While reports about Fubon Financial Holding Co's (富邦金控) investment in rival Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中國信託金控) stirred acquisition speculation last week, market watchers said Fubon is unlikely to pursue a hostile takeover of the company.
Senior management at Fubon Financial have a realistic appreciation of the value of Chinatrust Financial, Credit Suisse analyst Sherry Lin (
A hostile takeover is likely to drive away the solid management team at Chinatrust Financial, which Fubon Financial respects, Lin said.
PHOTO: AP
The Chinese-language Commercial Times reported last week that Fubon Financial has bought more than 100 million shares for more than NT$1 billion (US$30.69 million) through its insurance unit Fubon Life Assurance Co (富邦人壽), which sparked takeover speculation in the market.
In response, Fubon Financial said that it had been pursuing a purely financial investment, while Chinatrust Financial said the rival had only acquired a 2 percent stake. To reach the 5 percent limit of an insurer's working capital stipulated by regulators as the point where a merger bid is underway, Fubon would have to fork out more than NT$10 billion.
While suggesting that a take-over of Chinatrust Financial may be premature, Fubon Financial's move testifies to widespread market interest in the company, which enjoys a productive franchise and improving prospects. The interest comes despite the investigations into the Koo family, the founding and largest shareholder, for its disputed takeover bid on Mega Financial Holding Co (
The investigations could also trigger Chinatrust Financial to expedite its plan to seek a friendly strategic investor, she added.
Chinatrust Financial is reputed to be in talks with Goldman Sachs for a possible alliance but the company has denied the reports.
Credit Suisse maintained its outperform rating on Chinatrust Financial in spite of raised loss estimate of NT$0.84 per share from NT$0.13 for this year and a 16 percent reduction in earnings estimate for next year to NT$1.58 per share, considering the company's plan to book an extra NT$4 billion to NT$5 billion to cover restructuring.
The target share price for the next 12 months was trimmed down to NT$33.3 from NT$34 accordingly, the research note said.
Pandora Lee (
There are no imminent threats to trigger instant expansion demand as none of the big players have doubled their size overnight through takeover thus far, Lee said.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS