With the sharemarket having the wobbles again and defensiveness back in vogue, the folks at ASX-listed Arowana International are spruiking the virtues of value investing as they knock on doors with premarketing to raise up to $60 million for a new listed investment company. This one won’t trouble AFIC, Argo or Milton when it comes to size, but the theory is the same. No “rock star’’ culture among the fund managers, and definitely no spectacular two-metre jumps out of the water like the pearl arowana, the fresh-water fish from north Queensland from which the head company takes its name. A prospectus could be lodged in the next few days for the Arowana Australasian Value Opportunities Fund at $1 per share, with a free attaching option exercisable at 98¢ . Fund manager sources say Arowana’s Kevin Chin has hired good operators with the new fund to be headed by Gary Hui who recently ran New York-based Indus Capital, a $6 billion hedge fund founded by former Soros Fund Management Partners. Skin in the game is also being heavily promoted with the board and management to hold up to 20 per cent of the new LIC. It’s believed $30 million has been committed in the tin thus far. Privately, Arowana manages a smaller value fund which has delivered annualised returns of 18 per cent since launch in 2009. It will be stitched into the new listing. Arowana is relatively new to the ASX, having listed in April, 2013 at 35¢. It trades close to the $1 mark. In May, it spun out Australasian vocational education provider Intueri which is trading well above its $2.18 issue price. With most of its operations in New Zealand it’s been spared the contagion of the Vocation debacle.
AWN Price at posting:
97.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
