Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

David Blennerhassett

HK Type 4 license through Ballingal Investment Advisors Ltd. 

I'm a highly experienced sell-side analyst with in excess of 22 years of covering Asia Pacific equities, the past 19 years immersed in event strategies encompassing M&A risk arbitrage, directional long/short, stub trades and restructuring.  

My background also includes accountancy (liquidation/bankruptcy/receivership) earlier in my career and as a chief financial officer of a global commodity company based in the US and Mexico.

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Straits Trading Cheap As ARA Asset Exposure Monetized

Quiddity Advisors

Equity Bottom-Up

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<p><a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/straits-trading-co-ltd" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:15745:1" rel="noopener">Straits Trading (STRTR SP)</a> (STR) has a 22.06% stake in ARA Asset Management, after adding 1.1% in <a href="https://links.sgx.com/FileOpen/R706A%20Announcement.ashx?App=Announcement&amp;FileID=627835" target="_blank" rel="noopener">May</a> of last year for S$30.2mn. There is talk of IPO'ing ARA, some four years after it was taken private.  STR's stake in ARA, based on that stake increase, is worth ~60% of its current market cap. Yet that figure is likely conservative based on the increase in ARA's AUM. </p>
<p>Yesterday ARA <a href="https://ara.listedcompany.com/newsroom/ARAPress_Release_SMBC0Joins-ARAasStrategicShareholder_17052021.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a $500mn round of equity financing from SMBC. With SMBC joining as a strategic shareholder, this has all the hallmarks of an imminent IPO.</p>
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<p>STR is cheap. Either major shareholder Tecity takes the company private; or you buy the company as an indirect investment into an expected listing of ARA. </p>
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<p>As always, more below the fold.</p>
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Straits Trading (STRTR SP) (STR) has a 22.06% stake in ARA Asset Management, after adding 1.1% in May of last year for S$30.2mn. There is talk of IPO'ing ARA, some four years after it was taken private.  STR's stake in ARA, based on that stake increase, is worth ~60% of its current market cap. Yet that figure is likely conservative based on the increase in ARA's AUM. 
Yesterday ARA announced a $500mn round of equity financing from SMBC. With SMBC joining as a strategic shareholder, this has all the hallmarks of an imminent IPO.


STR is cheap. Either major shareholder Tecity takes the company private; or you buy the company as an indirect investment into an expected listing of ARA. 


As always, more below the fold.


Straits Trading: ARA's Pre-IPO Funding From SMBC