Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

HK Type 4 license through Ballingal Investment Advisors Ltd. ("BIA" or "BIAL")

BACKGROUND
I have 20+yrs experience in Asia doing alternative strategies (i.e. non-delta1 non long-only) in fixed income, equity derivatives, and activist/catalyst/event-driven and long-short equity strategies with most of that time spent managing money. 

4 years in fixed income macro, 8 years running internal hedge fund and 4yrs investment banking at Citi in Japan, 3 years running an Asia multi-strat portfolio at a hedge fund, 4+yrs as an independent special situations analyst.

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

SPH Shareholders Approve Spinoff - There's Still a Spread To Earn

SPH Lobang - Holders So Shiok, Bidders So Kiasu. This May Not Be The End.

SPH Update: Keppel, SPH REIT Chain Offer, and Cuscaden Strategy

Singapore Press Own Time Own Target Restructuring Lor... (Come I Clap For You)

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

Just under three months ago, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/singapore-press-holdings-limited" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:9952:1" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP)</a> which is a mini-conglomerate of major Singaporean media interests, an investment fund, and a diverse collection of development and leasing assets in the real estate business, announced that it would restructure, hiving off the media assets into a SPINCO, granting it a pile of cash and assets designed to allow it to work through its problems to stand on its own, then it would be REMAINCO for the real estate and investment assets. This was discussed in <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/insights/singapore-press-own-time-own-target-restructuring-lor-come-i-clap-for-you" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="insights:51141" rel="noopener">Singapore Press Own Time Own Target Restructuring Lor... (Come I Clap For You)</a>. The shares dropped on the announcement because SPH was giving away cash to the media business. It was costing them money to throw it away. At the time, I suggested that the pre-announcement price of S$1.79/share was reasonably full when looking at the future SPH REMAINCO at something like 0.84x Adjusted Post-Deal P/NAV. Since then, as real estate in Singapore has rallied, SPH shares have rallied from the low S$1.50s where they fell to Friday's S$1.88/share.<h3>The NEW News</h3>This morning we get news that after a period of further review, SPH has decided to accept (<a href="https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/Proposed%20Privatisation%20of%20SPH%20by%20Keppel%20-%20Joint%20Announcement.ashx?App=Announcement&amp;FileID=676909" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announcement</a>, <a href="https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/Proposed%20Privatisation%20of%20SPH%20by%20Keppel%20-%20Media%20Release.ashx?App=Announcement&amp;FileID=676910" target="_blank" rel="noopener">press release</a>, <a href="https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/Proposed%20Privatisation%20of%20SPH%20by%20Keppel%20-%20Presentation.ashx?App=Announcement&amp;FileID=676911" target="_blank" rel="noopener">presentation</a>) being taken over by <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/keppel-corp-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:12:1" rel="noopener">Keppel Corp (KEP SP)</a> based on a Scheme which will deliver to SPH holders S$0.668 in cash, 0.596 units of Keppel REIT, and 0.782 units of SPH REIT through a distribution of 45.4% of SPH's stake in the REIT.Based on the closing prices of 30 July 2021, that would be S$2.099/share or an 11.6% premium to the close. Any dividend that SPH would declare for the fiscal year ending 31 August 2021 would be additive (consensus estimates currently imply ~S$0.02-0.03/share (details in the footnote at the bottom of <a href="https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/Proposed%20Privatisation%20of%20SPH%20by%20Keppel%20-%20Joint%20Announcement.ashx?App=Announcement&amp;FileID=676909" target="_blank" rel="noopener">p3</a>).There are a fair number of conditions. Approval of the Media Business Restructuring at the SPH EGM later this month or September is a sine qua non - if that doesn't pass SPH shareholders, the thing is off. Then there is another EGM at end-Oct early Nov to approve the resulting deal.  The CEO of Keppel made a presentation on the deal, and his speech is <a href="https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/GCAT_Speech%20by%20CEO%20Keppel%20Corporation%20on%20proposed%20acquisition%20of%20SPH%20ex-Media.ashx?App=Announcement&amp;FileID=676925" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. He clearly says the SPH assets are a good deal for Keppel and go some ways to helping Keppel aim at its Vision 2030 goals through enhancing the value of the SPH assets. I note, however, that SPH shareholders get to sell their shares at below book to receive assets that Keppel is liquidating (and mentioning it as a good thing). <div class="content-highlight">SPH holders may be start to ask themselves "Hey Keppel, why you bo jio me?!"</div>There are more complications besides so they are discussed below.

Just under three months ago, Singapore Press Holdings (SPH SP) which is a mini-conglomerate of major Singaporean media interests, an investment fund, and a diverse collection of development and leasing assets in the real estate business, announced that it would restructure, hiving off the media assets into a SPINCO, granting it a pile of cash and assets designed to allow it to work through its problems to stand on its own, then it would be REMAINCO for the real estate and investment assets. This was discussed in Singapore Press Own Time Own Target Restructuring Lor... (Come I Clap For You). The shares dropped on the announcement because SPH was giving away cash to the media business. It was costing them money to throw it away. At the time, I suggested that the pre-announcement price of S$1.79/share was reasonably full when looking at the future SPH REMAINCO at something like 0.84x Adjusted Post-Deal P/NAV. Since then, as real estate in Singapore has rallied, SPH shares have rallied from the low S$1.50s where they fell to Friday's S$1.88/share.The NEW NewsThis morning we get news that after a period of further review, SPH has decided to accept (announcement, press release, presentation) being taken over by Keppel Corp (KEP SP) based on a Scheme which will deliver to SPH holders S$0.668 in cash, 0.596 units of Keppel REIT, and 0.782 units of SPH REIT through a distribution of 45.4% of SPH's stake in the REIT.Based on the closing prices of 30 July 2021, that would be S$2.099/share or an 11.6% premium to the close. Any dividend that SPH would declare for the fiscal year ending 31 August 2021 would be additive (consensus estimates currently imply ~S$0.02-0.03/share (details in the footnote at the bottom of p3).There are a fair number of conditions. Approval of the Media Business Restructuring at the SPH EGM later this month or September is a sine qua non - if that doesn't pass SPH shareholders, the thing is off. Then there is another EGM at end-Oct early Nov to approve the resulting deal.  The CEO of Keppel made a presentation on the deal, and his speech is here. He clearly says the SPH assets are a good deal for Keppel and go some ways to helping Keppel aim at its Vision 2030 goals through enhancing the value of the SPH assets. I note, however, that SPH shareholders get to sell their shares at below book to receive assets that Keppel is liquidating (and mentioning it as a good thing). SPH holders may be start to ask themselves "Hey Keppel, why you bo jio me?!"There are more complications besides so they are discussed below. 

Alamak! SPH Restructuring Restructured as Keppel Bo Jios SPH Holders