In today’s briefing:
- Have Japanese-GAAP Helped Reduce the Number of Failed M&A Deals?
- MercadoLibre 2Q26: Growth Outruns the Credit Profile
- Inside Adani Airports: $1 Billion Primary Fund Infusion
- 17 Education & Technology Group Inc: Consumer Rollout Expected To Drive Revenue
- DWS: Highly Bullish Three-Year Strategic Plan
- Adani Enterprises: India’s Biggest Business Incubator
- PESO: Scaling from 45 to 500 Stores: The Next Dollarama
- Tilaknagar Industries: From Balance-Sheet Repair To A Premium Spirits Platform
- PESO: Solid Q2 Financials; Scaling as Expected
- Primer: Bapcor Ltd (BAP AU) – Sep 2026
Have Japanese-GAAP Helped Reduce the Number of Failed M&A Deals?
- Since companies that have listed on NYSE through ADR etc have been reporting their financial results under US-GAAP, it is expected that more companies will transition to IFRS as needed.
- If IFRS is promoted on the assumption that “eliminating the periodic amortization of goodwill under Japanese-GAAP will likely lead to increased M&A,” the discussion risks heading in the wrong direction.
- Needless to say, successfully implementing PMI to increase future profits and cash flow is both more difficult and more important.
MercadoLibre 2Q26: Growth Outruns the Credit Profile
- Revenue rose 49.8% YoY and the credit portfolio 75.2%, while adjusted EBITDA margin held at 9.6%; gross and net leverage increased to 3.39x and 1.65x.
- Operating cash flow reached $3.66bn and FOCF $3.22bn, but lending and restricted funds absorbed most cash, leaving adjusted FCF at just $214mn.
- Neutral maintained as spreads offer limited cushion for rising balance sheet intensity; we prefer the shorter-duration bond after the longer bond’s prior spread concession disappeared.
Inside Adani Airports: $1 Billion Primary Fund Infusion
- Adani entered airport operations only in 2019–20, but now manages eight airports and serves more than 23% of India’s passenger traffic.
- The business has evolved from operating terminals to monetising the entire passenger journey through retail, food and beverage, duty-free, digital services, ground handling, cargo and city-side real estate.
- Alpha Wave Global, Premji Invest, Temasek and BlackRock-managed funds will invest Rs 9,825 crore of primary equity at an approximately USD 18 billion pre-money valuation.
17 Education & Technology Group Inc: Consumer Rollout Expected To Drive Revenue
- 17 Education & Technology Group Inc. is a leading AI-enabled education technology company in China that provides digital teaching, learning, and assessment solutions to education authorities, schools, teachers, students, and parents.
- Over its nearly 15 year history, the Company has built a large network of school, teacher and end users, along with an expanding proprietary data set generated by in-school and on-platform activities.
- YQ markets its AI platform and complementary hardware across three connected customer groups, including Government Agencies (G-end), Schools and Educational Institutions (B-end), and Direct to Consumer (C-end).
DWS: Highly Bullish Three-Year Strategic Plan
- What you need to know: • DWS released a three-year strategic plan built on four pillars: profitable growth, brand power, operational excellence, and culture and execution.
- • Execution is framed in three phases: Build in FY26, Scale in FY27, and Optimize across FY28 and FY29.
- Click here to view the deck.
Adani Enterprises: India’s Biggest Business Incubator
- Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) has incubated six publicly traded businesses across ports, power, transmission, renewable energy, city gas and FMCG.
- The combined market capitalisation of businesses incubated by AEL stood at USD 94.3 billion as of March 31, 2026, according to the company.
- The next value-unlocking candidates are airports, the new-energy ecosystem, data centres, roads and primary-materials. These businesses are larger and more capital-intensive, making execution and balance-sheet discipline central to the thesis.
PESO: Scaling from 45 to 500 Stores: The Next Dollarama
- What you need to know: • PesoRama operates 45 dollar stores in Mexico and is targeting ~500 stores over the next five years.
- Mexico remains highly underpenetrated by dollar stores, creating a significant first-mover opportunity for PESO.
- • The store economics are compelling, with a 2-3 year payback period and a path to self-funded growth at scale.
Tilaknagar Industries: From Balance-Sheet Repair To A Premium Spirits Platform
- Tilaknagar reduced Debt from INR 1,199 crore (March 2019) to INR 119 crore (March 2024), while Finance costs fell from INR 184 crore (FY19) to INR 27 crore (FY24).
- The operating turnaround was driven by brandy leadership, better realisations, cost control and operating leverage. EBITDA moved from negative INR 52 crore in FY20 to INR 185 crore in FY24
- The INR 4,150 crore Imperial Blue Acquisition changed the company from a South-focused brandy player into a Pan-India, Multi-category Spirits Platform.
PESO: Solid Q2 Financials; Scaling as Expected
- What you need to know: • PesoRama reported record Q2/27 revenue of $9.7M (+59% YoY, +29% QoQ), in line with our $10.0M estimate.
- Adjusted EBITDA was ($0.3M), also in line with our estimate of ($0.4M).
- • Gross margin was 44% vs. our 45% estimate.
Primer: Bapcor Ltd (BAP AU) – Sep 2026
- Bapcor Limited (BAP AU) is Australasia’s leading automotive aftermarket distributor and retailer, currently navigating a comprehensive operational turnaround and balance sheet optimization strategy led by CEO Angus McKay following a period of executive turnover, supply chain restructuring, and substantial non-cash asset impairments.
- Underlying operational cash generation remains strong despite headline statutory losses; FY26 operating cash flow rose 14.0% year-on-year to A$152.3M, and free cash flow to equity (FCFE) reached A$137.2M, driven by strict working capital discipline, inventory rationalization, and reduced capital expenditure requirements following distribution center consolidations.
- At the current market price of A$0.78 (market capitalisation of ~A$524M), Bapcor trades at a steep discount to historical averages and private equity acquisition benchmarks, offering institutional investors asymmetric upside potential as cost-reduction programs, trade segment resilience, and gross margin stabilization take hold.
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