Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs, Douglas Research Advisory

Douglas Kim

Korea/Asia, Events, IPOs

Event-Driven

<ul>
<li>In this insight, we discuss the five most aggressive corporate activist firms that have been moving the Korean equity market in the past year.</li>
<li>They include Align Partners Capital Management, KCGI, Flashlight Capital Partners, Truston, and LIFE Asset Management.</li>
<li>Share prices of 15 companies that the corporate activist firms have invested in Korea are up on average 9.7% YTD, outperforming KOSPI which is up 7.1% in the same period.</li>
</ul>


In this insight, we discuss the five most aggressive corporate activist firms that have been moving the Korean equity market in the past year.
They include Align Partners Capital Management, KCGI, Flashlight Capital Partners, Truston, and LIFE Asset Management.
Share prices of 15 companies that the corporate activist firms have invested in Korea are up on average 9.7% YTD, outperforming KOSPI which is up 7.1% in the same period.


Five Most Aggressive Corporate Activists Moving the Korean Market: Align, KCGI, FCP, Truston, & LIFE

<ul>
<li>More than 20 trillion won (US$16 billion) worth of deals are up for M&amp;As in 2023.</li>
<li>However, due to high interest rates and differences on valuations among buyers and sellers, the M&amp;A market in Korea is likely to continue to be weak in 2023.</li>
<li>In this insight, we discuss 24 companies that are up for M&amp;As this year in Korea, including Hanon Systems, SK Shieldus, and K Car.</li>
</ul>


More than 20 trillion won (US$16 billion) worth of deals are up for M&amp;As in 2023.
However, due to high interest rates and differences on valuations among buyers and sellers, the M&amp;A market in Korea is likely to continue to be weak in 2023.
In this insight, we discuss 24 companies that are up for M&amp;As this year in Korea, including Hanon Systems, SK Shieldus, and K Car.


Korea M&A Outlook in 2023: What's for Sale?

<ul>
<li>On 2 January, Align Partners Capital Management (APCM) started to go activist on seven leading Korean banking group companies.</li>
<li>According to APCM, the major Korean banking groups could pay out at least half of their net income to their shareholders, which would be more than double the current levels.</li>
<li>Korean banks are trading at deep discount to global peers, now trading at PBR of 0.2~0.4x whereas global peers trade at 1.3x. </li>
</ul>


On 2 January, Align Partners Capital Management (APCM) started to go activist on seven leading Korean banking group companies.
According to APCM, the major Korean banking groups could pay out at least half of their net income to their shareholders, which would be more than double the current levels.
Korean banks are trading at deep discount to global peers, now trading at PBR of 0.2~0.4x whereas global peers trade at 1.3x. 


Align Partners Goes Activist on Seven Banking Group Companies in Korea

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>Targetable names on KOSPI for dividend arbitrage: SK Telecom (017670), Woori Financial (316140), SK Hynix (000660), KB Financial (105560), Korea Zinc (010130), and HMM (011200) </li>
<li>
Samsung Electronics (005930)' basis does not reflect special dividends, even though speculations have not disappeared entirely.</li>
<li>As the current basis hasn't widened to an entirely sufficient level, we need to target arb trade openings focusing on the above stocks a bit more aggressively.</li>
</ul>


Targetable names on KOSPI for dividend arbitrage: SK Telecom (017670), Woori Financial (316140), SK Hynix (000660), KB Financial (105560), Korea Zinc (010130), and HMM (011200) 

Samsung Electronics (005930)' basis does not reflect special dividends, even though speculations have not disappeared entirely.
As the current basis hasn't widened to an entirely sufficient level, we need to target arb trade openings focusing on the above stocks a bit more aggressively.


Targetable Names on KOSPI for Dividend Arbitrage: DPS Estimates & Current Basis

<ul>
<li>We'd better pay attention to trading for price gain by building a position 2-3 weeks towards ex-dividend and getting out of it before ex-dividend, which often provides higher returns.</li>
<li>For this, we should focus on high dividend yield stocks, which also feature a high borrow rate, but on a decreasing trend.</li>
<li>They are <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hyosung-tnc-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27749:1" rel="noopener">Hyosung TNC (298020)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hd-hyundai" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:24075:1" rel="noopener">HD Hyundai (267250)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/bnk-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:386:1" rel="noopener">BNK Financial (138930)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/woori-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27995:1" rel="noopener">Woori Financial (316140)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/dl-e-c-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:31375:1" rel="noopener">DL E&amp;C (375500)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/lx-semicon-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:20670:1" rel="noopener">LX Semicon (108320)</a>, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/kb-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:718:1" rel="noopener">KB Financial (105560 KS)</a>, and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/hdc-hyundai-development-co-engineering-construction" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:27397:1" rel="noopener">HDC Hyundai Development (294870)</a>.        </li>
</ul>


We'd better pay attention to trading for price gain by building a position 2-3 weeks towards ex-dividend and getting out of it before ex-dividend, which often provides higher returns.
For this, we should focus on high dividend yield stocks, which also feature a high borrow rate, but on a decreasing trend.
They are Hyosung TNC (298020), HD Hyundai (267250), BNK Financial (138930), Woori Financial (316140), DL E&amp;C (375500), LX Semicon (108320), KB Financial (105560 KS), and HDC Hyundai Development (294870).        


Yearend Dividend Play on Korean Stocks with High Yield/Borrow Rate

South Korea

Woori Financial Group Inc. provides commercial banking services. The Company offers deposit services, loan services, bill services, settlement services, credit card, international, online banking, and other related services. Woori Financial Group also operates banking and retail banking businesses.

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Woori Financial Group (316140 KS)

Five Most Aggressive Corporate Activists Moving the Korean Market: Align, KCGI, FCP, Truston, & LIFE

In this insight, we discuss the five most aggressive corporate activist firms that have been moving the Korean equity market in the past year.

Douglas Kim

Korea M&A Outlook in 2023: What's for Sale?

In this insight, we discuss 24 companies that are up for M&As this year in Korea, including Hanon Systems, SK Shieldus, and K Car.

Douglas Kim

Align Partners Goes Activist on Seven Banking Group Companies in Korea

On 2 January, Align Partners Capital Management (APCM) started to go activist on seven leading Korean banking group companies.

Douglas Kim

Targetable Names on KOSPI for Dividend Arbitrage: DPS Estimates & Current Basis

This post screens targetable names on KOSPI for dividend arbitrage based on relatively reliable DPS estimates and current basis widening.

Sanghyun Park

Yearend Dividend Play on Korean Stocks with High Yield/Borrow Rate

This post discusses the yearend dividend play on Korean stocks with a high dividend yield and a high borrow rate on a decreasing trend.

Sanghyun Park

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