Thursday 16 August 2012

Media Chinese International - Proposed spin-off of the travel group


 It was announced yesterday that Media Chinese International (MCIL) has proposed to spin off its travel and travel-related business and to have a separate listing on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Ltd. The proposal is targeted to be completed by end-2012.

 MCIL will undergo a reorganisation as part of the proposal. As such, five companies with limited liabilities have been incorporated or acquired. 

 The proposal would result in a disposal of an about 25% equity interest in Charming Holidays. Upon completion, MCIL will remain as the controlling shareholder, holding circa 75% of the then issued share capital of the Travel Group. More importantly, MCIL will continue to enjoy benefits from the development of the Travel Group.

 As a recap, the travel group is operated via its indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, Charming Hong Kong and Charming North America, providing travel and travel-related services in Hong Kong and North America. As of FY11, the travel group contributed 15% of revenue, while the remaining 85% comes from its core business in print and publishing.

 Net proceeds raised from the proposal will be used to expand the travel group's existing business operations and the development of other travel-related products, without relying on MCIL itself.

 The proposal is at the preliminary stages, subject to approval of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and MCIL’s shareholders. More details are expected to be announced in the event the proposal pans out. 

 This enables MCIL to unlock the value of its investment in the Travel Group as well as to better focus on its core business. Separately, its earlier proposed capital distribution via dividends to its shareholders of RM700mil is still pending.

 Given the lack of details on the spin-off proposal at this juncture, our earnings forecasts remain unchanged. We re-affirm our BUY recommendation with an unchanged fair value of RM1.70/share based on a 10% discount to our DCF value.    

No comments:

Post a Comment