IPOs and Catalysts/Events, Global Equity Research Ltd

Arun George

IPOs and Catalysts/Events

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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>The consortium’s updated transaction has lowered the offer price -27.6% to $57.25 in cash per ADS, a 24.92% premium to the last trading price (11 January 2022).</li>
<li>The combination of the dramatically lower price, spurious justification for lowering the price and the shares recently trading higher than the revised price is unlikely to win over minorities.</li>
<li>Meeting the two-thirds shareholder approval threshold is likely a challenge due to the need to convince around 27% of disinterested shareholders to vote in favour of the transaction. </li>
</ul>


The consortium’s updated transaction has lowered the offer price -27.6% to $57.25 in cash per ADS, a 24.92% premium to the last trading price (11 January 2022).
The combination of the dramatically lower price, spurious justification for lowering the price and the shares recently trading higher than the revised price is unlikely to win over minorities.
Meeting the two-thirds shareholder approval threshold is likely a challenge due to the need to convince around 27% of disinterested shareholders to vote in favour of the transaction. 


<p>As a reminder, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/51-job-inc-adr" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:532:1" rel="noopener">51 Job Inc Adr (JOBS US)</a> entered into a definitive agreement for a privatisation transaction at $79.05 in cash per ADS on 21 June. The consortium consists of DCP, Ocean Link Partners, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/recruit-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15070:1" rel="noopener">Recruit Holdings (6098 JP)</a> and Mr Rick Yan, the CEO since 2000. </p><p>The merger was expected to close during the second half of 2021. The merger required shareholders representing two-thirds of shares present and voting to approve the deal. </p><p>However, since the announcement of the definitive agreement, the gross spread reached a high of 33% on 29 October largely due to the radio silence on the deal completion. In the current uncertain Chinese regulatory climate, 51job did little to soothe investors’ nerves by failing to even mention the privatisation deal in its 2Q21 results released on 24 September.</p><p>Encouragingly, the shares climbed 10% on 2 November due to the release of a Schedule 13D filing on 1 November which highlighted the consortium’s acquisition facilities agreement of $1.8 billion entered on 21 October and Mr Rick Yan’s facility agreement of $450 million entered on 28 October, both with China Merchants Bank. </p><p>We think that the signing of the acquisition facilities is a significant step towards deal completion. While the privatisation price is not a knockout bid and is a modest premium to historical VWAPs over a 3-years and 1-year time period, the offer is reasonable in the context of 51job’s forecasted growth (PEG basis). Nevertheless, for shareholders seeking to be paid the fair value of their shares, dissenter rights are available.  </p><div class="content-highlight"><p>The announcement on 21 June stated that Mr Rick, Recruit and certain other existing shareholders have agreed to vote their shares, which represent 54.9% of the voting rights, in favour of the privatisation deal. We continue to think that this level of support should be enough to get past the two-thirds shareholder approval threshold. The gross spread to the offer price is 17.3% at the last close price of $67.40 per ADS. </p></div>

As a reminder, 51 Job Inc Adr (JOBS US) entered into a definitive agreement for a privatisation transaction at $79.05 in cash per ADS on 21 June. The consortium consists of DCP, Ocean Link Partners, Recruit Holdings (6098 JP) and Mr Rick Yan, the CEO since 2000. The merger was expected to close during the second half of 2021. The merger required shareholders representing two-thirds of shares present and voting to approve the deal. However, since the announcement of the definitive agreement, the gross spread reached a high of 33% on 29 October largely due to the radio silence on the deal completion. In the current uncertain Chinese regulatory climate, 51job did little to soothe investors’ nerves by failing to even mention the privatisation deal in its 2Q21 results released on 24 September.Encouragingly, the shares climbed 10% on 2 November due to the release of a Schedule 13D filing on 1 November which highlighted the consortium’s acquisition facilities agreement of $1.8 billion entered on 21 October and Mr Rick Yan’s facility agreement of $450 million entered on 28 October, both with China Merchants Bank. We think that the signing of the acquisition facilities is a significant step towards deal completion. While the privatisation price is not a knockout bid and is a modest premium to historical VWAPs over a 3-years and 1-year time period, the offer is reasonable in the context of 51job’s forecasted growth (PEG basis). Nevertheless, for shareholders seeking to be paid the fair value of their shares, dissenter rights are available.  The announcement on 21 June stated that Mr Rick, Recruit and certain other existing shareholders have agreed to vote their shares, which represent 54.9% of the voting rights, in favour of the privatisation deal. We continue to think that this level of support should be enough to get past the two-thirds shareholder approval threshold. The gross spread to the offer price is 17.3% at the last close price of $67.40 per ADS. 

