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Granite Bay Capital

An innovation focussed investment company

Granite Bay Capital is an innovation focussed investment company with a deep focus on the companies at the leading edge of innovation across major themes such as AI, ubiquitous computing, sustainability, automation and longevity.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

Headline Developments On the back of the Epic v Apple case, documents were released highlighting that Google (GOOG) had considered buying Epic outright.  During the case, Epic Games outlined Google’s plans to develop “a series of internal projects to address the ‘contagion’ it perceived from efforts by Epic and others to offer consumers and developers competitive alternatives and has even contemplated buying some or all of Epic to squelch this threat”.

Headline Developments On the back of the Epic v Apple case, documents were released highlighting that Google (GOOG) had considered buying Epic outright.  During the case, Epic Games outlined Google’s plans to develop “a series of internal projects to address the ‘contagion’ it perceived from efforts by Epic and others to offer consumers and developers competitive alternatives and has even contemplated buying some or all of Epic to squelch this threat”.

Senior Credit Analyst, Lucror Analytics

Trung Nguyen

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.

Credit

Softbank Group's (SBG)​ Q1/21-22 results were muted. However, of greater importance for credit investors is that leverage as seen in reported LTV has increased slightly to 16%, mainly due to a rise in net debt. Positively, 87% of the company's holdings are now listed. Liquidity continues to be adequate (USD 56.5 bn or Cash/ST Debt of 7x).  The key risk in the near term is the regulatory pressure on Chinese tech companies. We highlight the many regulatory actions are underway in China at the moment, and that Alibaba and China-linked investments in the Softbank Vision Funds account for half of SBG’s holdings. We believe that the most important risk to watch for SBG is the regulatory issues involving network and data security.

  Softbank Group's (SBG)​ Q1/21-22 results were muted. However, of greater importance for credit investors is that leverage as seen in reported LTV has increased slightly to 16%, mainly due to a rise in net debt. Positively, 87% of the company's holdings are now listed. Liquidity continues to be adequate (USD 56.5 bn or Cash/ST Debt of 7x).    The key risk in the near term is the regulatory pressure on Chinese tech companies. We highlight the many regulatory actions are underway in China at the moment, and that Alibaba and China-linked investments in the Softbank Vision Funds account for half of SBG’s holdings. We believe that the most important risk to watch for SBG is the regulatory issues involving network and data security. 

Softbank Group - Earnings Flash - Q1 FY 2021-22 Results - Lucror Analytics

Japan/Asia Long-Short, LightStream Research

Mio Kato

Japan/Asia Long-Short

Long-Short Analysis on Japan, Asia and the World

LightStream Research

LightStream conducts quantitatively rigorous and data-driven analysis with a focus on Japan and Asia.

We consistently cover the Tech, Consumer and Industrial sectors, and provide ECM and Events coverage more broadly.

We supplement traditional qualitative insights from company relationships with a robust quantitative foundation that examines as much historical data as is available.
We further refine the accuracy of our insights and calls through the use of alternative data to flesh out current trends, and through a valuation framework that emphasises non-superficial peer group selection and a proper attempt to understand the metrics and changes that have driven security valuations in the past.

Equity Bottom-Up

Softbank results looked reasonably positive on the surface with NP generation of ¥762bn and gains across the board from its Vision Funds and direct investments. These will be overshadowed, however, by the losses on public equities in the quarter to date, trouble in China and a continuing disconnect in shareholders "vision" for how to maximise value and that of Masayoshi Son.

Softbank results looked reasonably positive on the surface with NP generation of ¥762bn and gains across the board from its Vision Funds and direct investments. These will be overshadowed, however, by the losses on public equities in the quarter to date, trouble in China and a continuing disconnect in shareholders "vision" for how to maximise value and that of Masayoshi Son.

