petec Posted March 8, 2024 Author Posted March 8, 2024 21 hours ago, nwoodman said: Eurobank moving to a 50% payout means close to $200m a year in cash coming to Fairfax. That is staggering. Buffett talks about the Coca Cola dividend, Euro bank will be in that league 1166m shares x €0.15 x 1.09 €/USS = USD 190.6 Not necessarily - the 50% includes buybacks. But it is still great. Don't Fairfax have 1224m shares in total? If so, by 2026 the BVPS is expected to be E2.65 and rotbv 13% so it's more like 2.65*0.13*.5*1.09*1224=$230m. Lovely!
nwoodman Posted March 8, 2024 Posted March 8, 2024 1 hour ago, petec said: Not necessarily - the 50% includes buybacks. But it is still great. Don't Fairfax have 1224m shares in total? If so, by 2026 the BVPS is expected to be E2.65 and rotbv 13% so it's more like 2.65*0.13*.5*1.09*1224=$230m. Lovely! Agree with you and @Viking on the share count, I grabbed an old spreadsheet from my downloads folder, that will teach me. https://www.eurobankholdings.gr/en/investor-relations/shareholders/shareholding-structure A decent chunk of change that will improve their cashflow dramatically.
SafetyinNumbers Posted March 9, 2024 Posted March 9, 2024 (edited) On 3/5/2024 at 1:28 PM, SafetyinNumbers said: They also own Strathacona (SCR.TO) based on disclosure on the conference call that there was a mark-to-market loss on a Waterous LP investment. SCR is closer to a 20% FCF yield at $80 oil with capital return expected to start in H2 following debt reduction. Looking forward to seeing the annual report to determine how much they indirectly own. Wouldn't shock me if it’s a $300m+ position. There was no explicit mention of Strathacona but I think we can deduce from the note on limited partnerships that it’s the third largest investment at $235.3m. Based on SCR.TO ‘s closing price (C$21.43) at the end of 2023, I estimate FFH owns ~14.5m shares or ~6.8% on a look through basis. I think FFH is up $32m on it so far this year. It might be actually more but offset by carry accrued. In 2022 when it was private, the position was valued at $374.8m so it might still be a bargain. I think it’s a pretty interesting event driven special situation but also have thoughts of holding it for the long term. The GP is incentivized to get the shares to fair value. Their plan to rerate the shares is to start returning capital when debt to EBITDA gets to ~1x. That should happen later this year. At $80 WTI, they expect to have C$1b of FCF or a ~20% FCF yield on the current market cap after maintenance and growth capex. Besides quant and passive, the only other buyers on upticks are yield buyers. So it will be interesting if it works given there is a lot of competing yield out there. Management is contemplating a regular dividend with special dividends. Once the shares are rerated, they plan to use equity for M&A. This will allow for accretive growth, increased liquidity and public float. While they don’t state it explicitly, this will help the shares qualify for the S&P/TSX which will bring in passive buyers. That will give institutional shareholders a reason to look at SCR. Currently, no institution has to own it because it’s not in anyone’s benchmark despite being a C$5b company. Edited March 9, 2024 by SafetyinNumbers
Daphne Posted March 9, 2024 Posted March 9, 2024 Farming in the time of war: How Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Financial built an agribusiness portfolio in Ukraine ERIC REGULYEUROPEAN BUREAU CHIEF KYIV PUBLISHED YESTERDAY
lathinker Posted March 9, 2024 Posted March 9, 2024 Do people on this board have toughts on Commercial International Bank ? It is the largest position of the "Common Stocks - Mark-To-Market" section with a value of 480m USD per end of 2023. In the annual letter, Prem states that "The key driver of value to Fairfax and other foreign investors in CIB is the stability of the Egyptian Pound." Well, last week, we learned that the stability is a thing of the past since the EGP was devalued from about 30 to 50 per USD and Egypt received an IMF package. Interest rates stand at 28%: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/egypt-raises-interest-rates-by-600-bps-pound-tumbles-2024-03-06/ It is still a small position in relation to FFH and the development may not even harm CIB too much, but it underscores the risks of EM investing.
