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A big plus for me is Hutchmed board, they have listened to shareholders and changed direction accordingly - this suggests they are at least flexible and therefore may well entertain being part of a larger group, that's my theory anyway.

Yespsb, see 'Kraft Heinz' thread for pet food links. Its a natural progression and well suited to non refrigerated auto warehousing and distribution.

No worries davey, its always good to have discussion especially during turbulent times.

In terms of valuation models, these are both probably still valid but not something hedge funds will take much notice of, otherwise I doubt we would be at this level.

Either the funds going short are trading volatility with a pairs trade, or they have some other cover call options perhaps - looking at Qube recently which move up and down short on THG, they hedge themselves with a humongous put option - goodness knows what the premium is to write that but that's their strategy.

The upside of course for those investing is it can create once in a lifetime opportunities, that is, if you can stand the volatility and wait it out ..

One other thing to consider is many hedge funds underperform the S & P, take a look at Systematica flagship Ai fund (blue something or other), terrible performance last 10 years despite having the best brains and tech to play with.

Maybe they plan on buying something ..

(lol)

Hutchmed highlight (literally in yellow) their strong cash position of nearly $900m, there's also a further $44m sat on SHPL balance sheet but this is offset by similar amount of borrowings.

Didn't Innovent recently report strong cash position?

"Yes, indeed, Innovent produced strong financials after the market yesterday. They raised revenue by 20% and they are very close to an operational profit and have $1.2bn in cash. They are at a similar inflexion point to HCM - but are larger with a more extensive product set and partnerships, including a strategic investment by Sanofi. I am hopeful the two companies will follow similar paths to success. We can all do with some diversification."

Interesting angle Jatw, so many tbh with M & A activity currently so high.

Both BGNE and HCM up 8% across the water..

Davey, heres a more general post as to why UK listed companies are attracting attention, not all bad news for us unvestors.

US funds just see the UK as one big toy shop and why not, take a look at the discount to US equities below, the disparity between the two has never been higher.

UK takeover activity

https://globalalphacapital.cclgroup.com/insight/uk-takeover-activity/

I don't have the exact figures but it seems as though not a week goes by without another bid or M & A activity, this is refelcted in the sustained drop for London listing, see chart below:

Number of companies trading monthly on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) from January 2015 to July 2023

https://www.statista.com/statistics/324547/uk-number-of-companies-lse/

A smaller pot of course means a higher percentage chance for those left, the actually number is less than just the quoted figures as many are out of bounds, for example defence or competition issues, some businesses are fairly valued too.

I would be tempted to watch CKHH for divestment of other interests, we also know now that major shareholders have steered HCM towards a more commercial path so they are at least listening.

If nothing happens it could be those same institutional holders push for capital return by way of special dividend and/or share buy back.

In essence something will give, we just don't know what yet.

Reads very well davey, noticeable change in tone towards commercialisation and shareholder value.

Still think takeover is the most likely option tho.

UN report, Climate change - not good news for us hoomans..

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/08/climate-un-report-shows-world-is-not-on-track-to-avert-catastrophe.html

THG v Boo

https://tinyurl.com/3fy2frs3

Lots of consumer facing companies are struggling, THG certainly has some advantages but I suspect the cost of onboarding new Ingenuity clients to more than offset gains elsewhere.

Its virtually impossible to guess, the board (and Matt) will no doubt be looking at new long term Ingenuity clients as a win for the group, analysts who have since changed their mind on what they want will focus on cash flow, CAPEX

The selling pressure imo comes from trackers, which act on economic data, for example one of the very large iShares trackers has dropped consumer discretionary down a notch.

I assume the other trackers have done something similar but too complex to follow in such detail, in a thin market this is easily enough to move the price down.

..more nodding required ..lol

EU levels per hectare are being reduced for those countries above the limit, Ireland for example had a concession but this has been brought more inline with other member states.

Not much info on this subject, but it seems as though using lower levels of nitrate fertilizer in conjunction with bio stimulants may yield similar or even better results.

BIOSTIMULANTS AS A SAFEGUARD TO PLANTS AGAINST POOR NITROGEN SUPPLY

https://www.biostimulant.com/biostimulants-as-a-safeguard-to-plants-against-poor-nitrogen-supply/

Number of companies trading monthly on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) from January 2015 to July 2023

https://www.statista.com/statistics/324547/uk-number-of-companies-lse/

Quite an open piece here, interview with Commerce Secretary Raimondo

“Not decoupling our economy is critical, not just for our economy but for our national security,” she said. “We have to do business where we can, communicate and have dialogue where we can, and never compromise our national security.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/05/secretary-raimondo-us-businesses-are-desperate-for-dialogue-with-china.html

Not sure if anyone has been following the 'pay for news' saga unfolding within social media platforms - update below, but looks like great timing for a news led acquisition ..

---------------------------------

Facebook users in the U.K., France and Germany will soon no longer be able to access a dedicated tab to view news articles.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/05/facebook-is-getting-rid-of-the-news-tab-in-europe.html

Its good that THG can announce these under BAU rules, one point worth reiterating is costs associated with onboarding new clients, its mostly upfront hence the long sometimes five year agreements.

Not sure if these new partnerships have appeared yet on aggregator sites, interesting to see how long it takes.

Bowled over with progress so far, couldn't ask for more as a shareholder.

This is something I envisaged for Ulta or e.l.f beauty in the USA, big presence in salons with relatively small exposure D2C

"In collaboration with Ingenuity, Skin Virtue, a prominent cleanical skincare brand with a network of 100 salons in Australia, has unveiled its first direct-to-consumer and B2B sites in the UK, utilising Ingenuity’s complete commerce solution across technology, operational solutions and marketing. Ingenuity will be instrumental in enabling the brand's expansion into Australian, European and US markets. "

https://www.thg.com/news/ingenuity-strengthens-australian-market-presence-with-a-string-of-successful-brand-partnerships

Dafad good spot

Ingenuity customers are woven into the fabric, almost seamless, great business model.