51job’s Privatisation Spread Risk/Reward

<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/51-job-inc-adr" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:532:1" rel="noopener">51 Job Inc Adr (JOBS US)</a> has entered into a definitive agreement for a privatisation transaction at $79.05 in cash per ADS. The offer price is a premium of 25.38% to the VWAP during the last 30 days and an 18.82% premium to the VWAP during the last 30 days preceding the original proposal (on 17 September 2020).</p><p>As a reminder, on 17 September 2020, 51job announced a non-binding privatisation proposal from DCP Capital Partners, a PE firm in Asia, at $79.05 in cash per ADS. On 4 May 2021, the proposal was updated by disclosing the formation of an initial consortium consisting of DCP, Ocean Link Partners and Mr Rick Yan, the CEO since 2000. The offer price remained unchanged. Today's announcement notes that <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/recruit-holdings-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15070:1" rel="noopener">Recruit Holdings (6098 JP)</a>, the largest shareholder which represents 34.8% of outstanding shares, has joined the consortium. </p><p>The privatisation price is not a knockout bid and is a modest premium to historical VWAPs over a 3-years and 1-year time period. Some shareholders may be reticent about accepting the bid given the stonking share price performance of peer, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kanzhun-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33368:1" rel="noopener">Kanzhun (BZ US)</a>, which is trading almost 2x its IPO price. However, we note that the privatisation offer is attractive in the context of 51job’s forecasted growth (PEG basis). Nevertheless, for shareholders seeking to be paid the fair value of their shares, dissenter rights are available.  </p><div class="content-highlight"><p>As 51job is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, for the privatisation to succeed, shareholders representing two-thirds of shares present and voting need to approve the deal. Rick Yan, Recruit and certain other existing shareholders have agreed to vote their shares, which represent 54.9% of the voting rights, in favour of the privatisation deal. We think that this level of support should be enough to get past the two-thirds shareholder approval threshold. </p></div>

51 Job Inc Adr (JOBS US) has entered into a definitive agreement for a privatisation transaction at $79.05 in cash per ADS. The offer price is a premium of 25.38% to the VWAP during the last 30 days and an 18.82% premium to the VWAP during the last 30 days preceding the original proposal (on 17 September 2020).As a reminder, on 17 September 2020, 51job announced a non-binding privatisation proposal from DCP Capital Partners, a PE firm in Asia, at $79.05 in cash per ADS. On 4 May 2021, the proposal was updated by disclosing the formation of an initial consortium consisting of DCP, Ocean Link Partners and Mr Rick Yan, the CEO since 2000. The offer price remained unchanged. Today's announcement notes that Recruit Holdings (6098 JP), the largest shareholder which represents 34.8% of outstanding shares, has joined the consortium. The privatisation price is not a knockout bid and is a modest premium to historical VWAPs over a 3-years and 1-year time period. Some shareholders may be reticent about accepting the bid given the stonking share price performance of peer, Kanzhun (BZ US), which is trading almost 2x its IPO price. However, we note that the privatisation offer is attractive in the context of 51job’s forecasted growth (PEG basis). Nevertheless, for shareholders seeking to be paid the fair value of their shares, dissenter rights are available.  As 51job is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, for the privatisation to succeed, shareholders representing two-thirds of shares present and voting need to approve the deal. Rick Yan, Recruit and certain other existing shareholders have agreed to vote their shares, which represent 54.9% of the voting rights, in favour of the privatisation deal. We think that this level of support should be enough to get past the two-thirds shareholder approval threshold. 

Equity Capital Markets

<div><p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kanzhun-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:33368:1" rel="noopener">Kanzhun (BZ US)</a> is the largest online recruitment platform in China, as measured by the average MAU in 2020, according to CIC. Its <em>BOSS Zhipin</em> mobile app connects job seekers and enterprise users. </p></div><div><p>Kanzhun has priced its IPO at $19.00 per ADS to raise gross proceeds of $912 million, <a href="https://www.ifre.com/story/2913154/kanzhun-prices-nasdaq-ipo-at-top-to-raise-us912m-smlgvfl3m3" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to IFR</a>. At the final IPO price of $19 per share, Kanzhun will have a market cap of $7.6 billion. The IPO got off to a strong start due to indications of interest for $375 million worth of ADSs in the offering from existing investors (Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global) and new investors (UBS Asset Management, GIC and Mubadala Investment).</p></div><div><p>In <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/kanzhun-ipo-initiation-search-and-employ" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:51969" rel="noopener">Kanzhun IPO Initiation: Search and Employ</a>, we opined that Kanzhun’s strong growth in users and fast-paced revenue growth suggests another “growth at all costs” strategy. Encouragingly, the high revenue visibility, declining loss margin and cash generation suggest that Kanzhun can eventually deliver this growth profitability. We concluded that the Kanzhun story warrants a closer look. In <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/kanzhun-ipo-growth-margin-trade-off-vs-peers" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:52333" rel="noopener">Kanzhun IPO: Growth/Margin Trade-Off Vs Peers</a>, we opined that Kanzhun provides growth and revenue visibility vs margin and cash generation trade-off in comparison to its listed peers. In <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/kanzhun-ipo-valuation-insights" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:52575" rel="noopener">Kanzhun IPO: Valuation Insights</a> we noted that the IPO price range is attractive. </p></div><div><div><div class="content-highlight"><p>Updating for the final IPO net raise, our base-case DCF derived price target of $21.02 per ADS. As DCF-based target prices are subject to a wide range of variability, we present a sensitivity table to help investors gauge where target prices could head. Our DCF sensitivity analysis points to a meaningful upside based on achievable targets for market share and/or terminal EBIT margin. </p></div></div></div>