Softbank - No Buyback Means Little Reason to Buy

Telco/Internet specialist

Kirk Boodry

Redex Research

The last three quarters have largely been defined by the potential for Vision Fund portfolio companies to go public but a new theme is emerging as Softbank starts to take money off the table. There was much less discussion of liquidity events but more on asset sales including partial sales of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/uber-technologies-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:430:1" rel="noopener">Uber (UBER US)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/ke-holdings-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:29213:1" rel="noopener">KE Holdings Inc (BEKE US)</a> , <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/doordash-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28881:1" rel="noopener">DoorDash Inc (DASH US)</a> , Guardant Health and Northstar public equities in the quarter. With a further sale of Uber shares this month, that theme probably picks up steam as the quarter goes on, particularly if <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/coupang" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:28425:1" rel="noopener">Coupang (CPNG US)</a>  can hold its value into September when lockups expire.Proceeds from these sales will be used to fund Vision Fund 2 commitments, which will get a further boost from Masa/management investing their own money alongside. That would seem to flag corporate governance concerns but as Masa already has an economic stake in Northstar and earlier plans for a management investment in VF1 passed board muster, this probably does not impact sentiment very much.There is some modest dissonance in the results as Softbank said that it was not announcing a buyback because it was not selling assets like it did last year. Apparently that definition excludes investments like the ones above although Masa did tease that they thought about share buybacks every day because of the depth of the holding company discount. That could just be noise as there is no upside in ruling out buybacks entirely but there is precedent as management has been incentivized to act in the past when discounts reached extreme levels. That used to be around 50% (we are at c. 46% now) but last year’s 67%+ discount may have reset the bar on where shares are too cheap.

The last three quarters have largely been defined by the potential for Vision Fund portfolio companies to go public but a new theme is emerging as Softbank starts to take money off the table. There was much less discussion of liquidity events but more on asset sales including partial sales of Uber (UBER US) , KE Holdings Inc (BEKE US) , DoorDash Inc (DASH US) , Guardant Health and Northstar public equities in the quarter. With a further sale of Uber shares this month, that theme probably picks up steam as the quarter goes on, particularly if Coupang (CPNG US)  can hold its value into September when lockups expire.Proceeds from these sales will be used to fund Vision Fund 2 commitments, which will get a further boost from Masa/management investing their own money alongside. That would seem to flag corporate governance concerns but as Masa already has an economic stake in Northstar and earlier plans for a management investment in VF1 passed board muster, this probably does not impact sentiment very much.There is some modest dissonance in the results as Softbank said that it was not announcing a buyback because it was not selling assets like it did last year. Apparently that definition excludes investments like the ones above although Masa did tease that they thought about share buybacks every day because of the depth of the holding company discount. That could just be noise as there is no upside in ruling out buybacks entirely but there is precedent as management has been incentivized to act in the past when discounts reached extreme levels. That used to be around 50% (we are at c. 46% now) but last year’s 67%+ discount may have reset the bar on where shares are too cheap.

Softbank Group - Q1 21 Results Reaction: A Slow Shift in Focus

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.

Event-Driven

<div>
Coupang, one of the largest e-commerce players in Korea, was listed on 11th Mar 2021 when it raised around US$4.5bn via selling a mix of primary and secondary shares in its US IPO.
In this note, we'll talk about the upcoming lock-up expiry.
We've covered various aspects of the deal in our earlier insights: 
</div><div><ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/coupang-pre-ipo-the-positives-fast-growth-sticky-customers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coupang Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growth, Sticky Customers</a>, </li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/coupang-pre-ipo-the-negatives-horrendous-data-disclosures-including-no-mention-of-ott-launch" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coupang Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Horrendous Data Disclosures, Including No Mention of OTT Launch</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/coupang-pre-ipo-fair-bit-of-competition-but-it-s-doing-better-than-most-local-peers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coupang Pre-IPO - Fair Bit of Competition but It’s Doing Better than Most Local Peers</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/coupang-pre-ipo-earnings-forecast-and-valuation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coupang Pre-IPO - Earnings Forecast and Valuation</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/coupang-ipo-momentum-play-unequal-lock-up-index-inclusion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coupang IPO - Momentum Play, Unequal Lock-Up, Index Inclusion</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/coupang-ipo-quick-note-peers-move-down-range-moves-up-ripe-for-trading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coupang IPO - Quick Note - Peers Move Down, Range Moves Up. Ripe for Trading.</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/coupang-ipo-trading-most-hit-near-term-peak-on-the-first-day-key-trading-lock-up-dates" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coupang IPO Trading - Most Hit near Term Peak on the First Day - Key Trading/​Lock-Up Dates</a></li>
</ul></div>


