In this briefing:
- M1 Ltd (M1 SG): A Clever Ploy to Put the Ball Firmly in Axiata’s Court
- Maoyan Entertainment (猫眼娱乐) IPO: Turning Profitable, Thoughts on Valuation
- Itochu Confirms Intent to Deepen Hold over Descente
- Healthscope (HSO AU): Brookfield Makes Investors Wait, BGH Unlikely to Provide Material Upside
- Pinduoduo (拼多多) Lock-Up Expiry – A Bug with Overhang
1. M1 Ltd (M1 SG): A Clever Ploy to Put the Ball Firmly in Axiata’s Court
M1 Ltd (M1 SP), the third largest telecom operator in Singapore, is subject to a voluntary conditional offer (VGO) at S$2.06 cash per share from Keppel Corp Ltd (KEP SP) and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) (KCL-SPH). KCL-SPH said on Tuesday that they wouldn’t increase their S$2.06 offer price “under any circumstances whatsoever.”
KCL-SPH’s stance not to increase their S$2.06 offer price is a clever ploy to the put the ball in Axiata Group (AXIATA MK)’s court. Axiata has three options, in our view. We believe that the probability of a material bid to KCL-SPH’s offer is low with Axiata most likely to retain its stake as a minority shareholder.
2. Maoyan Entertainment (猫眼娱乐) IPO: Turning Profitable, Thoughts on Valuation
Maoyan Entertainment (formerly Entertainment Plus) launched its institutional book building last Friday. We covered the company’s background, industry backdrop, financials, shareholders and the regulatory overhang in our previous two notes.
In this note, we will look at the recent development of the company, based on the data from the prospectus and our channel checks. We will also discuss the valuation of the company.
Our Previous Insight on Maoyan Entertainment:
- Entertainment Plus (猫眼娱乐) IPO: The Engineered Movie Ticketing Leader that Runs Out of Steam (Part 1)
- Entertainment Plus (猫眼娱乐) IPO: The Coming Regulatory Bang Isn’t That Bad (Part 2)
3. Itochu Confirms Intent to Deepen Hold over Descente
Itochu (8001 JP) continues a battle of words and equity as it attempts to gain more control over sports firm Descente (8114 JP).
Meanwhile, Descente has brought in Wacoal (3591 JP) as a white knight and made a splash in the business media about its recent success.
Itochu insists that Descente needs Itochu’s management skills, particularly to build a stronger business in China and other overseas markets, and says the only way to make Descente listen is to buy more stock – more than its current nearly 30%.
4. Healthscope (HSO AU): Brookfield Makes Investors Wait, BGH Unlikely to Provide Material Upside
Healthscope Ltd (HSO AU), Australia’s second-largest private hospital operator, noted today that Brookfield Asset Management (BAM US) is seeking the necessary internal approvals to submit a binding proposal by 31 January. We believe that Brookfield will come through with its binding proposal as the delays are not due to issues cropping up from the due diligence but due to ongoing financing negotiations with multiple banks.
Notably, there is renewed optimism that BGH-AustralianSuper could materialise with a superior proposal. AustralianSuper has three options available, which lead us to conclude that the floor is Brookfield’s Scheme bid with an option of a minor bump from BGH-AustralianSuper.
5. Pinduoduo (拼多多) Lock-Up Expiry – A Bug with Overhang
Just as Pinduoduo (PDD US) lock-up expiry date (22nd January) is approaching, there was news of a massive bug that could result in an RMB20bn loss for PDD. According to the company’s official Weibo account, the bug has already been rectified and a police report has been filed.
In this insight, we will analyze the potential impact of the bug and the number of shares that could potentially be sold upon lock-up expiry.
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