Viking Posted March 10, 2024 Posted March 10, 2024 (edited) As of March 8, 2024, my guess is Fairfax has an investment portfolio that totals about $67 billion, with the split being roughly as follows: In this post we review the holdings in the equities ‘bucket.’ To value a holding, we normally use current ‘market value,’ which is the stock price at March 8, 2024, multiplied by the number of shares Fairfax owns. For private holdings we use Fairfax’s latest reported market value, which was Dec 31, 2023. Derivative holdings, like the FFH-TRS, are included at their notional value. Additional notes: Mytilineos *: includes exchangeable bonds John Keells *: includes convertible debentures What holdings are missing from my list below? AGT Food Ingredients and new purchase Meadow Foods (2023) are two that come to mind. I just have no idea what they are worth. Let me know if you have an estimate. Ok, let’s get to the fun part of this post. What are some of the key take-aways? Below are mine. What are yours? 1.) Fairfax has a pretty concentrated portfolio The top 3 holdings make up 36% of the total The top 10 holdings make up 56% of the total 2.) Steady improvement in quality of the top holdings over the past 6 years: What happened? New money has been invested at Fairfax very well (FFH-TRS, buying more of existing holdings) Some high quality businesses have continued to execute well (Fairfax India, Stelco) Some businesses, after years of effort, have turned around (Eurobank). Some businesses that were severely affected by Covid have emerged stronger (Thomas Cook India, BIAL) Some businesses were restructured/taken private (Exco, AGT) and are now performing much better. Some low quality businesses were sold/merged/wound down (Resolute Forest Products, APR, Fairfax Africa). Some low quality businesses have shrunk in size due to poor results (BlackBerry, Farmers Edge, Boat Rocker). The important point is the quality of Fairfax’s largest holdings have steadily been increasing. And this should result in higher overall returns from the equity portfolio in the coming years. 3.) What rate of return should this collection of equity holdings be able to deliver in 2024? 12% return x $19 billion = $2.3 billion share of profit of associates ($1.05 billion) dividends ($200 million) ‘other’ consolidated non-insurance co’s ($100 million) investment gains ($650) for associate holdings, change in excess of carrying value to market value ($300 million) This looks like a reasonable target for 2024, looking at the solid prospects/earnings profiles of the current holdings. 4.) A slow shift away from mark-to-market holdings. Today, less than 50% of the total portfolio is held in the mark-to-market bucket. Back in 2019, my guess is closer to 80% of the total portfolio was held in the mark-to-market bucket. This shift should have the effect of smoothing Fairfax’s reported results moving forward, especially during bear markets. As a reminder, in Q1, 2020, Fairfax had $1.1 billion in unrealized losses (when the equity portfolio was much smaller). As more holdings shift to the ‘Associates’ and ‘Consolidated’ buckets, it is the trend in underlying earnings at the individual holdings that will matter to Fairfax’s reported results and not a stock price - earnings are much more consistent than a stock price. Lower volatility in reported earnings should help Fairfax’s valuation (as volatility is considered bad by Mr. Market). This shift will also start to create a Berkshire Hathaway problem for Fairfax: over time book value will become an increasingly poor tool to use to value Fairfax. Why? The value of the ‘Associates’ and ‘Consolidated’ companies captured in book value each year will fall short of the increase in their true economic value. Fairfax India is a good example of this today. Eurobank is a holding to watch moving forward. Bottom line, Fairfax looks very well positioned today. But the story gets better: like the past 6 years, I expect the quality of Fairfax's equity holdings to continue to improve in 2024. That will improve future returns. And, like a virtuous circle, the growing cash flows will be re-invested growing the companies even more. Thoughts? Am I missing something? What number below is most wrong? Why? Edited March 10, 2024 by Viking
SafetyinNumbers Posted March 11, 2024 Posted March 11, 2024 7 hours ago, Viking said: As of March 8, 2024, my guess is Fairfax has an investment portfolio that totals about $67 billion, with the split being roughly as follows: In this post we review the holdings in the equities ‘bucket.’ To value a holding, we normally use current ‘market value,’ which is the stock price at March 8, 2024, multiplied by the number of shares Fairfax owns. For private holdings we use Fairfax’s latest reported market value, which was Dec 31, 2023. Derivative holdings, like the FFH-TRS, are included at their notional value. Additional notes: Mytilineos *: includes exchangeable bonds John Keells *: includes convertible debentures What holdings are missing from my list below? AGT Food Ingredients and new purchase Meadow Foods (2023) are two that come to mind. I just have no idea what they are worth. Let me know if you have an estimate. Ok, let’s get to the fun part of this post. What are some of the key take-aways? Below are mine. What are yours? 