Daily Brief Energy/Materials: JSR Corp, Azure Minerals, Oneok Inc, TechnipFMC , Westlake Chemical, Devon Energy, KEFI Minerals PLC and more

• JSR Corp (4185 JP) saw its stock pop Monday when an article in a Japanese paper said the Tender Offer would start “within the month.” 
• Investors went from “concerned about delay or worse” to “anticipating resolution.” Then Wednesday just before the close the stock popped as media outlets reportedly reported no SAMR approval was required.
• There has been no comment from either JIC or JSR but the discount to terms has gone from 6.9% last Friday to a 1.7% discount now.  

• JSR Corp (4185 JP) has filed a solid response to SUNY RF’s lawsuit. SUNY RF will counter with a response by 13 March. 
• The response suggests that SUNY RF’s lawsuit will not be harmed if JIC proceeds with TOB, which is the strongest indication that JIC is comfortable taking on the litigation risk. 
• A media article stating that SAMR has allowed JIC to withdraw its merger control filing helps explain the current tight spread. However, the article needs to be treated with caution. 

• Back on the 19th Dec, Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM/B CI)/Hancock offered Azure Minerals (AZS AU) shareholders A$3.70/share by way of a Scheme, a ~52% premium to the undisturbed price.
• Creasy Group (12.64%) and Delphi Group (10.15%) gave irrevocables. Mineral Resources (MIN AU)‘s 14.5% stake was unclear; but they exited on the 21 Feb. “Arbitrageurs should arb. Corporations should Corp“.
• The Transaction Booklet is now out with a Scheme Meeting on the 8th April. The IE says fair. Expected implementation on the 18 April.

• ONEOK has shown robust fiscal growth for the Q4 2023 and annually.
• The firm reported net income of $2.7 billion annually and $688 million for the last quarter of 2023.
• It conceded double digit growth in natural gas processing volume.

• This is our first report on oil and gas services provider, TechnipFMC. The company’s strong results in 2023 were marked by operational momentum and growth, with total company inbound for the year rising to $11 billion.
• Subsea orders, in particular, increased by 45% compared to the prior year, reaching $9.7 billion.
• It benefited from a record level of integrated Engineering, Procurement, Construction, and Installation (iEPCI) awards during the period.

• This is our first report on chemicals player, Westlake Corporation.
• The company’s fourth quarter and full year 2023 results present a mixed picture.
• While there are significant positives, like record income from operation and an increase in sales volume, there are also notable downsides, such as a sharp decline in profitability in the European base epoxy business.

• The fourth quarter earnings of Devon Energy showed promising indicators for the company’s progress and future outlook.
• The company highlighted four major themes in the update; their accomplishments in 2023, the positive projections for 2024 based on these successes, the valuable resources in their portfolio that underpin their growth, and the strategic priorities for allocating their free cash flow going forward.
• Baptista Research looks to evaluate the different factors that could influence the company’s price in the near future and attempts to carry out an independent valuation of the company using a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) methodology.

On 4 March, KEFI announced a firm placing of 750m new shares to raise £4.5m at a price of 0.6p/share plus a further 83.3m shares (subject to approval by shareholders at a general meeting on 26 March), also at 0.6p, in direct settlement of a number of the company’s liabilities. Finally, on 5 March, it announced the closure of a simultaneous retail offer via PrimaryBid to raise a further £0.5m via the issue of a further 82.7m shares. Assuming approval at the company’s general meeting, in aggregate, KEFI will be raising £5.5m (gross) via the issue of 916.0m shares, such that the final total, post-presumed 26 March approval, will be 5,881.1m.