Engagement update
We have two situations which are public. The first is NBI Industrial Finance in India, a company which owns shares of a major listed cement company worth almost five times its market cap and which carries on almost no other business.
This month, we sent an open letter to the board which we also released to the press and uploaded to a dedicated website (link).
The letter was structured as a list of questions, in line with our policy of first seeking explanations for corporate behaviour before making our own suggestions.
In the first instance, we are asking: (more…)
Metrica Partners sends letter to board of NBI Industrial Finance
- Requesting explanation for zero dividend payout despite extremely strong balance sheet
- Asking why company persists with a structure that causes double taxation for shareholders
- Seeking to understand purpose of listing with almost 95% of assets in Shree Cement shares
SINGAPORE–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Metrica Partners Pte. Ltd. (“Metrica”) manages investment funds that are among the largest minority shareholders of NBI Industrial Finance Co. Ltd. (“NBI”, NSE: NBIFIN, Bloomberg: NBI IN).
NBI is a Shree Cement (“Shree”, NSE: SHREECEM, Bloomberg: SRCM IN) group company and shares its headquarters with Shree. According to Metrica’s research, almost 95% of NBI’s assets are represented by its holding in Shree and NBI has no debt. (more…)
Deal activity still resilient in Asia-Pacific
Recent headlines such as “With M&A Hit, Wall Street Bankers Keep Busy With Stock Sales” (Bloomberg, 28 May), “Bankers fear sustained M&A slump: ‘It’s impossible without face-to-face meetings’” (Financial News, 8 June) and “Pandemic fears grip M&A as deal making slumps to 23-year low in Europe” (MarketWatch, 30 June) suggest a very depressed market for corporate transactions this year.
However, the numbers in Asia-Pacific tell a different story: (more…)
Metrica Partners AUM reaches a new high
Metrica Partners is pleased to announce that assets under management have today risen to a record high, equivalent to more than thirteen times the level at which Metrica started three years ago.
The increase puts the business on a firm footing for long-term growth. Metrica would like to offer sincere thanks to everyone who worked hard throughout the various lock-downs to make this possible.
June update: which market has the fastest growth in new deals?
Transaction volumes continue to trend at high levels across the region. The chart below shows deal announcements this year (annualised) compared with the average since 2006:
One market stands out in particular: (more…)