pricing at the top.</li>
<li>Shift Up is a South Korean games developer, which as released three games so far for the global markets.</li>
<li>We have looked at the company’s performance and valuation in our earlier notes. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.</li>
</ul>



Shift Up (462870 KS) raised around US$320m in its South Korean IPO, after pricing at the top.
Shift Up is a South Korean games developer, which as released three games so far for the global markets.
We have looked at the company’s performance and valuation in our earlier notes. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.


Shift Up IPO Trading - Strong Demand for Quality Asset but It Has Slipped Out of the Top Games

South Korea

Kakao Games Corp. operates as a multiply platform gaming company. The Company provides mobile games, computer games, virtual reality games, and other related products. Kakao Games markets its products worldwide.

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Kakao Games (293490 KS)

Nexon - Founder Kim Jung-Ju Passes, Raises Question if Nexon Deal Is Back In Play

Nexon's founder Kim Jung-ju has passed away. This raises the question of the disposition of the 47+% stake belonging to his holding company NXC. If...

Travis Lundy

Kakao Group Founder Kim Beom-Su Gets Arrested - What's Next?

As a result of the arrest of Kim Beom-Su, the near term impact on the Kakao companies (including Kakao Corp, Kakao Bank, Kakao Pay, and Kakao...

Douglas Kim

Korea Small Cap Gem #29: Com2Us

Com2Us's net cash (including long-term financial investments) is 151% of its market cap. Com2Us is a turnaround story. It had an operating profit...

Douglas Kim

Last Week in Event SPACE: Toyota, Asia Cement, Hanwha Corp, Kokusai Electric, Keisei Electric

The weekend is here! Pour yourself a coffee, grab a comfortable seat, and sift through a brief summary of insights on various events discussed...

David Blennerhassett

Shift Up IPO Trading - Strong Demand for Quality Asset but It Has Slipped Out of the Top Games

Shift Up (462870 KS) raised around US$320m in its South Korean IPO, after pricing at the top. In this note, we talk about the trading dynamics.

Sumeet Singh

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