Daily Briefs

• Daidoh Ltd (3205 JP) saw an activist “win” at its AGM, another activist bought, the stock popped. I wrote about it. 2hrs later, the Board set a new Div Policy.
• ¥100/Yr for 3 years in a row. That was 11% of then-current price. Big activist win for Strategic Capital which owned 25% and Murakami-san who had gone substantial 1wk earlier.
• Today post-close, Strategic Capital reported it sold everything on 5 July, the next day. WOW. That was half of Maximum Real World Float. Oops. Murakami-san sold too. 

• Today after the close, ASICS Corp (7936 JP) announced a very large secondary offering. It points out that as a global brand, it needs global-standard corporate governance. 
• As such, it says they’ve been discussing sales with crossholders. But we knew the cross-holders were going to sell. This offering is 85mm shares, ¥210bn at last. That’s big. 
• The stock has doubled year-to-date. Today they raised FY guidance BIGLY (+60% OP and NP). Now a huge offering. This seems like a “feed the ducks when they’re quacking” situation.

• ASICS Corp (7936 JP) has announced a secondary offering of up to 85.0 million shares (including overallotment). At the close, the offer, including overallotment, is worth JPY218 billion (US$1.4 billion).
• Asics’ goal with the secondary offering is to eliminate cross-shareholdings. Asics also announced a material upgrade to full-year forecasts to offset the impact of the offering.
• Looking at recent large Japanese placements is instructive for understanding the potential offer price. The pricing date will fall between 23 and 26 July (likely 23 July).

• Kobe Bussan continues to hit new lows relative to the median Japanese retailer, as cheaper alternatives continue to rebound.
• Kobe was one of the greatest beneficiaries in Japan of the Pandemic, but it is stuck at 10% growth which is no longer unusual. 
• Kobe’s wholesale model makes it difficult to benefit from food price inflation like other food retailers. Kobe Bussan could drop another 50% before reaching fair value.

• Delfi Ltd (DELFI SP) is Asia’s largest confectioner, with circa 50% market share of chocolate in its largest market Indonesia, despite competition from global confectionary players over many years. 
• The company produces products that are engrained in local tastes but it also produces products in different categories that compete directly with foreign competitors with a local twist. 
• The negative headwinds from higher cocoa prices have started to stabilise and Delfi has deployed various strategies to offset the impact on packaging and ingredients. 

• The company’ share bucked China catering sector’s down trend and rallied 30% in last few weeks.
• Its 2Q operating data suggest that its store opening is well on track with healthy SSSG, underpinning strong margin expansion.
• We believe that market still underestimates its growth and earnings potential which could beat consensus by wide margin. Interim results to be announced in August will be key catalyst.

• ASICS is revising up its full year forecasts, now expecting sales to reach a record ¥660 billion , up 15.7% year-over-year. There is a strong currency tail wind. 
• Still “you gotta be in it to win it..”  ASICS is currently crushing it, while Nike flounders
• A large secondary offering will likely hit the share price in the short term; there are two key risks…but it could be a good opportunity to buy. 

Lucror Analytics’ ESG Scores are based on a 3-tiered scale and are adjusted for Controversies (if applicable).
We assess Rino Mastrotto’s ESG as “Adequate”, in line with its Environmental and Governance scores, while the Social score is “Strong”. Controversies are “Immaterial” and Disclosure is “Adequate”. 

• Choice Hotels International Inc. showed a largely positive outcome in its first quarter of 2024 financial results, demonstrating solid growth trajectories in various aspects of its business.
• The company reported an impressive 17% increase in adjusted EBITDA and a 14% increase in adjusted EPS on a year-over-year basis, achieving record levels for the first quarter.
• This growth was partly fueled by the successful integration of the Radisson Americas, which has substantially broadened the company’s scale and diversified its earnings streams through new non-RevPAR-related avenues.

• US markets suffered a bearish reversal on CPI data. Time look to elsewhere?
• China looks to be bottoming. Could the region begin to show relative strength?
• Emerging markets look particularly attractive especially if the dollar trades lower.