
In this briefing:
- Metropolis Healthcare Pre-IPO Quick Take – Steady Performance but Growth Lagged Network Expansion
- SoftBank Corp IPO Valuation: Bull/Bear Case DCF Scenarios
- Luzhou City Commercial Bank IPO (泸州市商业银行) Trading Update – Low Liquidity, as Expected
- Last Week’s GER IPO Research: Tencent Music, IPO Trading Strategy Deep Dive, WuXi, Junshi & Xinyi
- ECM Weekly (15 December 2018) – Wanka, Alpha Smart, CMGE Tech, Junshi Science, Xinyi Energy.
1. Metropolis Healthcare Pre-IPO Quick Take – Steady Performance but Growth Lagged Network Expansion

Metropolis Health Services Limited (MHL IN) (MHL) plans to raise US$100m+ in its Indian IPO. MHL is one of the largest diagnostic chains in the country. Carlyle invested in the company in 2015.
MHL has registered steady growth and margins over the past few years. It has also aggressively expanded its network over the past few years, although revenue growth hasn’t matched the network expansion.
MHL’s recent financial performance has been in-line with its listed peers, Dr Lal Pathlabs (DLPL IN) and Thyrocare Technologies (THYROCAR IN), while the company continues to lead its two listed peers in terms of revenue generated per test.
2. SoftBank Corp IPO Valuation: Bull/Bear Case DCF Scenarios

Softbank Group (9984 JP) is set to raise JPY2.65 trillion ($23.5 billion) through the Softbank Corp (9434 JP) IPO, Japan’s biggest-ever IPO. However, SoftBank Corp’s IPO which is set for 19 December is oversubscribed by less than double, according to press reports. This level of oversubscription is well below blockbuster Japanese stock debuts such as Mercari Inc (4385 JP) and Recruit Holdings (6098 JP).
Based on client discussion on SoftBank Corp’s intrinsic value, we have put together a DCF-based valuation along with scenario analysis. Our conclusion remains the same that SoftBank Corp is overvalued at the proposed IPO price of JPY1,500 per share.
3. Luzhou City Commercial Bank IPO (泸州市商业银行) Trading Update – Low Liquidity, as Expected

Luzhou Commercial Bank Co Ltd (1983 HK) IPO raised about US$222m at HKD3.18 per share, close to the bottom end of its price range. We have covered the IPO in our previous insight, Luzhou City Commercial Bank IPO (泸州市商业银行) – Earnings Lagging Asset Growth Owing to Tightening Spread.
In this insight, we will update on the deal dynamics, implied valuation, and include a valuation sensitivity table.
4. Last Week’s GER IPO Research: Tencent Music, IPO Trading Strategy Deep Dive, WuXi, Junshi & Xinyi
Another busy week for IPO research from the GER team. This week, we recap the Tencent Music Entertainment (TME US) IPO which we noted is more fairly valued post its day one rally. Secondly, we dig into Chinese domiciled IPOs that are listed in the States and find some interesting trends on maximizing the ‘pop’, knowing when to get out and an assessment of longer-term performance. Arun nails his DCF valuation on WuXi AppTec Co. Ltd. (2359 HK) which closed at his base-case valuation while he recommends getting involved at the low-end for Shanghai Junshi Bioscience Co. Ltd. (1387344D CH) . Finally, Xinyi Energy Holdings Ltd (1671746D HK) spares further wrath as it postpones its IPO – Venkat digs into the reasons why he is cautious on the company.
Quote of the week:
Please note the post-apocalyptical fiction section has been moved to current affairs
– Sign in front of a UK bookstore
Video of the week: Santas hit the slopes in Maine
This is our last wrap of 2018 – we wish you a safe and happy festive period – and we will back in 2019!
Best wishes – Rickin, Venkat and Arun
5. ECM Weekly (15 December 2018) – Wanka, Alpha Smart, CMGE Tech, Junshi Science, Xinyi Energy.

