In today’s briefing:
- Mandom (4917 JP): Welcome Activism as Hibiki Takes Issue with the Price
- StubWorld: AviChina (2357 HK) Coming Up “Cheap”
- Krungthai Card (KTC TB): Pledged Shares Inching Up, Again
- HMM: Results of the Tender Offer
- Faraday Future to Spin Off Crypto Assets into a Standalone Company “CXC10”
- Alcon’s Acquisition of STAAR Surgical Faces Shareholder Opposition, Potential Price Increase, and Strategic Portfolio Expansion
Mandom (4917 JP): Welcome Activism as Hibiki Takes Issue with the Price
- On 15 September, Hibiki Path Advisors issued an open letter questioning the rationale for the Mandom Corp (4917 JP) Board to recommend a CVC-sponsored preconditional MBO at JPY1,960 per share.
- Hibiki opines that the MBO is being done at the wrong price (Hibiki’s value is JPY3,050). Some of Hibiki’s criticisms are valid, while others are not.
- CVC’s initial approach will wait for precondition satisfaction and secure additional irrevocables. However, this is a stopgap measure, and a bump is likely to occur.
StubWorld: AviChina (2357 HK) Coming Up “Cheap”
- Down 18% in the past month, fundamentals for AviChina Industry & Technology H (2357 HK), one of China’s leading aviation/defense plays, still appear demanding.
- Preceding my comments on AviChina are the current setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.
- These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity of US$1mn, and a % market capitalisation >20%.
Krungthai Card (KTC TB): Pledged Shares Inching Up, Again
- As discussed in May this year, shares in Krungthai Card (KTC TB), XSpring (XPG TB), BEC World (BEC TB), and The Practical Solution (TPS TB) all went limit down. Twice.
- Reportedly Mongkol Prakitchaiwattana pledged his holdings in all four companies. Pledged shares figures released by the SET illustrated a dramatic downward swing in KTC’s pledged shares in June versus May.
- SET’s updated list of securities pledged – as at 29th August – shows pledged shares in KTC ticking up. But so has KTC’s share price, slowly but surely.
HMM: Results of the Tender Offer
- On 17 September, HMM Co., Ltd. (011200 KS) announced the results of the tender offer.
- Its two largest shareholders (Korea Development Bank – KDB and Korea Ocean Business Corp – KOBC) both participated in the tender offer.
- With end of the tender offer, we believe there could be a renewed focus on the continued decline in the global shipping rates which is negative on HMM.
Faraday Future to Spin Off Crypto Assets into a Standalone Company “CXC10”
- Faraday Future to spin-off its “Crypto Flywheel” / C10 Treasury assets into a separate entity (CXC10), enabling independent fundraising and clearer strategic focus.
- Post separation, Faraday Future remains an EV story, focused on vehicle development, production milestones, and shared mobility initiatives.
- The separation of the volatile, high-risk crypto assets from the EV business will reduce investor confusion and may uplift valuation by removing any conglomerate discount.
Alcon’s Acquisition of STAAR Surgical Faces Shareholder Opposition, Potential Price Increase, and Strategic Portfolio Expansion
- Broadwood Partners opposes Alcon’s $28/share offer for STAAR, citing opportunistic timing and a flawed sale process.
- Alcon seeks STAAR to fill a portfolio gap in phakic intraocular lenses, potentially enhancing US market penetration.
- STAAR’s China sales decline attributed to inventory issues, with management predicting recovery by H2 2025.
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