Location. Location. Location. That's how the old story goes with property, right?

Growthpoint tried to have all the locations, building a group of immense scale that became a pretty good barometer for the property market as a whole. As things have developed in South Africa (and internationally), a more focused approach has become appropriate. In the latest update, the group sets out where it will be investing its capital. It all sounds very sensible, especially based on my love of Cape Town. The V&A Waterfront is a perfect example of what happens when a well-governed city also happens to be very beautiful. People vote with their wallets.

It was another busy day of earnings news, with interesting stuff coming in from AECI, HCI, Nampak, Spar (don't miss that one), Tharisa, Transaction Capital (sigh) and Trematon. 

In corporate deal news, Pick n Pay has now confirmed that the two-step recapitalisation plan is complete. Things played out as I expected and wrote about in Ghost Bites, with the IPO of Boxer heavily oversubscribed and the share price closing over 17% higher on the first day. Mark my words: in a couple of years time, Pick n Pay will be trading at such a deep discount to the underlying Boxer stake that the management team will declare a value unlock strategy of selling Boxer to repurchase Pick n Pay shares. This will probably be linked to a suitable incentivisation structure that rewards management for such cleverness. Prosus - Tencent, anyone?

The final bit of deal news is that Santam is coming into the Sanlam - MultiChoice insurance deal. It makes sense, as Santam will focus on the general insurance (e.g. for devices) and Sanlam on life insurance. Honestly, based on what the MultiChoice app does to my blood pressure, I think Sanlam is underestimating the actuarial risks in that user base.

Get all the details on these stories and the Nibbles in Ghost Bites here>>>

For further company insights, check out the latest edition of Unlock the Stock, featuring agriculture group TWK. There's a lot to learn here about such a critical sector in the local economy. In case you're wondering, TWK is listed on the Cape Town Stock Exchange. You can watch the recording here>>>

The next edition of Unlock the Stock features KAL Group on 5th December. As always, attendance is free! You simply need to register at this link to attend.

By now you know that Friday means DealMakers. This week, the team brings you the usual summaries of South African M&A, South African corporate finance activity and African deals as well. There are also interesting pieces on pricing mechanisms in M&A deals, the near-term prospects for the private equity sector and how the Zimbabwean regulatory approvals for M&A deals work.

For something completely different to the world of listed companies, the latest Magic Markets podcast digs into alternative investments and an overview of 2024 through the lens of Westbrooke. Dino Zuccollo joined us to talk about how they performed across South Africa, the UK and the US and what the investment trends are on the ground. It's a great discussion that you'll find here>>>

Have a great day!

Here are two of the old-school names in the technology sector: HP and Dell.

I'll start with Dell, which isn't quite as dull as people thought. With more of a focus on AI than people realised, the share price has had an excellent year. Still, they have put out a forecast of fourth-quarter earnings below Wall Street expectations, with the share price down 9% in the past week. This kind of correction can easily happen when a share price has rallied so strongly. Even after the dip, it's up 66% this year.

HP is also hoping for an AI boost, although more in terms of AI-powered PCs. Hardware is a tough game. Consumers don't seem to be lining up around the block for these PCs, leading to HP putting out numbers that were below market expectations.

Our latest research in Magic Markets Premium is on Intuit. With businesses like QuickBooks and MailChimp in the group, this is a great way to play the SME trend. It's just a pity about the valuation. Is Intuit doing enough to justify the high multiple? Subscribers find out this week.

Key Indicators: USD/ZAR R18.04/$ | US 10yr 4.22% | Gold $2,661/oz | Platinum $946/oz | Brent Crude $72.56