Aequitas Research puts out a weekly update on the deals that have been covered by Smartkarma Insight Providers recently, along with updates for upcoming IPOs.
IPO listings this week have mostly been within our expectation. Mobvista (1860 HK), Natural Food International H (1837 HK), and Fosun Tourism (1992 HK) have all struggled to hold on to their IPO price on the first day of trading. Unfortunately, WuXi AppTec Co (2359 HK) has also struggled on this first day despite our expectation that the company should be trading at a relatively smaller 19% A-H premium which would imply about 11% upside based on Ke Yan, CFA, FRM‘s sensitivity analysis and Wuxi Apptec’s A share Friday close price.
In the US, Tencent Music Entertainment (TME US) performed well within our expectation. The company’s share price opened about 9% above IPO price. As Sumeet Singh has mentioned in his insight, Tencent Music IPO – Firework – Trading Strategies, this is unlikely going to be a bumper IPO and short-term investors could take profit at high single-digit to low double-digit returns on debut. Indeed, after a decent debut, TME has collapsed below its IPO price, probably due to investors taking profit as the broad market traded poorly on Friday.
Next week, all eyes will be on Softbank Corp (9434 JP)‘s debut and Mio Kato, CFA summarised in his note some of the reasons why Softbank Corp could perform poorly in the near term. Bookbuild results have been mixed. Bloomberg report suggested that Softbank’s international bookbuild was 2-3x oversubscribed while retail offering was at almost 2x. However, Nikkei Asian Review’s article reported that it has been a struggle to sell the IPO shares to retail investors. In any case, we will put out a note next week on our thoughts on bookbuild, updated valuation of peers, and how we think the IPO will likely trade after the recent series of events.
Other debuts next week include Luzhou Commercial Bank Co Ltd (1983 HK), Wanka Online (1669726D HK), and Asiainfo Technologies (1675 HK).
Accuracy Rate:
Our overall accuracy rate is 72% for IPOs and 64% for Placements
(Performance measurement criteria is explained at the end of the note)


New IPO filings this week
- Shanghai Henlius Biotech (Hong Kong, ~US$500m)
- Ingrid Millet (Hong Kong, re-filed)
Below is a snippet of our IPO tool showing upcoming events for the next week. The IPO tool is designed to provide readers with timely information on all IPO related events (Book open/closing, listing, initiation, lock-up expiry, etc) for all the deals that we have worked on. You can access the tool here or through the tools menu.

News on Upcoming IPOs
- Chat-service firm Slack taps Goldman Sachs to lead IPO: sources
- Kyobo Life Insurance to seek IPO next year
- Uber has confidentially filed to go public
- London billionaire Michael Spencer boosts stake in Singapore Life, considers IPO
- Brokerages scramble on tepid investor response over SoftBank IPO
- After delivering 24 electric cars, this Chinese startup has IPO dreams
- Solar energy firm Xinyi said to postpone up to $582m Hong Kong IPO
Smartkarma Community’s this week Analysis on Upcoming IPO
- Alpha Smart – Pre-IPO – PE Investors Recovered 56% of Their Cost in Two Years but Left It in Debt
- Xinyi Energy IPO Valuation: Asking More Than What It Is Paying to Acquire Target Portfolio
- CMGE Tech (中手游) Pre-IPO Review – Unfortunate Timing
- Junshi Bioscience (君实医药) IPO: Rich Is Valuation, but Catalyst Ahead
- Junshi Biosciences IPO Valuation: Sensibly Priced with Upside at the Low-End
- Wanka Online IPO – Quick Note – Even After the Downsize Its Still Too Expensive
- Xinyi Energy (信义能源) IPO: High Dividend Yield but Depreciating Asset
- Softbank IPO: Signs Point to Risk of Early IPO Price Break
- WuXi AppTec IPO Valuation: Bull/Bear Case DCF Scenarios
- Wuxi Apptec (药明康德) IPO: What You Need to Know Before the Trading Debut




