In this briefing:
- Weimob IPO Valuation: Optically Cheap
- Tencent: A Brief Statistical Review of Game Approvals
- Weimob IPO Quick Take – Less SaaS, More Ads -> Lower Valuation
- Viva Biotech (维亚生物) IPO: When CRO Becomes Early Stage Biotech Investor
- Korea M&A Spotlight: Nexon’s Founder Plans to Sell; Will Tencent Buy Nexon?
1. Weimob IPO Valuation: Optically Cheap
Weimob.com (1260480D CH) is a combination of a SaaS software and an adtech (targeted marketing) business which has started book building to raise gross proceeds of $108-135 million. According to press reports, Weimob is being viewed favourably by investors as it is being offered at a “cheap” valuation of 18-23x 2019 P/E.
However, the valuation of 18-23x 2019 P/E is optically cheap. Our analysis suggests that including capitalised R&D, Weimob is being offered at a material premium to a peer group of major Chinese internet companies. Notably, our forecasts do not adjust for the capitalised contract acquisition costs which would further increase Weimob’s P/E multiple. Consequently, we believe that the proposed IPO price range is unattractive and would sit out this IPO.
2. Tencent: A Brief Statistical Review of Game Approvals
Paused for eight months, China’s authority resumed the domestic game approval in December. The first batch of 80 games was approved recently.
Since the last round of game application approval, the stock price of Tencent Holdings (700 HK) has fallen by 26%. Stock price reacted positively to the recent progress of game approval.
In this insight, we try to assess the significance of recent progress with a statistical approach.
3. Weimob IPO Quick Take – Less SaaS, More Ads -> Lower Valuation
Weimob.com (1260480D CH), a Tencent Holdings (700 HK) and GIC investee company, plans to raise up to US$135m in its Hong Kong IPO.
I’ve covered most aspects of the deal in my earlier insight, Weimob Pre-IPO – Can Be Steamrolled by Tencent, Anytime, where I spoke about the over-reliance on Tencent, high attrition rates and acquisition costs for SMBs, and the increasing contribution of its ads business.
In this insight, I’ll provide an update from the latest filings, comment on valuations and run the deal through our IPO framework.
4. Viva Biotech (维亚生物) IPO: When CRO Becomes Early Stage Biotech Investor
Viva Biotechnology, a China-based drug discovery company, is seeking to raise USD 200m to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. In this insight, we cover the following topics:
- Services provided by Viva.
- Revenue model of the company.
- The CRO market.
- The company’s history and shareholders.
- Our initial thoughts on valuation.
Our previous coverage on CRO Listings
- WuXi Apptec (药明康德) IPO: This A+H Listing Will Be Different
- Frontage Holding (方达控股) IPO: More Disclosure Needed to Understand Moat and Growth Prospect
5. Korea M&A Spotlight: Nexon’s Founder Plans to Sell; Will Tencent Buy Nexon?
It was reported today that Nexon Co Ltd (3659 JP)’s founder Kim Jung-Joo plans to sell a controlling stake in Nexon’s holding company NXC Corp for at least 10 trillion won ($8.9 billion). Kim Jung-Joo and other related parties plan to sell their entire 98.64% stake in NXC Corp, which owns a 47.98% stake in Nexon. The 10 trillion won or more anticipated acquisition price for NXC Corp would include a significant management premium. Nexon Group’s shareholding structure is basically as follows: Kim Jung-Joo → Nexon (Japan) → Nexon Korea → About 10 affiliates.
One of the reasons why the Nexon’s founder Kim Jung-Joo, who is only 50 years old, is trying to sell his entire stake in Nexon may have been due to the recent allegations about him giving about $380,000 worth of Nexon stock (prior to its listing) to his old high school classmate (who is now a senior public prosecutor) for free. Kim Jung-Joo has repeatedly faced allegations and attended numerous court hearings on this matter in the past two years. He may have gotten a bit tired from all these allegations.
Given the enormous size of this acquisition, the two leading Korean game companies including NCsoft Corp (036570 KS) and Netmarble Games (251270 KS) are not likely to purchase Nexon. Rather, the leading contender to buy Nexon right now is likely to be Tencent Holdings (700 HK). The sheer huge size of this deal will represent one of the largest M&A deals in Asia in 2019.
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