In today’s briefing:
- Joy City (207 HK): Minorities Should Take The Cash
- Tax Pivot in Play: Ruling Party Rethink Could Flip Market Narrative
- Exploring Active Portfolio Ideas: SPACs, Mergers, Asset Sales, Litigation, High-Growth Opportunities
- Current Active Merger, Acquisition, and Liquidation Opportunities: An Overview
- Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) $6 Billion Move On Enverus: Is This the Next Bloomberg For Energy?
- FirstService Corporation: Initiation of Coverage- Expansion in Fire Protection Services & Critical Growth Levers!
- Financial Products Group Co (7148 JP): Q3 FY09/25 flash update
- Nesco: Strong Q1FY26 Led by the Exhibitions and the Foods Segments
- AON Inc: M&A Services Expansion, Synergy Realization from NFP Acquisition & Key Growth Levers!
- WeWork India Pre-IPO – Lease Mismatch and Structural Strains
Joy City (207 HK): Minorities Should Take The Cash
- Chinese property play Joy City (207 HK) has announced a Scheme buyback, with a price of $0.62/share (declared final), a 67.57% premium; but more like a 158% premium to undisturbed.
- Yes, this is a 70% discount to NAV. Yet Joy City has traded at P/B of 0.14x, on average, the past five years. Earnings have trended south in that timeframe.
- The IFA will likely cite liquidity and Joy City’s historical discount to NAV, and opine “reasonable”, and probably even “fair”. It is what it is for long-suffering shareholders.
Tax Pivot in Play: Ruling Party Rethink Could Flip Market Narrative
- Today’s selloff spooked the ruling party, prompting top lawmakers to signal tax tweak talks less than 24hrs after rollout — and they’re clearly watching the tape.
- Cap gains threshold likely gets bumped to ₩3–5bn. STT hike stays. Div tax top rate may drop from 35% to 25% amid internal party push.
- President Lee’s focused on pragmatism—cutting household debt and boosting corporate liquidity. Expect the tax narrative to pivot next week, sending local market sentiment in a new direction from Friday’s tape.
Exploring Active Portfolio Ideas: SPACs, Mergers, Asset Sales, Litigation, High-Growth Opportunities
- Yorkville Acquisition, Lutnick’s SPACs, and Renatus Tactical Acquisition are SPACs with political connections, targeting crypto and blockchain opportunities.
- Mayne Pharma’s acquisition by Cosette faces legal challenges over a material adverse change, with a court hearing in September.
- Currency Exchange International’s growth driven by FX Payments, potential uplisting, and closure of unprofitable Canadian business.
Current Active Merger, Acquisition, and Liquidation Opportunities: An Overview
- ProAssurance merger with TDC faces potential regulatory hurdles, creating a short opportunity with limited downside and significant upside.
- PMV Pharmaceuticals trades at a discount to net cash with imminent trial results and strategic review as catalysts.
- Next Science plans to distribute US$30m from asset sale, offering a 13% spread to expected distribution price.
Intercontinental Exchange’s (ICE) $6 Billion Move On Enverus: Is This the Next Bloomberg For Energy?
- Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the NYSE and a dominant force in global futures and data markets, is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire Enverus, a privately held energy data and analytics powerhouse, for a valuation north of $6 billion.
- The potential acquisition, first reported by Bloomberg, comes amid renewed optimism in the IPO pipeline, expanding energy futures participation, and ICE’s push into adjacent data ecosystems such as mortgage and environmental markets.
- Although a final agreement has not been reached and discussions could still fall through, the timing aligns with rising M&A sentiment as expectations for lower interest rates and a friendlier regulatory backdrop fuel executive confidence.
FirstService Corporation: Initiation of Coverage- Expansion in Fire Protection Services & Critical Growth Levers!
- FirstService Corporation reported solid performance in the second quarter of 2025 amid an environment marked by uncertainty and weak consumer sentiment.
- The company’s revenues recorded a 9% year-over-year growth, primarily propelled by tuck-under acquisitions and supported by organic growth of 2% within the period.
- However, the performance was not uniform across its segments, with FirstService Residential, Century Fire, and restoration brands showing positive gains, contrasted by stagnation in the Home Service segment and declines in Roofing operations.
Financial Products Group Co (7148 JP): Q3 FY09/25 flash update
- Revenues reached JPY90.6bn (+11.5% YoY), driven by record-high sales in Domestic Real Estate Fund Business.
- Operating profit was JPY19.2bn (-16.5% YoY), with a gross profit margin of 30.0% (-7.5pp YoY).
- Non-operating income increased to JPY2.6bn (+17.2% YoY), while non-operating expenses decreased to JPY1.7bn (-7.3% YoY).
Nesco: Strong Q1FY26 Led by the Exhibitions and the Foods Segments
- Q1 tends to be a seasonally weak quarter. However, Nesco posted 60%+ YoY growth in the Exhibition business. The Foods business grew 147% YoY led by restaurants and catering division.
- The IT Parks segment saw its revenue grow by 3.6% QoQ and 12% YoY in Q1FY26. Overall, Nesco’s revenue grew 37% YoY and PBT grew 23% YoY in Q1FY26.
- Given that Nesco due to its leasing based revenue is a bond proxy investment, we are increasing our fair valuation target to take into account the low interest rate environment.
AON Inc: M&A Services Expansion, Synergy Realization from NFP Acquisition & Key Growth Levers!
- Aon plc’s second-quarter 2025 financial performance showcases a company effectively executing its strategic initiatives and achieving substantial growth in several key metrics.
- Aon’s financial model, underpinned by its Aon United strategy and the operational support of Aon Business Services (ABS), is demonstrating robust execution.
- For the quarter, Aon achieved notable results including 6% organic revenue growth, driven by new business and strengthened client relationships.
WeWork India Pre-IPO – Lease Mismatch and Structural Strains
- WeWork India Management Ltd (1690124D IN) is looking to raise about US$407m in its upcoming India IPO.
- WeWork India (WWI) offers a wide range of workspace solutions, including custom-designed buildings, floors, and offices; enterprise office suites; private offices; co-working spaces; customized managed offices; and hybrid digital solutions.
- In this note, we talk about the not-so-positive aspects of the deal.
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