Daily Brief Consumer: Soft99 Corp, Nestle SA, Stellantis NV, Whirlpool of India, Acushnet Holdings, Lifevantage and more

• The Soft99 Corp (4464 JP) MBO offer price has been increased by 8.7% to JPY2,680, an 18.8% discount to the last close and a 34.6% discount to the Effissimo offer. 
• Ostensibly, the offer was revised based on requests from some shareholders to increase the offer price and for it to exceed the book value of JPY2,653 (implying P/B of 1.01x). 
• The latest update points to modest withdrawals of non-KeePer acceptances. Effissimo continues to face an uphill task, and the revised MBO offer increases the odds of success.

• Nestle is a massive global food and beverage company facing a meltdown and turmoil, with recent scandals and leadership changes
• The consumer goods sector, including companies like Nestle, is struggling due to consumer behavior changes post-Covid and cost of living crisis
• Multinational conglomerates in the industry are facing investor pressure to reevaluate their diversified business models and focus on their core profitable brands

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• Stellantis has announced the most significant investment in its corporate history—a $13 billion commitment to its U.S. operations aimed at expanding domestic vehicle production by 50% and launching five new models over a four-year span.
• This bold initiative, unveiled by newly appointed CEO Antonio Filosa, marks a pivotal moment for the automaker as it seeks to counter steep U.S. and European sales declines and reverse its sliding market share.
• Stellantis sold 1.3 million vehicles in the U.S. in 2024, with nearly 600,000 of them imported.

• Whirlpool India renewed its Brand and Technology License Agreements with its US parent, granting exclusive brand and tech rights in India and neighboring countries until 2054.
• The revised agreements clarify long-term royalty, technical fee, and service markups, which together represent recurring outflows that materially impact earnings quality.
• While Whirlpool India secures continuity and exclusive IP access, its profit pool remains structurally capped by parent-level economics, making earnings trajectory highly sensitive to royalty and transfer pricing governance.

• We are initiating coverage of Acushnet Holdings Corp., a global leader in the design, development, manufacturing, and distribution of performance-driven golf products.
• Titleist golf equipment, which includes golf balls and golf clubs, and FootJoy golf wear have leading market shares, and combined, account for ~85% of annual sales.
• We forecast 2025 full-year sales to increase 2.2% to $2,511.7MM, consistent with management’s commentary on the 2Q25 earnings call for low-single-digit sales increases in 2H25, which is on top of the 2.3% sales growth reported in 1H25. 

• The acquisition focuses on LoveBiome’s P84 product, an activation formula that stimulates the body’s natural gut peptide production to regulate, repair, and restore digestive health, which is a more robust, comprehensive approach that uplevels the probiotic supplementation discussion.
• The gut microbiome market, estimated at $14 billion and projected to reach $32 billion over the next several years, represents a significant new growth category for LifeVantage, complementing its current focus on activation-based wellness.
• P84 aligns with LifeVantage’s MindBody GLP-1 System, expanding the company’s reach into the fast-growing gut-brain connection market.