Daily Brief Japan: Sanken Electric, Sun Corp, Kakaku.com Inc, Minebea Mitsumi, BASE Inc, Nippon Sheet Glass and more

• In April I wrote Sanken Electric (6707 JP) vs Allegro MicroSystems (ALGM US) was attractive as a situation but the spread could be wider. I also noted two activists controlled 45%.
• Two weeks later, one activist sold 6%. Presumably they have sold the rest. But now the spread is much wider AND Allegro has fallen sharply off highs. 
• Allegro is adjacent to the AI data centre play, making sensor ICs for power management functions. Other affiliate Polar makes more power chips. Sanken’s cheap here.

• In April I wrote about Sun Corp (6736 JP). Activists had bought more and the stock was trading at the value of its CLBT holdings. Then it widened sharply. 
• The discount widened out to 30% in June and July, but jumped when CLBT shares tanked four weeks ago on reduced guidance and a possibly sudden CEO change. 
• Then CLBT bounced and fell while Sun Corp continues to rally. That puts Sun Corp at 10+% through its CLBT holdings value. But there are possibly other things afoot.

• On Thursday – the last day of the EQT/DG/Kamgras Tender Offer to take Kakaku.com Inc (2371 JP) private, the Tender Offeror lifted their Offer Price to ¥3,680.
• This clearly surpasses the higher-priced version of the Bain Tender Offer which was based on ¥3,520 (¥3,640 if KDDI agreed). Bain had neglected to overbid when EQT re-underbid by 1.96%.
• As always, Kakaku’s release is more informative than EQT’s. There is obvious reason in the document to expect more.

• I tally 35 – mostly firm, mostly Asia-Pac – arb transactions currently being discussed and analysed on Smartkarma. Those arbs metrics and upcoming events are detailed below.
• Two new deals were was discussed on Smartkarma this week: Ingenia Communities (INA AU), Albis Co Ltd (7475 JP), and Sharingtechnology Inc (3989 JP).
• Key updates/news also took place on:Kakaku.com Inc (2371 JP), Zenith Minerals (ZNC AU), and Cygnus Metals (CY5 AU).

• Minebea Mitsumi (6479 JP) occupies an entrenched global leadership position in precision mechanical and electro-mechanical components, holding over 60% global market share in miniature and instrument ball bearings while leveraging an unmatched low-cost, vertically integrated production base across Thailand, Singapore, and Cambodia.
• Financial performance demonstrates robust secular momentum, with FY2026 revenue reaching JPY 1,664,387 million (+9.3% YoY) and net income advancing 66.6% YoY to JPY 99,034 million, driven by the expansion of its ‘Eight Spear’ product portfolio across automotive electrification, AI server thermal management, aerospace, and industrial automation.
• Trading at 12.4x P/E and 8.7x EV/EBITDA, the stock trades at an unwarranted 40-50% discount to peers such as Murata Manufacturing (51.7x P/E), Kyocera (28.3x P/E), and Nidec (26.2x P/E), offering institutional investors an asymmetrical risk/reward profile bolstered by disciplined capital return (DPS increased to JPY 55.0, 1.77% yield).

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• A weekly summary of key developments in ECM and Event-Driven names that I track in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea, India, and Chinese ADRs.
• ECM developments: National Stock Exchange (NSEIN IN), Ligent Technologies (LGT HK) and GCash (Mynt) (GCASH PM) IPOs.
• Event-Driven developments: BASE Inc (4477 JP), Albis Co Ltd (7475 JP), Kakaku.com Inc (2371 JP), Sharingtechnology Inc (3989 JP), Changhong Jiahua (3991 HK), Public Financial (626 HK). 

• Nippon Sheet Glass (5202 JP) is now down to “pure arb.” All approvals are in. All financing done. The remaining trade is to buy and hold until the cash settles.
• I see no startling revelation when inspecting Guotai Junan International (1788 HK)‘s s329 investigative reports.
• Resonac (4004 JP) is spinning off 80+% of its petrochemical division. Crasus Chemical is unlikely to stay in MSCI. Definitely not Nikkei 225. Big selling on Day 1 at the close likely.