1.) Fairfax has a pretty concentrated portfolio The top 3 holdings make up 36% of the total The top 10 holdings make up 56% of the total 2.) Steady improvement in quality of the top holdings over the past 6 years: What happened? New money has been invested at Fairfax very well (FFH-TRS, buying more of existing holdings) Some high quality businesses have continued to execute well (Fairfax India, Stelco) Some businesses, after years of effort, have turned around (Eurobank). Some businesses that were severely affected by Covid have emerged stronger (Thomas Cook India, BIAL) Some businesses were restructured/taken private (Exco, AGT) and are now performing much better. Some low quality businesses were sold/merged/wound down (Resolute Forest Products, APR, Fairfax Africa). Some low quality businesses have shrunk in size due to poor results (BlackBerry, Farmers Edge, Boat Rocker). The important point is the quality of Fairfax’s largest holdings have steadily been increasing. And this should result in higher overall returns from the equity portfolio in the coming years. 3.) What rate of return should this collection of equity holdings be able to deliver in 2024? 12% return x $19 billion = $2.3 billion share of profit of associates ($1.05 billion) dividends ($200 million) ‘other’ consolidated non-insurance co’s ($100 million) investment gains ($650) for associate holdings, change in excess of carrying value to market value ($300 million) This looks like a reasonable target for 2024, looking at the solid prospects/earnings profiles of the current holdings. 4.) A slow shift away from mark-to-market holdings. Today, less than 50% of the total portfolio is held in the mark-to-market bucket. Back in 2019, my guess is closer to 80% of the total portfolio was held in the mark-to-market bucket. This shift should have the effect of smoothing Fairfax’s reported results moving forward, especially during bear markets. As a reminder, in Q1, 2020, Fairfax had $1.1 billion in unrealized losses (when the equity portfolio was much smaller). As more holdings shift to the ‘Associates’ and ‘Consolidated’ buckets, it is the trend in underlying earnings at the individual holdings that will matter to Fairfax’s reported results and not a stock price - earnings are much more consistent than a stock price. Lower volatility in reported earnings should help Fairfax’s valuation (as volatility is considered bad by Mr. Market). This shift will also start to create a Berkshire Hathaway problem for Fairfax: over time book value will become an increasingly poor tool to use to value Fairfax. Why? The value of the ‘Associates’ and ‘Consolidated’ companies captured in book value each year will fall short of the increase in their true economic value. Fairfax India is a good example of this today. Eurobank is a holding to watch moving forward. Bottom line, Fairfax looks very well positioned today. But the story gets better: like the past 6 years, I expect the quality of Fairfax's equity holdings to continue to improve in 2024. That will improve future returns. And, like a virtuous circle, the growing cash flows will be re-invested growing the companies even more. Thoughts? Am I missing something? What number below is most wrong? Why? SCR.TO is held in the Limited Partnerships bucket but I think it’s about 14.5m shares so just qualifies for the top 20. Probably not worth tracking unless it makes an outsized move.
Viking Posted March 11, 2024 Posted March 11, 2024 4 hours ago, SafetyinNumbers said: SCR.TO is held in the Limited Partnerships bucket but I think it’s about 14.5m shares so just qualifies for the top 20. Probably not worth tracking unless it makes an outsized move. Thanks for the heads up. This one looks large enough. I’ll likely add it tomorrow
glider3834 Posted March 11, 2024 Posted March 11, 2024 12 hours ago, Viking said: As of March 8, 2024, my guess is Fairfax has an investment portfolio that totals about $67 billion, with the split being roughly as follows: In this post we review the holdings in the equities ‘bucket.’ To value a holding, we normally use current ‘market value,’ which is the stock price at March 8, 2024, multiplied by the number of shares Fairfax owns. For private holdings we use Fairfax’s latest reported market value, which was Dec 31, 2023. Derivative holdings, like the FFH-TRS, are included at their notional value. Additional notes: Mytilineos *: includes exchangeable bonds John Keells *: includes convertible debentures What holdings are missing from my list below? AGT Food Ingredients and new purchase Meadow Foods (2023) are two that come to mind. I just have no idea what they are worth. Let me know if you have an estimate. Ok, let’s get to the fun part of this post. What are some of the key take-aways? Below are mine. What are yours? 