In this briefing:
- StubWorld: PCCW Is “Cheap” but Stub Ops Are Deteriorating
- MODEC: Add
- Panalpina To Have EGM to Approve One Share One Vote
- DSME Perpetual CBs Owned by Korea Eximbank: Situational Assessment & Trade Approach
- Weekly Oil Views: Crude Rises to 3-Month High but Further Upside May Be Limited
1. StubWorld: PCCW Is “Cheap” but Stub Ops Are Deteriorating
This week in StubWorld …
- Select media ops (Free TV and OTT), together with substantial losses booked to other businesses and eliminations, continue to weigh heavily on PCCW Ltd (8 HK)‘s stub ops.
Preceding my comments on PCCW and other stubs are the weekly setup/unwind tables for Asia-Pacific Holdcos.
These relationships trade with a minimum liquidity threshold of US$1mn on a 90-day moving average, and a % market capitalisation threshold – the $ value of the holding/opco held, over the parent’s market capitalisation, expressed in percent – of at least 20%.
2. MODEC: Add
Towards the end of 2018 Modec Inc (6269 JP)‘s share price dropped 46.5% as the price of crude oil also cratered, falling 44.4% . Since that plunge, the stock price has rebounded 53.9% as the company posted excellent results at 4Q and guidance, while conservative, was for continued healthy earnings.
Having visited the company today, we believe earnings should continue to be strong and actually strengthen over the next few years with MODEC likely to start running into capacity constraints over the course of this year.
3. Panalpina To Have EGM to Approve One Share One Vote
Yesterday, Panalpina Welttransport Holding (PWTN SW)‘s largest shareholder with 45.9% of shares out, the Ernst Göhner Foundation, made a formal request to the directors of Panalpina to hold an Extraordinary General Meeting to be held prior to the Annual General Meeting scheduled for early May 2019 so that the Articles of Association be changed – specifically Article 5 – such that the limit on transfer rights and voting rights enshrined in Article 5 be abolished and a “One Share One Vote” structure be adopted.
The directors complied with this request.
The limit to now has been that Shareholders have their votes capped at 5% of shares outstanding EXCEPT FOR the votes of the Ernst Göhner Foundation which were deemed “grandfathered” prior to the change. The directors have the right to grant exceptions to this 5% rule, as discussed in The Panalpina Conundrum a bit over a week ago, but have not, leaving the combined 24+% total held by Cevian and Artisan Partners with only ~11.6% of the vote.
This move by the EGF is both “sneaky” AND interesting (and bullish) news. Given the current shareholder vote structure, it wouldn’t be impossible for the EGF to vote it down in the EGM, but I think EGF very specifically do not want to vote it down because the alternative is worse. But getting this passed would suddenly change the outlook for a Panalpina/Agility deal or any deal which required significant issuance.
4. DSME Perpetual CBs Owned by Korea Eximbank: Situational Assessment & Trade Approach
- DSME has this ₩2.3tril worth of CBs that carry a 30 year maturity. Korea Eximbank is the holder. HHI wants no change. Eximbank wants out as soon as possible. Current price of ₩32,600 is nearly a 20% discount to the conversion price of ₩40,350. It’d be still better for Eximbank to do conversion/sale even at this price. This is 27.54%. It will create huge overhang.
- HHI should be given much higher priority than DSME even when they are under the same roof. DSME acquisition is supposed to help HHI first, not the other way around. HHI shouldn’t be much incentivized to help turn around DSME in the short-term. Not only that, pressing down DSME price would probably be the only way for HHI to prevent Eximbank’s stake dumping.
- In a longer time horizon, things would depend on the outlook of the entire shipbuilding sector. To minimize risks, I’d go for long/short with HHI. What should be at least clear at this point is that HHI should be outperforming DSME in whatever fundamentals situations we are dealing with.
5. Weekly Oil Views: Crude Rises to 3-Month High but Further Upside May Be Limited
Another week of US-China negotiations and another big boost to market sentiment. Stock markets as well as crude rallied last week on the back of news from Washington that the US and China were preparing to sign a framework deal in the form of several MoUs covering trade and structural issues.
But there are other economic concerns around the globe, and a preliminary deal between the US and China is not going to curb all the headwinds. Further upside to crude may also be limited because much of the anticipated rapprochement between the two countries has already been factored in. WTI prices stabilising well above the $50/barrel threshold are also likely to support strong growth in US production, which hit the 12 million b/d mark last week.
Nonetheless, there are factors on the supply front that could trigger a spike beyond $70/barrel for Brent, especially if combined with a turnaround in economic and oil demand growth expectations.
If that happens, we believe the Saudis will ease up on over-compliance with their own production cuts, either voluntarily or under renewed pressure from US President Donald Trump.
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