In today’s briefing:
- Poon Moves On Dickson Concepts (113 HK)’s Cash Hoard?
- Korea Dems’ Surprise Proposal: Separate Tax for Dividends Over 35% Payout
- Fujitsu (6702) – Earnings/Guidance OK, Margins Better, But New Quiddity Buyback Data Tool
- Gunma Bank (8334 JP): Daishi Hokuetsu (7327 JP) Share Exchange to Establish a Top Regional Bank
- Dickson Concepts (113 HK): Controlling Shareholder to Privatise a Negative EV Play?
- Wanda Hotel (169 HK) To Offload Hotel Management Arm
- LS Cable Plans to Purchase Up To 70 Billion Won of Gaon Cable – Will It Take It Private?
- [Quiddity Index Apr25] KOSPI 200 Leaderboard Jun25: 6 ADDs and 6 DELETEs
- Lab Tested, Market Approved: KKR’s Biotage Bid Under the Microscope
Poon Moves On Dickson Concepts (113 HK)’s Cash Hoard?
- Dickson Concepts Intl (113 HK) (DC), which is principally engaged in the sale of luxury goods business, is suspended pursuant to the Takeovers Code.
- DC’s Chairman, Dickson Poon (& spouse), hold 60.5%. Super-net-cash rich DC is trading in sync with historical metrics. 1H25 (Mar Y/E) net profit dropped 40.1%. Shares are roughly flat yoy.
- Given DC’s cash hoard, taking the company private makes sense. I doubt Poon is seeking to exit his stake.
Korea Dems’ Surprise Proposal: Separate Tax for Dividends Over 35% Payout
- The bill submitted by the Democratic Party today highlights that separate taxation on dividend income applies only to dividends from companies with a 35% payout ratio or higher.
- We might see re-rating on dividend stocks with solid cash flow but below 35%, especially banks over telcos. Holdcos like Samsung C&T, LG, and Hyundai Glovis could attract attention too.
- Dark horses like NAVER, with earnings potential, and Samsung Electronics, currently at 25%, could attract attention if they increase payouts to 35%.
Fujitsu (6702) – Earnings/Guidance OK, Margins Better, But New Quiddity Buyback Data Tool
- Fujitsu Earnings. Revenues +2.1%, OP +77.5%, Pretax +65.1%, Net -13.0% (basis effect from FY23 one-offs). Forecast? Revs -2.8%, OP/adj +35.8%/+17.2%, Net/adj +77.4%/+3.7%. All guided measures shy vs the Street consensus.
- The company presented a progress update on its Medium-Term Management Plan. Core profits are better. Things are improving.
- The company also announced a big 11-month ¥170bn buyback. Last year’s was ¥180bn (completed 24 March). Worth checking out the details (and our brand-new buyback tool)
Gunma Bank (8334 JP): Daishi Hokuetsu (7327 JP) Share Exchange to Establish a Top Regional Bank
- Gunma Bank (8334 JP) and Daishi Hokuetsu Financial Group (7327 JP)/DHFG have announced an MoU to establish one of the largest regional banks in Japan by 1 April 2027.
- The transaction involves delisting Gunma through a share exchange with DHFG. A definitive agreement is expected around March 2026.
- The plan is long-dated. The lack of a controlling shareholder necessitates a “fair” exchange ratio. My estimated Gunma/DHFG exchange ratio range is 0.38-0.39x.
Dickson Concepts (113 HK): Controlling Shareholder to Privatise a Negative EV Play?
- Dickson Concepts Intl (113 HK) has entered a trading halt “pending the release of an announcement pursuant to The Code on Takeovers and Mergers, which constitutes inside information of the Company.”
- The controlling shareholder (Sir Poon) is likely seeking to launch a privatisation through a Bermuda scheme, particularly as the shares trade below net cash.
- While no disinterested shareholder holds a blocking stake, the headcount test and a decent AGM participation rate necessitate an attractive offer. The potential offer price range is HK$5.60-9.24.
Wanda Hotel (169 HK) To Offload Hotel Management Arm
- Wanda Hotel Development (169 HK), 65.05% held by Wang Jianlin, is selling its hotel property arm to Tencent (700 HK) and Trip.com (9961 HK)-backed Tongcheng Travel Holdings (780 HK).
- Wang Jianlin’s cash-strapped Dalian Wanda Group has been offloading assets such as the $8.3bn sale of its mall management business to a PAG-led consortium in March last year.
- Wanda Hotel proposes distributing all or part of the proceeds from the sale. Given Wang’s controlling shareholding, I’d tilt towards the former.
LS Cable Plans to Purchase Up To 70 Billion Won of Gaon Cable – Will It Take It Private?
- On 22 April, LS Cable & System announced that it plans to acquire up to 70 billion won worth of Gaon Cable.
- If LS Cable purchases 70 billion won worth of Gaon Cable’s shares (7.4% stake at current price), its stake in the company would rise to 89%.
- There are numerous options for Gaon Cable going forward including privatization or a merger with LS Cable.
[Quiddity Index Apr25] KOSPI 200 Leaderboard Jun25: 6 ADDs and 6 DELETEs
- KOSPI 200 is a Korean blue-chip index that tracks the 200 largest and most-liquid names listed in the KOSPI section of the Korea Exchange (KRX).
- In this insight, we have presented our final expectations for ADDs and DELs for the upcoming semiannual review in June 2025.
- We expect six ADDs and six DELs for the KOSPI 200 index during this index rebal event based on the latest available data.
Lab Tested, Market Approved: KKR’s Biotage Bid Under the Microscope
- Gross spread is 2.62%, implying a solid annualized return of ~22.0% assuming a June closing—an attractive profile given the minimal regulatory and financing risks.
- The market is pricing in a ~93.2% probability of deal success, reflecting strong confidence driven by Board support, substantial shareholder backing (36% aligned), and the absence of antitrust red flags.
- Challenging but feasible threshold: requires 84.3% of free flaot to tender to reach the 90% acceptance condition and enable squeeze out.
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