1.) Fairfax has a pretty concentrated portfolio The top 3 holdings make up 36% of the total The top 10 holdings make up 56% of the total 2.) Steady improvement in quality of the top holdings over the past 6 years: What happened? New money has been invested at Fairfax very well (FFH-TRS, buying more of existing holdings) Some high quality businesses have continued to execute well (Fairfax India, Stelco) Some businesses, after years of effort, have turned around (Eurobank). Some businesses that were severely affected by Covid have emerged stronger (Thomas Cook India, BIAL) Some businesses were restructured/taken private (Exco, AGT) and are now performing much better. Some low quality businesses were sold/merged/wound down (Resolute Forest Products, APR, Fairfax Africa). Some low quality businesses have shrunk in size due to poor results (BlackBerry, Farmers Edge, Boat Rocker). The important point is the quality of Fairfax’s largest holdings have steadily been increasing. And this should result in higher overall returns from the equity portfolio in the coming years. 3.) What rate of return should this collection of equity holdings be able to deliver in 2024? 12% return x $19 billion = $2.3 billion share of profit of associates ($1.05 billion) dividends ($200 million) ‘other’ consolidated non-insurance co’s ($100 million) investment gains ($650) for associate holdings, change in excess of carrying value to market value ($300 million) This looks like a reasonable target for 2024, looking at the solid prospects/earnings profiles of the current holdings. 4.) A slow shift away from mark-to-market holdings. Today, less than 50% of the total portfolio is held in the mark-to-market bucket. Back in 2019, my guess is closer to 80% of the total portfolio was held in the mark-to-market bucket. This shift should have the effect of smoothing Fairfax’s reported results moving forward, especially during bear markets. As a reminder, in Q1, 2020, Fairfax had $1.1 billion in unrealized losses (when the equity portfolio was much smaller). As more holdings shift to the ‘Associates’ and ‘Consolidated’ buckets, it is the trend in underlying earnings at the individual holdings that will matter to Fairfax’s reported results and not a stock price - earnings are much more consistent than a stock price. Lower volatility in reported earnings should help Fairfax’s valuation (as volatility is considered bad by Mr. Market). This shift will also start to create a Berkshire Hathaway problem for Fairfax: over time book value will become an increasingly poor tool to use to value Fairfax. Why? The value of the ‘Associates’ and ‘Consolidated’ companies captured in book value each year will fall short of the increase in their true economic value. Fairfax India is a good example of this today. Eurobank is a holding to watch moving forward. Bottom line, Fairfax looks very well positioned today. But the story gets better: like the past 6 years, I expect the quality of Fairfax's equity holdings to continue to improve in 2024. That will improve future returns. And, like a virtuous circle, the growing cash flows will be re-invested growing the companies even more. Thoughts? Am I missing something? What number below is most wrong? Why? thanks viking smaller private holding but Sporting Life/Golf town might be close to a top 30 - carrying value of US$61M (C$82M) or 4xFCF - potential market valuation?? revenues up ~50% since 2019 curious if anyone has checked out any of their team town sports stores - thoughts/feedback? https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2024/03/sporting-life-groups-team-town-sports-chain-expanding-national-footprint/
petec Posted March 11, 2024 Author Posted March 11, 2024 On 3/9/2024 at 1:19 AM, SafetyinNumbers said: There was no explicit mention of Strathacona but I think we can deduce from the note on limited partnerships that it’s the third largest investment at $235.3m. Based on SCR.TO ‘s closing price (C$21.43) at the end of 2023, I estimate FFH owns ~14.5m shares or ~6.8% on a look through basis. I think FFH is up $32m on it so far this year. It might be actually more but offset by carry accrued. In 2022 when it was private, the position was valued at $374.8m so it might still be a bargain. I think it’s a pretty interesting event driven special situation but also have thoughts of holding it for the long term. The GP is incentivized to get the shares to fair value. Their plan to rerate the shares is to start returning capital when debt to EBITDA gets to ~1x. That should happen later this year. At $80 WTI, they expect to have C$1b of FCF or a ~20% FCF yield on the current market cap after maintenance and growth capex. Besides quant and passive, the only other buyers on upticks are yield buyers. So it will be interesting if it works given there is a lot of competing yield out there. Management is contemplating a regular dividend with special dividends. Once the shares are rerated, they plan to use equity for M&A. This will allow for accretive growth, increased liquidity and public float. While they don’t state it explicitly, this will help the shares qualify for the S&P/TSX which will bring in passive buyers. That will give institutional shareholders a reason to look at SCR. Currently, no institution has to own it because it’s not in anyone’s benchmark despite being a C$5b company. I'm coming late to this s sorry if these questions are stupid. 1) What are these limited partnerships, exactly? Investments in funds? Or specific investments alongside a GP/manager? IN which case who is the GP? 2) Why do we think this is Strathcona? 20% at $80WTI doesn't feel outstanding given the other fossil fuel FCF yields out there?
