In today’s briefing:
- Zeekr (ZK US): Minorities Have Limited Options Amid Geely’s Low-Balled Offer
- SENSEX Index Rebalance Preview: Trent, Bharat Electronics Could Replace IndusInd Bank, Nestle
- Canara HSBC Life Insurance Pre-IPO Tearsheet
- Lifenet Insurance Company (7157 JP) – Revitalizing Future Growth
- American Airlines Group: Network Expansion in Key Markets Fueling Our ‘Outperform’ Rating!
- Block Inc. (XYZ) Financial Factsheet – Growth, Valuation and Peer Comps
- Our AI-Powered Accounting Risk Trading Strategy Beat the S&P 500 by 2.5x
- Asia Real Estate Tracker (07-May-2025): Mt. Maunganui Cold Storage for Sale
- USD.AI: Financing the Future of AI Infra
- Volvere PLC: Easy as Pie
Zeekr (ZK US): Minorities Have Limited Options Amid Geely’s Low-Balled Offer
- Geely Auto (175 HK), China’s second-largest carmaker, has made an non-binding proposal for 65.7%-held Zeekr (ZK US), a premium Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer.
- Geely is offering US$25.66/ADS, a paltry 13.6% premium. Or 12.3 newly issued shares. The Offer appears opportunistic after Zeekr’s 20% decline YTD (pre-Offer) in response to Trump tariffs.
- Should a definitive agreement be inked, this is done. The risk to the trade, as with many US-listed China plays, is timing. Trading tight at a 1.9% gross spread.
SENSEX Index Rebalance Preview: Trent, Bharat Electronics Could Replace IndusInd Bank, Nestle
- With the review period complete, there could be two changes for the S&P BSE SENSEX Index (SENSEX INDEX) at the June rebalance.
- Trent Ltd (TRENT IN) and Bharat Electronics (BHE IN) are high probability inclusions while Indusind Bank (IIB IN) and Nestle India (NEST IN) are high probability deletions.
- Indusind Bank (IIB IN) is also a potential NIFTY Index (NIFTY INDEX) deletion in September and there will be continued pressure on the stock.
Canara HSBC Life Insurance Pre-IPO Tearsheet
- Canara HSBC Life Insurance (2908709Z IJ) is looking to raise about US$354m in its upcoming India IPO with bookrunners HSBC, JM Fin, Motilal, BNP Paribas and SBI Caps.
- Canara HSBC Life Insurance is a private life insurer in India and promoted by Canara Bank and HSBC Insurance (Asia-Pacific) Holdings Limited, a member of the HSBC group.
- According to CRISIL, it was ranked second amongst public sector bank-led life insurers in India based on the number of lives covered for FY24.
Lifenet Insurance Company (7157 JP) – Revitalizing Future Growth
- LIFENET is a pure-play online life insurance company with a solid track record, revamping its strategy to revitalize growth.
- The company has initiated a three-pronged strategy, encompassing tech & services, rebranding, and an ‘embedded’ strategy to integrate life insurance products seamlessly into partner digital ecosystems with engaged customers.
- Key partnerships with KDDI Group (9433) and SMBC Group provide a competitive advantage, and the group credit life insurance offered to mortgage customers of au Jibun Bank, KDDI Group’s online banking subsidiary, has the hallmarks of a new earnings pillar.
American Airlines Group: Network Expansion in Key Markets Fueling Our ‘Outperform’ Rating!
- American Airlines Group recently reported its first quarter 2025 financial results amid challenging economic conditions which affected the overall industry demand.
- Throughout the conference call, management conveyed both challenges faced and strategic initiatives undertaken to navigate the difficult environment.
- The company reported a first-quarter GAAP net loss of $473 million, or an adjusted loss of $386 million excluding special items, marking a noteworthy setback.
Block Inc. (XYZ) Financial Factsheet – Growth, Valuation and Peer Comps
- The Company posted muted revenue growth in Q1 2025, though margins showed improvement both YOY and sequentially.
- Block trades at a discount to peers with a P/E of 11.3x vs. peer average of 26.4x. However, its TTM EBITDA margins (13.1%) are lower than the peer group average.
- The guidance suggest focus on improving profitability as evident by improving margin outlook.
Our AI-Powered Accounting Risk Trading Strategy Beat the S&P 500 by 2.5x
- AI-Powered strategy that shorts high-risk US companies and longs the S&P 500 outperformed the index by 2.5x since July 2021.
- Short position targets identified by the Transparently Risk Engine, a tool that assesses listed companies’ accounting quality.
- Strategy provided better Sharpe ratio, lower maximum drawdown, and negative beta, offering risk-adjusted gains and potential hedge benefits.
Asia Real Estate Tracker (07-May-2025): Mt. Maunganui Cold Storage for Sale
- Frasers REIT plans to sell a Melbourne office tower for $129M to an Australian tycoon, indicating a significant transaction in the real estate market.
- Industry leaders from Hilton, KKR, CREAL, and Pegasus are convening in Singapore to discuss strategies for the hospitality sector at a forum.
- Norges has appointed Alexander Knapp as the new Global Real Estate Head and Jason Leong as the new leader of Asia Fund following van den Berg’s departure.
USD.AI: Financing the Future of AI Infra
- The report by Delphi Consulting presents USD.AI, a DeFi-based solution to fund AI and decentralized infrastructure by enabling short-term loans backed by real-world hardware.
- It introduces USDai, a synthetic dollar backed by collateralized hardware assets, offering scalable capital access through on-chain mechanisms.
- Legal enforceability is ensured via tokenized ownership under UCC laws, while risks are mitigated through conservative lending terms, insurance, and governance oversight.
💡 Before it’s here, it’s on Smartkarma
Sign Up for Free
The Smartkarma Preview Pass is your entry to the Independent Investment Research Network
- ✓ Unlimited Research Summaries
- ✓ Personalised Alerts
- ✓ Custom Watchlists
- ✓ Company Data and News
- ✓ Events & Webinars
