This weekly newsletter pulls together summaries of the top ten most-read Insights across Event-Driven and Index Rebalance on Smartkarma.
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1. Meituan (3690 HK): Big Passive Selling in December
- The announcement of the changes to the Hang Seng indices is on 22 November, the capping will use the close on 3 December and implemented at the close 6 December.
- Meituan (3690 HK)‘s outperformance over the last couple of months will result in capping of the stock weight in all major indices and passives will sell stock.
- We estimate passive trackers will need to sell 35m shares (US$866m; 0.64x ADV) of Meituan (3690 HK) and that number will change over the next 3 weeks depending on performance.
2. 7&I (3382 JP) – An ITO Family MBO? With Itochu? At ¥9trln? Maybe. Information Is Scarce
- Yesterday a news article from Bloomberg suggested 7&i was “considering” an MBO. Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP) later confirmed they had received a non-binding proposal from ITO Junro/family.
- The initial number was ¥9trln. If market cap? High. If EV, too low. That would have implied a price just over the first “grossly inadequate” ACT price.
- There is a lot we don’t know. This changes the landscape. It probably shifts the range trade, but it will shift more when we get more clarity on ITO-san’s price.
3. KEPCO (9503 JP): Index Implications of US$3.5bn Primary + Secondary Offering
- Kansai Electric Power (9503 JP) is looking to raise up to US$3.5bn via a primary offering and a sale of Treasury shares. Pricing date is between 26-29 November.
- Kansai Electric Power (9503 JP) is among the better performing stocks from the Electric Utilities industry and trades at higher valuations compared to its peers.
- There will be a fair bit of passive buying with around 29% of the offering being bought at the time of settlement of the shares.
4. Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP): The Rumoured MBO Price Underscores the Trapped Value
- In response to media reports, Seven & I Holdings (3382 JP) confirmed receiving a non-binding proposal from Junro Ito (founder’s son) and Ito-Kogyo. No terms were disclosed.
- Bloomberg suggests an MBO deal worth up to JPY9 trillion (US$58 billion), which implies an offer of JPY3,467.89, a 39.3% premium to the last close price.
- The “white knight” MBO undermines Alimentation Couche-Tard (ATD CN)’s offer and is a proxy for the restructuring plan’s value. Couche-Tard will likely walk if a binding MBO proposal emerges.
5. Nikkei 225 Index Rebalance Preview (Mar 2025): Ranking, Capping, Funding & Other Changes
- The review period for the Nikkei 225 Index March rebalance ends in January. There could be one outright change and one or two others driven by sector balance.
- Depending on the changes, passive trackers will need to buy between 8.2-20.5x ADV (8.75%-24.5% of real float) and sell between 9-38x ADV on the deletions.
- Fast Retailing‘s PAF could see a double reduction to keep the stock weight capped at 10%. There will be huge passive selling leading to funding inflows for other index constituents.
6. INDIA: Index Changes Due to the 45 New Additions to the F&O Segment
- The National Stock Exchange (NSEIN IN) has announced a list of 45 stocks that will be added to the Futures & Options (F&O) segment of the market from 29 November.
- There will be changes to the NIFTY Index, NSE Nifty Next 50 Index, S&P BSE SENSEX Index and the CNXIT Index over the next couple of rebalances.
- There are some interesting situations out there, including a change to the universe for the NSE Nifty Next 50 Index (NIFTYJR INDEX) that could lead to more changes.
7. STAR Chip Index Rebalance Preview: 3 Potential Changes in December; US$450m Round-Trip Trade
- There could be 3 constituent changes for the STAR Chip Index at the December rebalance. There will also be a couple of capping changes.
- Estimated one-way turnover is 5.05% resulting in a one-way trade of CNY 1.6bn (US$225m). Passives need to trade between 0.6-1x ADV in the potential changes.
- The forecast adds have underperformed the forecast deletes over the last month but there has been a marked improvement in performance in the last week. Watch out for more.
8. NASDAQ 100 Index Rebalance: Lovin’ It as AppLovin (APP) Replaces Dollar Tree (DLTR)
- AppLovin (APP US) will replace Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR US) in the Nasdaq-100 Stock Index (NDX INDEX) after the close of trading on 15 November.
- Passive trackers are expected to buy over US$1.6bn in AppLovin (APP US) while they will sell around US$250m in Dollar Tree Inc (DLTR US).
- AppLovin (APP US) is the biggest tech name outside the S&P 500 INDEX (SPX INDEX) now and is a high probability inclusion to the index at the December rebalance.
9. NEC Network (1973 JP) Tender Offer – The Landscape Has Fully Changed
- On 29-October, NEC Corp (6701 JP) announced a low-ball TOB to buy out subsidiary Nec Networks & System Integr (1973 JP). It deserved activism, but finding an activist was tough.
- On 7 November, it got an activist, and I wrote on 8-November the Landscape Had Changed that they might have bought 6mm shares more in 5 days. They bought 8.4mm.
- The Landscape Has FULLY Changed. The details now matter quite a bit. NEC has two basic choices. Neither are that palatable. But Target Advisor DCF was ¥3,073-4,688 without synergies.
10. CES China Semiconductor Chips Index Rebalance Preview: Three Changes in December
- There could be three changes for the CES China Semiconductor Chips Index at the close of trading on 13 December.
- Based on the assets tracking the index, passive trackers will need to trade between 0.1-0.3x ADV in the stocks.
- There will be selling in Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) (688981 CH) to cap the stock at 10% of the index weight.
