In today’s briefing:
- [Japan M&A] Mitsubishi Logisnext (7105) – This Deal Looks Mighty Bad
- LG Chem: Announces a PRS Worth 2 Trillion Won Using Its Shares in LG Energy Solution as Base Asset
- GST Exemption: A Catalyst for Growth and Margin Headwinds for ICICI Prudential Life
- RateGain Acquisition of Sojern: A Travel Tech Powerhouse in the Making?
- Selected European HoldCos and DLC: September 2025 Report
[Japan M&A] Mitsubishi Logisnext (7105) – This Deal Looks Mighty Bad
- JIP and MitHeavy have announced a takeunder to buy out MitHeavy sub Mitsubishi Logisnext Co., Ltd. (7105 JP) at a weighted average price 42% lower than Target Advisor DCF range midpoint.
- No/Minimal transparency. A sales process interrupted by Trump tariffs, leaving one low-ball bidder. And the sellers goes ahead with it BUT gets to reinvest on the back end. You don’t.
- The Board “supports” the Tender Offer, but leaves it to the opinion of the shareholders as to whether they tender. MitHeavy has 64.4% already so that basically gets done. But…
LG Chem: Announces a PRS Worth 2 Trillion Won Using Its Shares in LG Energy Solution as Base Asset
- LG Chem announced that it plans to complete a price return swap worth about 2 trillion won (US$1.4 billion) using its stake in LG Energy Solution as the base asset.
- This 2 trillion won PRS is likely to have a slightly positive impact on LG Chem and slightly negative impact on LG Energy Solution.
- Our NAV valuation of LG Chem suggests implied NAV per share of 369,187 won, which is 31% higher than current levels.
GST Exemption: A Catalyst for Growth and Margin Headwinds for ICICI Prudential Life
- The GST Council’s decision to exempt all individual life and health insurance premiums from GST (0% vs. 18% earlier), effective September 22, 2025, is a landmark affordability move.
- The immediate drop in premiums for products like term and ULIPs is expected to drive a significant surge in demand, though insurers like ICICI Prudential will lose ITC on expenses.
- While the volume boost from higher affordability is a major long-term catalyst, immediate margin compression from ITC loss on commissions will require operational efficiency and pricing recalibration for ICICI Prudential.
RateGain Acquisition of Sojern: A Travel Tech Powerhouse in the Making?
- RateGain Travel Technologies has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire US-based, AI-powered travel marketing platform Sojern for an upfront consideration of $250 million.
- The acquisition is a bold move to create a scaled, AI-first digital marketing and distribution platform, significantly boosting RateGain’s MarTech business and nearly tripling its revenue/EBITDA run-rate (pre-synergies).
- The strategic upside of owning the full guest acquisition-to-retention cycle justifies the blended financing structure and the integration risk of two large, geographically dispersed travel tech companies.
Selected European HoldCos and DLC: September 2025 Report
- Holdco discounts tightened in September: GBL to 28.1%, Industrivärden C to 6.9%, Investor B to 10.9%, Heineken Holding to 12.1%; Porsche SE widened to 31.6%; Rio Tinto DLC premium 21.6%.
- Drivers: discounts compress with buybacks and bull markets. GBL cancelling repurchases; target sub-25% discount. Heineken Holding’s control structure sustains a spread. Swedish holdcos are investment-grade, high-quality, with low look-through discounts.
- Catalysts: Vivendi’s AMF-driven mandatory-offer path, appeals pending, base-case €4.15 bid. Rio Tinto DLC unification could unlock $27–32B despite May vote. Porsche SE discount reflects deleveraging priority; legal overhang increasingly immaterial.
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