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/vodafone-idea-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15678:1" rel="noopener">Vodafone Idea (IDEA IN)</a> plans to raise around US$2.2bn via a follow-on public offering.</li>
<li>The deal has been in the works for years and proceeds will be used for capex and short-term debt repayment.</li>
<li>In this note, we will run the deal through our ECM framework and talk about the deal dynamics.</li>
</ul>



Vodafone Idea (IDEA IN) plans to raise around US$2.2bn via a follow-on public offering.
The deal has been in the works for years and proceeds will be used for capex and short-term debt repayment.
In this note, we will run the deal through our ECM framework and talk about the deal dynamics.


Vodafone Idea Placement - Very Well Flagged but Its Not Going to Fix a Whole Lot of Issues

European Event-Driven Analyst

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>Zegona has unlocked €1.8bn via fiber monetization, enabling a €1.6bn capital return and transforming its balance sheet with 69% share count reduction and lower leverage.</li>
<li>Trading at ~6.7x EBITDAaL, Zegona offers embedded upside through strategic rerating or a control premium from Telefónica or MasOrange, both reportedly exploring bids.</li>
<li>Post-Buyback, per-share economics improve dramatically, with lower debt, rising EBITDA, and potential for further upside via fiber JVs or a formal takeover process.</li>
</ul>


Zegona has unlocked €1.8bn via fiber monetization, enabling a €1.6bn capital return and transforming its balance sheet with 69% share count reduction and lower leverage.
Trading at ~6.7x EBITDAaL, Zegona offers embedded upside through strategic rerating or a control premium from Telefónica or MasOrange, both reportedly exploring bids.
Post-Buyback, per-share economics improve dramatically, with lower debt, rising EBITDA, and potential for further upside via fiber JVs or a formal takeover process.


Zegona Communications: From Turnaround to Capital Return Vehicle with M&A Optionality

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning, Copley Fund Research

Steven Holden

Asset Allocation & Fund Positioning

Copley Fund Research

Copley Fund Research provide research and data on asset allocation among Global and Emerging Market equity funds.  The analysis details absolute and relative positioning across countries, sectors and industries together with highly granular data on single stock and single fund allocations.  The data is updated monthly with time series going back to January 2011.

Global Research - Analysis of 165 prominent Global equity funds, combined AUM $335bn
GEM Research - Analysis of 127 prominent global EM equity funds, combined AUM $250bn

Asset Allocation - Global and GEM Equity

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>Active UK funds gained +11.75% through Q3, lagging the FTSE All Share ETF’s +15.9%—a 4.15% gap, with nearly 75% of managers underperforming.</li>
<li>Value strategies led returns (+16.6%), while Aggressive Growth funds averaged just +4.5%.</li>
<li>Key underweights in Rolls-Royce, HSBC, BAE Systems and BATS cost roughly 3% in relative performance.</li>
</ul>


Active UK funds gained +11.75% through Q3, lagging the FTSE All Share ETF’s +15.9%—a 4.15% gap, with nearly 75% of managers underperforming.
Value strategies led returns (+16.6%), while Aggressive Growth funds averaged just +4.5%.
Key underweights in Rolls-Royce, HSBC, BAE Systems and BATS cost roughly 3% in relative performance.


UK Active Funds Face a Benchmark Blowout in 2025

<ul>
<li>Regional rotation places DM Europe as clear consensus overweight among active Global equity funds.</li>
<li>Seventy-Five percent of funds are overweight UK stocks, with 69.6% overweight France and 70.2% overweight the Netherlands</li>
<li>Novo Nordisk, ASML, Schneider Electric, and AstraZeneca remain key holdings, while a resurgence from European banks and select names like Spotify and LSEG is also starting to stand out.</li>
</ul>


Regional rotation places DM Europe as clear consensus overweight among active Global equity funds.
Seventy-Five percent of funds are overweight UK stocks, with 69.6% overweight France and 70.2% overweight the Netherlands
Novo Nordisk, ASML, Schneider Electric, and AstraZeneca remain key holdings, while a resurgence from European banks and select names like Spotify and LSEG is also starting to stand out.


Europe Reasserted: Consensus Builds as Europe Reclaims Ground from the U.S.

<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/zegona-communications-plc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:25686:1" rel="noopener">Zegona Communications (ZEG LN)</a> owns 100% of Vodafone Spain and is a pure-play turnaround and M&amp;A optionality vehicle in a consolidating European telecom market.</li>
<li>Telefónica and MasOrange are reportedly considering a bid, with potential upside of 25–83% depending on deal terms and valuation multiples.</li>
<li>Even without a sale, fibre JV monetization and cost-cutting support a standalone re-rating over the next 12–18 months.</li>
</ul>



Zegona Communications (ZEG LN) owns 100% of Vodafone Spain and is a pure-play turnaround and M&amp;A optionality vehicle in a consolidating European telecom market.
Telefónica and MasOrange are reportedly considering a bid, with potential upside of 25–83% depending on deal terms and valuation multiples.
Even without a sale, fibre JV monetization and cost-cutting support a standalone re-rating over the next 12–18 months.


Zegona Communications: M&A Optionality and Strategic Re-Rating

United States

Vodafone Group Plc provides a range of mobile telecommunications services, including voice and data communications.  Vodafone has equity interests in 28 countries and Partner Networks in a further 7 countries with almost all the Group's mobile subsidiaries operating principally under the brand name Vodafone. In the United States their associated undertaking operates as Verizon Wireless.

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Vodafone Group Plc Sp Adr (VOD US)

Vodafone Idea Placement - Very Well Flagged but Its Not Going to Fix a Whole Lot of Issues

Vodafone Idea (IDEA IN) plans to raise around US$2.2bn via a follow-on public offering. In this note, we talk about the deal dyanmics.

Sumeet Singh

Zegona Communications: From Turnaround to Capital Return Vehicle with M&A Optionality

Zegona has transitioned from turnaround to capital return, unlocking €1.8bn, reducing leverage, and remaining a live M&A target—offering 20–50%...

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

UK Active Funds Face a Benchmark Blowout in 2025

Active UK funds trail the benchmark by 4% YTD. Value managers outperform, but missed calls on Rolls-Royce, HSBC, and BAE Systems weigh heavily on...

Steven Holden

Europe Reasserted: Consensus Builds as Europe Reclaims Ground from the U.S.

Regional rotation places Developed Europe as a clear consensus overweight among active Global equity funds, with over 90% of funds positioned ahead...

Steven Holden

Zegona Communications: M&A Optionality and Strategic Re-Rating

Zegona is a Vodafone Spain turnaround play with M&A tailwinds. Telefónica interest could trigger a bid; otherwise, fibre JV cash flow supports re...

Jesus Rodriguez Aguilar

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