Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Douglas Research Advisory

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>On 8 May, it was mentioned in numerous local media that Naver is under pressure from the Japanese government to sell its stake in LINE.</li>
<li>One of the reasons behind Japanese government's efforts to force Naver to sell its stake in LINE is due a major data breach incident in November 2023.</li>
<li>Based on our current understanding of this situation, the most likely scenario is for Naver to sell about 20-30% stake in A Holdings (the controlling shareholder of LINE) to SoftBank.</li>
</ul>


On 8 May, it was mentioned in numerous local media that Naver is under pressure from the Japanese government to sell its stake in LINE.
One of the reasons behind Japanese government's efforts to force Naver to sell its stake in LINE is due a major data breach incident in November 2023.
Based on our current understanding of this situation, the most likely scenario is for Naver to sell about 20-30% stake in A Holdings (the controlling shareholder of LINE) to SoftBank.


Naver: Under Pressure from the Japanese Government To Sell Its Stake in LINE

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing, Clepsydra Capital

Sanghyun Park

Korea / Special Sits, Pairs, Index Rebalancing

Clepsydra Capital

Investigate special situations, pairs, and index rebalancing trades in Korea.

<ul>
<li>Naver doesn't view the sale of its A Holdings stake unfavorably; insiders suggest it's been planning this move since last year.</li>
<li>Market speculation suggests Naver was disappointed by Softbank's rejection of CLOVA X in LINE, prompting plans to sell A Holdings stake for AI development. A sale agreement is expected soon.</li>
<li>The method through which Softbank secures funds for this acquisition is worth the attention from a short-term trading perspective.</li>
</ul>


Naver doesn't view the sale of its A Holdings stake unfavorably; insiders suggest it's been planning this move since last year.
Market speculation suggests Naver was disappointed by Softbank's rejection of CLOVA X in LINE, prompting plans to sell A Holdings stake for AI development. A sale agreement is expected soon.
The method through which Softbank secures funds for this acquisition is worth the attention from a short-term trading perspective.


Local Reports in Korea Regarding A Holdings Stake Sale Between Naver & Softbank

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements, Aequitas Research

Sumeet Singh

Head of Research, IPOs & Placements

IPOs and Placements coverage across Asia Pacific

Aequitas Research

We cover all listing across the Asia Pacific along with follow-up placements. As of Dec 2020, our team had covered 539 IPOs with a hit rate of 73.5% and 685 placements with a hit rate of 66.8%.

We combine fundamental bottom-up views with our proprietary quantitative framework to provide a holistic coverage across new listings and placements. Our coverage includes pre-IPO notes before the deal is launched, follow-up analysis once the deal is live and post-listing trading analysis as well.

<ul>
<li>PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US listed China companies.</li>
<li>The Hong Kong visit was on the back of the 26th Aug 2022 announcement by PCAOB and CSRC that they had entered into an agreement with US authorities for access.</li>
<li>In this note, we'll talk about the latest developments, possible outcomes and implications.</li>
</ul>


PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US listed China companies.
The Hong Kong visit was on the back of the 26th Aug 2022 announcement by PCAOB and CSRC that they had entered into an agreement with US authorities for access.
In this note, we'll talk about the latest developments, possible outcomes and implications.


China ADRs Delisting - Friday Could Be Judgment Day for over US$800bn Mcap of Stocks

Equity Bottom-Up

<ul>
<li>Kakao Bank (KB) is South Korea’s largest digital bank. It's a subsidiary of Kakao, which holds a 27.3% stake post listing.</li>
<li>It is a branchless digital bank that only started operations in 2017. As of Sep 21, it had a loan book of US$21bn, deposit base of US$24bn and 17.4m customers.</li>
<li>Even though Kakao started operations only in July 2017, by 2020 it had already garnered more than 1% market share of overall loans and deposits in South Korea.</li>
</ul>


Kakao Bank (KB) is South Korea’s largest digital bank. It's a subsidiary of Kakao, which holds a 27.3% stake post listing.
It is a branchless digital bank that only started operations in 2017. As of Sep 21, it had a loan book of US$21bn, deposit base of US$24bn and 17.4m customers.
Even though Kakao started operations only in July 2017, by 2020 it had already garnered more than 1% market share of overall loans and deposits in South Korea.


2022 High Conviction - Kakao Bank - A Long Way to Go

<ul>
<li>A Democratic Party insider noted some proposals need legal tweaks, so the December 10 deadline may slip, but they’re set on passing the expanded director loyalty duty.</li>
<li>FKI analyzed top conglomerates’ shareholder structures and found four of the top 10 facing substantial risks.</li>
<li>We need more clarity before jumping in, but with MBK driving Korea's hostile M&amp;A scene and the Commercial Act amendments, local chaebols facing control battles are a key KOSPI theme.</li>
</ul>


A Democratic Party insider noted some proposals need legal tweaks, so the December 10 deadline may slip, but they’re set on passing the expanded director loyalty duty.
FKI analyzed top conglomerates’ shareholder structures and found four of the top 10 facing substantial risks.
We need more clarity before jumping in, but with MBK driving Korea's hostile M&amp;A scene and the Commercial Act amendments, local chaebols facing control battles are a key KOSPI theme.


Korea Pushes to Expand Director’s Duty of Loyalty: Focus on Hostile Takeover-Risk Conglomerates

South Korea

Naver Corp. provides Internet site with web portal services, such as search engine, online game and content development.  The Company also offers marketing service through text and banner advertisement.

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Naver Corp (035420 KS)

Naver: Under Pressure from the Japanese Government To Sell Its Stake in LINE

Seong Tae-Yoon (a senior official at South Korean Presidential Office) confirmed that Naver will not be forced to sell its stake in Line Yahoo. He...

Douglas Kim

Local Reports in Korea Regarding A Holdings Stake Sale Between Naver & Softbank

This post offers insights and updates sourced locally regarding the ongoing A Holdings stake sale negotiations between Naver and Softbank.

Sanghyun Park

China ADRs Delisting - Friday Could Be Judgment Day for over US$800bn Mcap of Stocks

PCAOB officials concluded their Hong Kong visit last month and PCAOB is due to announce its annual judgment on whether it had adequate access to US...

Sumeet Singh

2022 High Conviction - Kakao Bank - A Long Way to Go

Kakao Bank (KB) is South Korea’s largest digital bank. It's a subsidiary of Kakao, which holds a 27.3% stake post listing.

Sumeet Singh

Korea Pushes to Expand Director’s Duty of Loyalty: Focus on Hostile Takeover-Risk Conglomerates

Korea’s majority party is doubling down on expanding the director’s duty of loyalty to include shareholders. This post spotlights on major chaebols...

Sanghyun Park

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