petec Posted March 11, 2024 Author Posted March 11, 2024 On 3/9/2024 at 8:15 PM, lathinker said: Do people on this board have toughts on Commercial International Bank ? It is the largest position of the "Common Stocks - Mark-To-Market" section with a value of 480m USD per end of 2023. In the annual letter, Prem states that "The key driver of value to Fairfax and other foreign investors in CIB is the stability of the Egyptian Pound." Well, last week, we learned that the stability is a thing of the past since the EGP was devalued from about 30 to 50 per USD and Egypt received an IMF package. Interest rates stand at 28%: https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/egypt-raises-interest-rates-by-600-bps-pound-tumbles-2024-03-06/ It is still a small position in relation to FFH and the development may not even harm CIB too much, but it underscores the risks of EM investing. Like many EM banks, it is an exceptional business but the returns will be dominated by government choices. Ultimately if Egypt stays socialist, this won't work out, because inflation will be higher than the ROE. If Egypt reforms, however...
SafetyinNumbers Posted March 11, 2024 Posted March 11, 2024 2 hours ago, petec said: I'm coming late to this s sorry if these questions are stupid. 1) What are these limited partnerships, exactly? Investments in funds? Or specific investments alongside a GP/manager? IN which case who is the GP? 2) Why do we think this is Strathcona? 20% at $80WTI doesn't feel outstanding given the other fossil fuel FCF yields out there? Best to read the disclosure but would seem like mostly private equity type investments where FFH is an LP with a variety of GPs. I think SCR is in the portfolio because they mentioned a mark-to-market loss related Waterous in Q4 on the CC. Waterous owns 91% of SCR via their fund and is the GP. The disclosure in the AR showed that an oil and gas investment declined significantly last year and SCR was listed on the TSX in October via reverse takeover and promptly traded down more than a third from where it was marked. I think there is enough evidence to make a fairly high conviction conclusion that it’s SCR. If you are finding 20% dividend yields on $5b market caps in energy with 7-9% growth and ~30 year reserve lives, maybe SCR isn’t for you but it will probably help FFH get to a 15%+ ROE.
petec Posted March 11, 2024 Author Posted March 11, 2024 6 hours ago, SafetyinNumbers said: Best to read the disclosure but would seem like mostly private equity type investments where FFH is an LP with a variety of GPs. I think SCR is in the portfolio because they mentioned a mark-to-market loss related Waterous in Q4 on the CC. Waterous owns 91% of SCR via their fund and is the GP. The disclosure in the AR showed that an oil and gas investment declined significantly last year and SCR was listed on the TSX in October via reverse takeover and promptly traded down more than a third from where it was marked. I think there is enough evidence to make a fairly high conviction conclusion that it’s SCR. Perfect, thanks. I missed the Waterous comment on the call. 6 hours ago, SafetyinNumbers said: If you are finding 20% dividend yields on $5b market caps in energy with 7-9% growth and ~30 year reserve lives, maybe SCR isn’t for you but it will probably help FFH get to a 15%+ ROE. Wasn't a complaint, more a comment that the whole sector (with some clear exceptions) is fairly cheap. I didn't realise SCR was growing that fast, I admit.
