Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

HK Type 4 license through Ballingal Investment Advisors Ltd. ("BIA" or "BIAL")

BACKGROUND
I have 20+yrs experience in Asia doing alternative strategies (i.e. non-delta1 non long-only) in fixed income, equity derivatives, and activist/catalyst/event-driven and long-short equity strategies with most of that time spent managing money. 

4 years in fixed income macro, 8 years running internal hedge fund and 4yrs investment banking at Citi in Japan, 3 years running an Asia multi-strat portfolio at a hedge fund, 4+yrs as an independent special situations analyst.

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Vedanta Soars Beyond Indicative Open Offer Level. Not Expensive

Vedanta (VEDL) Awaits Open Offer Revision. Now Less Event-y More Commodity-y

Vedanta (VEDL) Open Offer Raised in Price and Size!

Vedanta Vaulting Near 2020 Highs On Higher Commods, Higher Forecasts, But Open Offer Remote?

Vedanta Promoter Launches Offer to Buy 4.98%

Vedanta Limited - Caught in Economic Purgatory but Governance Hell?

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

<p>Just over four weeks ago on 8 December 2020, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/vedanta-resources-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22202:1" rel="noopener">Vedanta Resources (VED LN)</a> promoter Anil Agarwal was on <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/india-will-grow-phenomenally-well-hereon-says-vedantas-anil-agarwal-6208991.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CNBC-TV18 in India saying</a> that the promoter (Vedanta Resources, himself, the associated companies) had no plans at all to increase their stake in VEDL and no plans to make an open offer. He said the same in an <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/companies/article/no-plans-to-increase-stake-in-vedanta-currently-anil-agarwal/693270" target="_blank" rel="noopener">interview</a> with ETNow on 10-11 December. </p><section class="figure"><section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/181/867/original/Screenshot+2021-01-11+at+11.32.36+AM.png?1610336005" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="181867"></figure></section><p>Eight trading days later, they launched an off-market purchase to buy 4.98% of shares outstanding - the effective limit in any given fiscal year - to buy shares at a price between INR 150.45-160.00. This was discussed in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/vedanta-promoter-launches-offer-to-buy-4-98" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:46600" rel="noopener">Vedanta Promoter Launches Offer to Buy 4.98%</a>. Early reports were they got less than 5%, and had to pay the top price to get that bit, but the 13D filed on 24 December suggests they got to <span id="ciqct_0_s">2,048,458,132 shares which is 55.1% which was what they were looking to do</span>.</p>
<p>Then the shares went up some more. They immediately went above INR 160, then went higher. </p>
<section class="figure"><figure class="editor-figure mceNonEditable"><img src="https://static-prod.smartkarma.com/images/media/000/181/879/original/Screenshot+2021-01-11+at+1.57.17+PM.png?1610345200" class="editor-image img-responsive" data-smartkarma-image-id="181879"></figure><p></p></section></section><p>Less than a week after making that purchase, local media (Economic Times and others) were mentioning the possibility (from "sources") that Vedanta Resources might come back with an Open Offer for another 10%. </p><p>Since the new year, the shares have popped further, likely in response to sharply higher commodity prices and a sharply higher share price for <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hindustan-zinc-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:8688:1" rel="noopener">Hindustan Zinc (HZ IN)</a>, which rallied from Rs 240/share at year-end to above Rs 300/share in the first week of the year. </p><div class="content-highlight">
<h2>The NEW News</h2>
<p>On 9 January 2021, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/vedanta-resources-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:22202:1" rel="noopener">Vedanta Resources (VED LN)</a> released an <a href="https://www.bseindia.com/xml-data/corpfiling/AttachLive/B5B266CE-05B4-4E0B-9498-F913F67903B3-191702.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a> that it would launch a Voluntary Open Offer to purchase an additional 371,750,500 shares (10% of shares out) of <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/vedanta-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:514:1" rel="noopener">Vedanta Ltd (VEDL IN)</a> at Rs. 160/share, spending about US$800mm to get there. </p>
</div><p>A Detailed Public Statement ("DPS") will be released on or about 15 January. This starts a two-month-plus process leading to a two-week Open Offer, likely to take place starting in the second half of March. </p><p>More on what this means, how it could play out, etc, below the fold. </p>

Just over four weeks ago on 8 December 2020, Vedanta Resources (VED LN) promoter Anil Agarwal was on CNBC-TV18 in India saying that the promoter (Vedanta Resources, himself, the associated companies) had no plans at all to increase their stake in VEDL and no plans to make an open offer. He said the same in an interview with ETNow on 10-11 December. Eight trading days later, they launched an off-market purchase to buy 4.98% of shares outstanding - the effective limit in any given fiscal year - to buy shares at a price between INR 150.45-160.00. This was discussed in Vedanta Promoter Launches Offer to Buy 4.98%. Early reports were they got less than 5%, and had to pay the top price to get that bit, but the 13D filed on 24 December suggests they got to 2,048,458,132 shares which is 55.1% which was what they were looking to do.
Then the shares went up some more. They immediately went above INR 160, then went higher. 
Less than a week after making that purchase, local media (Economic Times and others) were mentioning the possibility (from "sources") that Vedanta Resources might come back with an Open Offer for another 10%. Since the new year, the shares have popped further, likely in response to sharply higher commodity prices and a sharply higher share price for Hindustan Zinc (HZ IN), which rallied from Rs 240/share at year-end to above Rs 300/share in the first week of the year. 
The NEW News
On 9 January 2021, Vedanta Resources (VED LN) released an announcement that it would launch a Voluntary Open Offer to purchase an additional 371,750,500 shares (10% of shares out) of Vedanta Ltd (VEDL IN) at Rs. 160/share, spending about US$800mm to get there. 
A Detailed Public Statement ("DPS") will be released on or about 15 January. This starts a two-month-plus process leading to a two-week Open Offer, likely to take place starting in the second half of March. More on what this means, how it could play out, etc, below the fold. 

Vedanta (VEDL IN) Promoter To Launch an Open Offer To Buy More