Coupang, one of the largest e-commerce players in Korea, was listed on 11th Mar 2021 when it raised around US$4.5bn via selling a mix of primary and secondary shares in its US IPO.
In this note, we'll talk about the upcoming lock-up expiry.
We've covered various aspects of the deal in our earlier insights: 


Coupang Pre-IPO - The Positives - Fast Growth, Sticky Customers, 
Coupang Pre-IPO - The Negatives - Horrendous Data Disclosures, Including No Mention of OTT Launch
Coupang Pre-IPO - Fair Bit of Competition but It’s Doing Better than Most Local Peers
Coupang Pre-IPO - Earnings Forecast and Valuation
Coupang IPO - Momentum Play, Unequal Lock-Up, Index Inclusion
Coupang IPO - Quick Note - Peers Move Down, Range Moves Up. Ripe for Trading.
Coupang IPO Trading - Most Hit near Term Peak on the First Day - Key Trading/​Lock-Up Dates


Coupang Lock-Up Expiry - Failed to Meet Multiple Lock-Up Exits; Now Hitting the US$7bn Expiry

Japan

SoftBank Group Corp provides telecommunication services.  The Company also operates ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) and fiber optic high-speed Internet connection, e-Commerce businesses, and Internet based advertising and auction businesses.

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Softbank Group (ADR) (SFTBY US)

Weekly Innovation Review (WIRE) #44

Headline Developments On the back of the Epic v Apple case, documents were released highlighting that Google (GOOG) had considered buying Epic...

Granite Bay Capital

Softbank Group - Earnings Flash - Q1 FY 2021-22 Results - Lucror Analytics

Softbank Group's (SBG) Q1/21-22 results were muted. However, of greater importance for credit investors is that leverage as seen in reported...

Lucror Analytics

Softbank - No Buyback Means Little Reason to Buy

Softbank's investment gains for the quarter were relatively strong across the board, but it appears that all the market is interest in is a buyback.

Mio Kato

Softbank Group - Q1 21 Results Reaction: A Slow Shift in Focus

The messaging is changing at Softbank as the IPO flywheel (20+ liquidity events) gives way to investment sales and realized gains. There are no...

Kirk Boodry

Coupang Lock-Up Expiry - Failed to Meet Multiple Lock-Up Exits; Now Hitting the US$7bn Expiry

Coupang was listed on 11th Mar 2021 when it raised around US$4.5bn via selling a mix of primary and secondary shares in its US IPO. In this note,...

Sumeet Singh

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Weekly Innovation Review (WIRE) #44

Headline Developments On the back of the Epic v Apple case, documents were released highlighting that Google (GOOG) had considered buying Epic...

Granite Bay Capital

Softbank Group - Earnings Flash - Q1 FY 2021-22 Results - Lucror Analytics

Softbank Group's (SBG)​ Q1/21-22 results were muted. However, of greater importance for credit investors is that leverage as seen in reported...

Lucror Analytics

Softbank - No Buyback Means Little Reason to Buy

Softbank's investment gains for the quarter were relatively strong across the board, but it appears that all the market is interest in is a buyback.

Mio Kato

Softbank Group - Q1 21 Results Reaction: A Slow Shift in Focus

The messaging is changing at Softbank as the IPO flywheel (20+ liquidity events) gives way to investment sales and realized gains. There are no...

Kirk Boodry

Coupang Lock-Up Expiry - Failed to Meet Multiple Lock-Up Exits; Now Hitting the US$7bn Expiry

Coupang was listed on 11th Mar 2021 when it raised around US$4.5bn via selling a mix of primary and secondary shares in its US IPO. In this note,...

Sumeet Singh

Softbank Group's (SBG) Q1/21-22 results were muted. However, of greater importance for credit investors is that leverage as seen in reported...