Xerxes Posted March 11, 2024 Posted March 11, 2024 (edited) 10 hours ago, petec said: Like many EM banks, it is an exceptional business but the returns will be dominated by government choices. Ultimately if Egypt stays socialist, this won't work out, because inflation will be higher than the ROE. If Egypt reforms, however... If they are betting on Egypt reforming, this is a very bad bet. Egyptian economy is enslaved to its Army and the latter has deep entrenched business interests. Might as well call their army, a state within a state, with its pawn in everything including coffee shops Edited March 11, 2024 by Xerxes
SafetyinNumbers Posted March 11, 2024 Posted March 11, 2024 2 hours ago, petec said: Perfect, thanks. I missed the Waterous comment on the call. Wasn't a complaint, more a comment that the whole sector (with some clear exceptions) is fairly cheap. I didn't realise SCR was growing that fast, I admit. Any sector that doesn’t screen well for quants i.e. not quality, is pretty cheap I think. I like SCR in particular because Waterous is incentivized to get the stock up to do accretive acquisitions. Right now, it’s really hard for heuristic investors to own SCR but If they execute the plan, they start ticking boxes which will increase the number of potential buyers. The share price is just supply and demand after all. The dividend announcement will help in three ways. In energy, investors want debt/cash flow < 1x, they want a capital return policy and they want liquidity. The dividend ticks 1 and 2. The dividend should attract yield investors who don’t mind buying on upticks providing multiple expansion and liquidity. With a higher share price, SCR will be able to make accretive acquisitions and extend the tax shelter beyond 2026. This will also increase liquidity and give SCR a chance to get into the S&P/TSX. That’s the plan from what I can tell but we’ll see if it actually works or if buying shows up in anticipation of the dividend announcement closer to the date. I think six months away is too much for event driven investors. That are a lot of places to put money to work these days.
glider3834 Posted March 11, 2024 Posted March 11, 2024 On 3/6/2024 at 5:28 AM, SafetyinNumbers said: They also own Strathacona (SCR.TO) based on disclosure on the conference call that there was a mark-to-market loss on a Waterous LP investment. SCR is closer to a 20% FCF yield at $80 oil with capital return expected to start in H2 following debt reduction. Looking forward to seeing the annual report to determine how much they indirectly own. Wouldn't shock me if its a $300m+ position. will check this out thanks
SafetyinNumbers Posted March 12, 2024 Posted March 12, 2024 5 hours ago, glider3834 said: will check this out thanks SCR management is trying to help! They put out its reserves today and included a 4 page letter to accompany it explaining how quickly and accretively they have grown since Waterous took over in 2017 which is also presumably when FFH made its investment. https://www.strathconaresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2023-Reserves-Overview_Final-1.pdf i thought this table was particularly interesting from a comp valuation basis. They show it trading less than half of NAV. I can see this management’s approach to capital allocation and investor communication eventually get a premium multiple.
glider3834 Posted March 12, 2024 Posted March 12, 2024 56 minutes ago, SafetyinNumbers said: SCR management is trying to help! They put out its reserves today and included a 4 page letter to accompany it explaining how quickly and accretively they have grown since Waterous took over in 2017 which is also presumably when FFH made its investment. https://www.strathconaresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2023-Reserves-Overview_Final-1.pdf i thought this table was particularly interesting from a comp valuation basis. They show it trading less than half of NAV. I can see this management’s approach to capital allocation and investor communication eventually get a premium multiple. interesting
glider3834 Posted March 12, 2024 Posted March 12, 2024 8 hours ago, SafetyinNumbers said: Any sector that doesn’t screen well for quants i.e. not quality, is pretty cheap I think. I like SCR in particular because Waterous is incentivized to get the stock up to do accretive acquisitions. Right now, it’s really hard for heuristic investors to own SCR but If they execute the plan, they start ticking boxes which will increase the number of potential buyers. The share price is just supply and demand after all. The dividend announcement will help in three ways. In energy, investors want debt/cash flow < 1x, they want a capital return policy and they want liquidity. The dividend ticks 1 and 2. The dividend should attract yield investors who don’t mind buying on upticks providing multiple expansion and liquidity. With a higher share price, SCR will be able to make accretive acquisitions and extend the tax shelter beyond 2026. This will also increase liquidity and give SCR a chance to get into the S&P/TSX. That’s the plan from what I can tell but we’ll see if it actually works or if buying shows up in anticipation of the dividend announcement closer to the date. I think six months away is too much for event driven investors. That are a lot of places to put money to work these days. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investment-banker-turned-oil-tycoon-takes-canada-energy-patch-by-storm-1.2022426?taid=65a67416a212d8000144012c&utm_campaign=trueAnthem+Manual&utm_medium=trueAnthem&utm_source=twitter
petec Posted March 12, 2024 Author Posted March 12, 2024 Does the dividend go into the partnership and get reinvested somehow, or does it come to FFH?
