Korea Governance Value

3 Tender offer buyouts and one MBO Announced in Japan last night. 40-65% premiums. Keep going Japan. The path forward is delisting almost everything! Institutions and retail don’t want or deserve to invest in most public companies here. *DNA Chip Research Institute < 2397 >* Mitsui Chemicals < 4183 > is conducting a tender offer (tender offer) with the aim of making the company a wholly owned subsidiary. *The tender offer price is 1,100 yen per share* , 53% higher than the closing price on the 4th. The purchase period is from February 5th to April 7th. *Technos Japan < 3666 >* C68, a subsidiary of Ant Capital Partners, will carry out a tender offer (TOB) and aim to go private. *The TOB price is 1,155 yen per share* , 38.7% higher than the closing price on the 4th. The purchase period is from February 5th to March 21st. *Proto Corporation < 4298 >* Aiming to take the company private through a management buyout (MBO). Foresight, represented by Chairman Yokoyama Hirokazu, will carry out a tender offer (TOB). *The TOB price is 2,100 yen per share* , 64.1% higher than the closing price on the 4th. The purchase period is from February 5th to March 21st. *Tohto Suisan < 8038 >* Aso Tosui Holdings LLC will carry out a tender offer (tender offer) and aim to make the company a wholly owned subsidiary. *The tender offer price is 7,500 yen per share* , 39.1% higher than the closing price on the 4th. The purchase period is from February 5th to March 21st.

Value investing in Asia is particularly frustrating. While deep value often stares you in the face—companies with undervalued land, buildings marked at cost, or large stock portfolios—it’s tough to unlock that value. Many of these companies are controlled by families or strategic investors who prioritize their own objectives over shareholder value. The result is perpetually undervalued companies, especially in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, where they continue to trade at deeper and deeper discounts to NAV. This might be the tail end of the growth-versus-value rotation, and value could come roaring back. Or it might reflect a harsh truth: the market now accepts that these balance sheet assets will never be realized. More here: longhappy.co/p/gaijins-at-th…

Hahahaha. Buys back share at ₩890,000 only to issue new shares at ₩670,000 within four days. K-governance peak

Would be interesting to see if MBK unlocks value should they win the war for the majority. First situation of its kind where a private equity takes control of a chaebol.

It's crazy to watch Korea transform into a fully state-controlled economy in just one weekend. Am I the only one who keeps getting shocked at these headlines on short banning, price control on groceries, and redistribution of bank profits?

JUST IN: South Korea is banning all short-selling until at least until June to promote a "level playing field" for retail and institutional investors, per Reuters

IBKR does not have this stock available, so that's as far as I'll be looking into it. However, I just wanted to share the stock: $072870.KQ - Mega Study Co Ltd. There could definitely be a lot of value here!