
In today’s briefing:
- How Much of Toshiba Is Owned By “Activists”?
- Lawson: Primed for Mitsubishi to Take Full Control
- Japan Small Cap Growth: TeamSpirit – Better Days Ahead
How Much of Toshiba Is Owned By “Activists”?
This should be considered a Big Question in terms of the Power Dynamics of Shareholders vs Management in the last EGM and the upcoming AGM.
It is difficult to know exactly.
It may also be difficult to define.
It is important to note that the Record Date of the recent EGM was 1 February and in the month after that, nearly 10% of shares out will have changed hands from one type of investor to another.
It is also important to note that Toshiba directors, if they had chosen to know, could have known a few days into April (before the 6 April CVC approach) with some degree of clarity what the shape of the shareholder base looked like as of 31 March. Most of the rest of us have to wait until the yuho is released near end-June.
This insight takes a look at the Shareholder Structure as of a point in time when we knew it, and compares it to the rest of MSCI Japan and TOPIX. Then we look at what MIGHT HAVE HAPPENED because of recent float ownership changes and whether that changes anything.
Lawson: Primed for Mitsubishi to Take Full Control
Mitsubishi Corp (8058 JP) has had a longstanding interest in Japan’s third largest convenience store chain, Lawson Inc (2651 JP), for quite some time, lifting its stake in Lawson to 50.1% from 33.4% in 2016 via a tender offer at ¥8,650 per share.
With Itochu Corp (8001 JP) acquiring 100% of FamilyMart Co Ltd (8028 JP) mid-way through last year and Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP) standing strong on its own, Lawson has become even more important to Mitsubishi’s food processing and distribution businesses. At 1.35x Topix, Lawson is currently trading at a new historical low level relative to the Topix index and could perhaps lure Mitsubishi into taking full control.
Japan Small Cap Growth: TeamSpirit – Better Days Ahead
Q2 Trading update
- TeamSpirit Inc (4397 JP) reported 2Q FY8/21 earnings after the April 9 close. The stock price fell by around 20% following that and a full-year guidance cut.
- The market reacted to the slower than anticpated growth in licences, which is the key revenue driver. Full year sales estimates were cut 8% to ¥2.9b.
- We take a positive view of management reaffirming its growth strategy and stepping up marketing activities for the new enterprise product, TeamSpirit EX.
Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma