ECM Weekly (17 Aug 2019) - Topsports, AGS Transact, Poly Property, WeWork

Of course, the talk of the town this week is the truly amazing The We Company (WeWork) (WE US)'s S-1 filing. There are already lots of coverage on the company but, so far, I have yet to see any bullish/contrarian argument. Sumeet Singh pointed out a few of the many eyesores of the company in:

• WeWork Pre-IPO - Problems with the Company's Profitability Metrics and Evasive Profits
• WeWork Pre-IPO - In the Business of Providing Flexibility by Being on the Hook for US$47.2bn

Beyond that, it is another fairly quiet week for capital markets across Asia. We had the decent debut of FINEOS (FCL AU) in Australia but, next week, the focus will be on Spandana Sphoorty Financial (SSFL IN) and Sterling & Wilson Solar (SWSL IN) in India. The two companies' IPO subscription levels were weak by India IPO standards but it will still be interesting to watch as IPO activity seems to be ramping up in India after a long lull.

• AGS Transact Technologies IPO - High on Cash but Low on Profit

Hong Kong has been fairly quiet but we have already started to look into some new filings and upcoming IPO lock-up expiry.

• Poly Property Development (保利物业发展) IPO Early Thoughts - Well-Rounded Company
• CStone Pharma's (基石药业) Lock-Up Expiry - Analysis of Potential Selling Shareholders
• CStone Pharma's (基石药业) Lock-Up Expiry - Lack of Material Newsflow for Core Drug Candidates

There were a couple of placements across Asia. Notably, Temasek selling down its stake in Intouch Holdings (INTUCH TB) which has held up fairly well despite the large deal size.

• Intouch Placement: Attractive Holdco Discount and Good Track Record of past Deals

JC Flowers also announced last week that it was selling down most of its stake in Shinsei Bank (8303 JP) which marks the end of an era as the company had been investors in the Japanese bank since 2000. Earliest pricing date will be on the 20th of August. In

• Shinsei Bank Placement - A Long Time Coming