SafetyinNumbers Posted March 12, 2024 Posted March 12, 2024 (edited) 36 minutes ago, petec said: Does the dividend go into the partnership and get reinvested somehow, or does it come to FFH? I assume when they start paying a dividend it will get paid out to the LPs after any related fees but I'm not 100% sure. If they DRIPed it, they would take it private again within a year at these prices Edited March 12, 2024 by SafetyinNumbers
petec Posted March 14, 2024 Author Posted March 14, 2024 On 3/12/2024 at 5:54 PM, SafetyinNumbers said: I assume when they start paying a dividend it will get paid out to the LPs after any related fees but I'm not 100% sure. If they DRIPed it, they would take it private again within a year at these prices If Strathcona and Eurobank dividends are not included in guidance, that's quite a bump!
Hoodlum Posted March 14, 2024 Posted March 14, 2024 (edited) Some interesting comments from Eurobank on how they plan to use Hellenic Bank for India and Middle East business, once they acquire the Majority stake. https://www.cbn.com.cy/article/2024/3/14/764158/eurobank-plans-to-make-cyprus-an-eu-gateway-for-india-and-the-middle-east/ Quote “Under the strategy we are designing and wish to implement, we believe that Cyprus can become the base for developing our operations and cooperation, as a group, with the dynamic economies of the Middle East and India,” said Karavias. “These are economies that in the next few years, the next decades, are expected to have very strong growth rates,” he said, adding that the aim was to turn Cyprus into the gateway for companies from the two countries to Europe. Rep office opening in Bombay As part of these plans, Eurobank is currently in the process of opening a rep office in Bombay, which will be headed by Eurobank Cyprus’ CEO Michalis Louis and will promote the group’s strategy. To this end, Louis and Eurobank’s COO Stavros Ioannou visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates recently, where they held significant contacts. The MoU with NPCI International Meanwhile, Karavias recently accompanied Greek PM Kyriakos Mitsotakis on a recent visit to India, during which important agreements were signed and new opportunities were identified to further enrich the two countries’ bilateral ties. Regarding Eurobank specifically, an MoU was signed with NPCI International aimed at creating a strategic alliance in the field of international incoming remittances According to Karavias, the cooperation with NPCI International is fully aligned with Eurobank’s commitment to become the bank of choice for Indian businesses seeking to establish offices in Greece or Cyprus, and launch operations in Europe. As he said, it is extremely important that the effort is being backed by the Greek and Cypriot governments, while Brexit has also helped as Indian and Middle Eastern companies are now seeking out other locations for their headquarters so as to continue their European operations. “We have the advantage that our main shareholder, Prem Watsa, who is the founder and CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings, is Indian,” Karavias pointed out. “Fairfax has created a subsidiary, Fairfax India, with many billions in investments in India. Hence, this gives us the ability to have a certain access through our main shareholder.” He added, “This is not an easy effort, but importantly, what’s pushing us to proceed is that there is a will on the level of governments to develop this cooperation. Therefore, it is something that we will invest in in the coming years and we are very optimistic about the outcome”. Cyprus’ role and its advantages Referring to Cyprus’ advantages in terms of attracting businesses from India and the Middle East, Karavias highlighted the island’s geographical proximity to them. Also, he said, Indian and Middle Eastern businesses use the English business language. Another factor is that India and Cyprus are both Commonwealth Countries. He emphasised the fact that Cyprus’ corporate law is essentially the same as that of India, which he said was a very important advantage, while there is also a double taxation avoidance agreement in place. “Cyprus has very significant infrastructure of professional services, it has the expertise on how to host foreign businesses, while the country now has a strong banking system that is supervised directly by the European Central Bank – which is very important in the eyes of foreigners – that can meet and serve the needs of foreign companies,” said Karavias. “Even if we manage to bring a small percentage of these companies to Cyprus, it will be hugely beneficial for the country’s economy.” Edited March 14, 2024 by Hoodlum
nwoodman Posted March 14, 2024 Posted March 14, 2024 2 hours ago, Hoodlum said: Some interesting comments from Eurobank on how they plan to use Hellenic Bank for India and Middle East business, once they acquire the Majority stake. https://www.cbn.com.cy/article/2024/3/14/764158/eurobank-plans-to-make-cyprus-an-eu-gateway-for-india-and-the-middle-east/ Fascinating. They have alluded to this previously but this is much more granular and removes any doubt as to who the facilitator is. It’s certainly not without its challenges but done well the upside is significant. Fairfax the Facilitator…kind of has that ring to it like “Maximus the Merciful”.
petec Posted March 14, 2024 Author Posted March 14, 2024 I was also interested to note in the letter that Recipe has started its expansion into India. The FFH spider's web is growing!
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