Daily Brief Industrials: Doosan Bobcat Inc, Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable, AST SpaceMobile Inc, United Airlines Holdings, Rexel SA, Textron Inc and more

• On 26 July, it was reported in the local media that there has been a major breach of duty by nearly 40 current/former employees at Doosan Bobcat.
• The fact that this material breach of duty was not revealed prior to the merger announcement adds to the argument that this merger/split/delisting should be either cancelled or redone. 
• We remain negative on all major companies involved in this deal including Doosan Bobcat and Doosan Robotics. The breach of duty at Doosan Bobcat adds to the fire. 

• ENEOS Holdings (5020 JP) has increased the Tatsuta Electric Wire & Cable (5809 JP) tender offer price by 8.3% to JPY780 and extended the offer period to 19 August.
• Eneos tried to get the required acceptances by refusing to bump and subsequently extending the offer period. The tactics failed as minorities required a bump due to the market re-rating. 
• While the revised offer remains light, the token bump and deal fatigue should suffice to nudge the marginal vote to accept. At the last close, the gross/annualised spread was 5.0%/85.8%.

• AST SpaceMobile has recently made headlines with a significant leap in its ambitious mission to build the world’s first space-based cellular broadband network.
• The company has announced the successful completion and upcoming shipment of its first five commercial satellites, marking a pivotal milestone that has already caused its stock to surge by nearly 25%.
• These satellites, known as Bluebirds, are set to provide unprecedented global connectivity directly to standard mobile devices, bridging the digital divide and offering broadband services in previously unreachable areas.

• The United Airlines Holdings second quarter 2024 earnings emphasized its strategic navigation through the industry’s capacity and demand fluctuations, where it maintained a leading position thanks to optimized operational tactics and strategic foresight.
• Revenues increased by 5.7% year-over-year, totaling $15 billion, albeit with Total Revenue per Available Seat Mile (TRASM) decreasing by 2.4% due to a significant 8.3% increase in capacity.
• This disparity between revenue growth and capacity magnification underscores the industry challenge of matching supply with demand efficiently.

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

• Textron Inc., a global aerospace and defense company, reported revenues of $3.5 billion in Q2 2024, an increase from $3.4 billion in the second quarter of last year.
• The company also completed the acquisition of Amazilia Aerospace, a digital flight controls and flight guidance systems firm for manned and unmanned aircraft, which aligns with Textron’s strategic goals and likely to bolster its capabilities.
• The positive performance was driven by the Aviation segment which realized higher revenues of $1.5 billion with a profit of $195 million, up $24 million from the same quarter in the previous year.