Kanzhun (BZ US) is the largest online recruitment platform in China, as measured by the average MAU in 2020, according to CIC. Its BOSS Zhipin mobile app connects job seekers and enterprise users. Kanzhun has priced its IPO at $19.00 per ADS to raise gross proceeds of $912 million, according to IFR. At the final IPO price of $19 per share, Kanzhun will have a market cap of $7.6 billion. The IPO got off to a strong start due to indications of interest for $375 million worth of ADSs in the offering from existing investors (Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global) and new investors (UBS Asset Management, GIC and Mubadala Investment).In Kanzhun IPO Initiation: Search and Employ, we opined that Kanzhun’s strong growth in users and fast-paced revenue growth suggests another “growth at all costs” strategy. Encouragingly, the high revenue visibility, declining loss margin and cash generation suggest that Kanzhun can eventually deliver this growth profitability. We concluded that the Kanzhun story warrants a closer look. In Kanzhun IPO: Growth/Margin Trade-Off Vs Peers, we opined that Kanzhun provides growth and revenue visibility vs margin and cash generation trade-off in comparison to its listed peers. In Kanzhun IPO: Valuation Insights we noted that the IPO price range is attractive. Updating for the final IPO net raise, our base-case DCF derived price target of $21.02 per ADS. As DCF-based target prices are subject to a wide range of variability, we present a sensitivity table to help investors gauge where target prices could head. Our DCF sensitivity analysis points to a meaningful upside based on achievable targets for market share and/or terminal EBIT margin. 

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

<div class="content-highlight">
<p>Our valuation analysis suggests an implied market cap of US$11.5 billion, representing implied price of $28.67 per share. This would represent an upside of 51% from the high end of the IPO price of $19. Given the strong upside, we would take this IPO deal. We based our valuation based on 9.6x EV/S multiple, which is 150% higher than the average EV/S multiple of its peers in 2022. <strong>We have a positive view of the Kanzhun IPO. </strong></p>
<p>Given the much stronger sales growth of the company combined with impressive improvement in operating losses as a percentage of sales, we believe the company should be valued at much higher valuation multiple than its peers and we believe 9.6x EV/S multiple is appropriate. </p>
<p><strong>Despite being a late comer, Kanzhun has become the largest online recruitment platform in China, as measured by average MAU in 2020.</strong> This is a testament of the company's ability to meet the missing needs of the job seekers and companies that are trying to find new employees. Kanzhun's core product is Boss Zhipin, which is China's leading online recruitment platform app. Boss Zhipin allows employers to interact and connect with job seekers directly through chat rather than simply sending and receiving resumes.</p>
</div>


Our valuation analysis suggests an implied market cap of US$11.5 billion, representing implied price of $28.67 per share. This would represent an upside of 51% from the high end of the IPO price of $19. Given the strong upside, we would take this IPO deal. We based our valuation based on 9.6x EV/S multiple, which is 150% higher than the average EV/S multiple of its peers in 2022. We have a positive view of the Kanzhun IPO. 
Given the much stronger sales growth of the company combined with impressive improvement in operating losses as a percentage of sales, we believe the company should be valued at much higher valuation multiple than its peers and we believe 9.6x EV/S multiple is appropriate. 
Despite being a late comer, Kanzhun has become the largest online recruitment platform in China, as measured by average MAU in 2020. This is a testament of the company's ability to meet the missing needs of the job seekers and companies that are trying to find new employees. Kanzhun's core product is Boss Zhipin, which is China's leading online recruitment platform app. Boss Zhipin allows employers to interact and connect with job seekers directly through chat rather than simply sending and receiving resumes.


China

Tongdao Liepin Group is a technology and data-driven intellectual talent services platform. It primarily provides talent acquisition services, operating the Liepin platform for online recruitment that connects enterprises, headhunters, and individual users. The company also offers AI-powered recruitment solutions, talent development services, and various HR SaaS products. Headquartered in Beijing, China, the company was founded in 2011.

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Tongdao Liepin (6100 HK)

51job’s Lowered Privatisation Bid

The consortium has lowered the offer price -27.6% to $57.25 in cash per ADS. Meeting the 2/3rd approval threshold is likely a challenge as it...

Arun George

51job’s Privatisation Spread Risk/Reward

We think that the signing of the acquisition facilities is a significant step towards deal completion. The gross spread to the offer price is 17.3%...

Arun George

51job Enters into a Definite Agreement

51 job has entered into a definitive agreement for privatisation at $79.05 in cash per ADS. We think that the current level of support should be...

Arun George

Kanzhun IPO: Trading Debut

Kanzhun has priced its IPO at $19 per ADS to raise $912 m. Our DCF sensitivity analysis points to a meaningful upside based on achievable targets...

Arun George

Kanzhun IPO Valuation Analysis

Our valuation analysis of Kanzhun suggests an implied market cap of US$11.5 billion, representing implied price of $28.67 per share. We would take...

Douglas Kim

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