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RNS Number : 4856H  AVI Global Trust PLC  13 November 2025

 

AVI GLOBAL TRUST PLC

 

Monthly Update

 

AVI Global Trust plc (the "Company") presents its Update, reporting
performance figures for the month ended 31 October 2025.

 

This Monthly Newsletter is available on the Company's website at:
AGT-OCTOBER-2025.pdf
(https://www.assetvalueinvestors.com/content/uploads/2025/11/AGT-OCTOBER-2025.pdf?mc_cid=d37204e113&mc_eid=335e1499b3)

 

This investment management report relates to performance figures to 31 October
2025.

 

 Total Return (£)    Month  1Y     5Y     10Y
 AGT NAV p/s(1)      -0.7%  11.1%  84.7%  207.7%
 MSCI ACWI(2)        4.8%   20.0%  94.6%  243.3%
 MSCI ACWI ex US(2)  4.5%   22.2%  67.2%  146.1%

 

All performance shown net of fees in GBP Total Return as at 31/10/2025.

(1)Net Asset Value cum-fair.

(2)From 1st October 2023, the comparator benchmark was changed to the MSCI
ACWI Index. Prior to this, from 1st October 2013, the comparator benchmark was
the MSCI ACWI ex US Index.

Source: Morningstar, S&P Capital IQ

 

Manager's Comment

 

AVI Global Trust's (AGT) NAV declined -0.7% in October 2025.

Samsung C&T (+43bps), HD Hyundai (+41bps) and Hyosung Corp (+41bps) were
the most significant contributors, and we discuss Korea below.

Elsewhere, Vivendi also contributed (+37bps) and Christian Dior added (+36bps)
during a month in which LVMH published a Q3 sales update - the shares have now
risen more than 30% since we added to the position, as detailed in the June
2025 newsletter
(https://www.assetvalueinvestors.com/content/uploads/2025/07/AGT-JUNE-2025.pdf)
.

The main detractors were Gerresheimer (-85bps), News Corp (-82bps) and
Mitsubishi Logistics (-32bps). An update on News Corp follows later.

Korea

As discussed in the June 2025 newsletter
(https://www.assetvalueinvestors.com/content/uploads/2025/07/AGT-JUNE-2025.pdf)
we have been building our exposure to Korea in light of the on-going corporate
governance reform agenda and the rich array of deeply undervalued companies.

At time of writing (3rd November) Korea accounts for 9.5% of AGT's NAV.
Returns to date have been pleasing: with an average exposure since initiation
of 5.5%, the Korean names have contributed +1.1% to AGT's NAV, with a weighted
average total return of +25%. This has been driven by strong performances at
HD Hyundai (+54%), Hyosung Corporation (+71%) and Samsung C&T (+28%).

Notably, the performance has predominantly come from NAV growth, through a
combination of earnings growth and multiple expansion at our underlying
companies. The majority of discounts are as wide now as when we first
initiated our positions. The main detractor in the Korean portfolio has been
Amorepacific Holdings (-18%) - which is in essence a mono-holding company for
Korea cosmetics business Amorepacific Corp (accounting for 139% of its market
cap) as well as a hefty net cash pile (accounting for a further 41%). The
company now trades on its widest ever discount (52%) and we have been adding
to the position.

Many investors are waking up to the exceptional returns the Kospi has
delivered in 2025. One interesting feature of this, is the narrowness of
breadth - with Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix now 47% of the MSCI Korea
index (as at end of September), having contributed the vast bulk of returns.
Investors hoping to exploit the Korean governance reform agenda passively
might well be in for a rude awakening as to what bet they have inadvertently
made.

We believe the outlook for nimble, fundamental-focused investors with
experience of active engagement to be extremely compelling, with 68% of the
KOSPI index still trading below book value and 61% without any sell-side
coverage.

News Corp

Upon little news, News Corp shares declined -14% over the month, as a -4%
decline in the NAV was compounded by a painful -580bps widening of the
discount to 46%. This provides an opportune - if frustrating - moment to
provide an update on a company that has been amongst AGT's largest positions
for the last 18 months.

We last wrote up the position in the March 2024 newsletter
(https://www.assetvalueinvestors.com/content/uploads/2024/04/AGT-MAR-2024.pdf)
. At the time we explained that the investment case was predicated on the deep
misunderstanding and undervaluation of News Corp's unlisted stub assets, most
notably Dow Jones, and the potential for management / the family to take steps
to unlock value from the listed stake in REA Group, the value of which swamped
News Corp's market cap. At the time, we wrote that CEO Robert Thomson had
explained that the company was in "serious introspection about
structure… and  how to fully monetize a precious, prestigious
portfolio…That is indeed not an evolution, but a revolution".

Well - much to our disappointment - the events to date look more like the
Russian Revolution of 1905 than of 1917. There have been some small steps
toward value realisation. At the end 2024 the company exited Foxtel -
admittedly at a higher than anticipated valuation, albeit tempered by the fact
the consideration was paid in DAZN's unlisted equity. In July 2025, the
company announced a new and enlarged buyback program equivalent to c.7% of
then-market cap.

However, REA - the stake which accounts for 75% of News Corp's market cap -
remains the elephant in the room and central to any steps to unlock value and
narrow the discount. Management continues to talk the talk - stating recently
that "as for further strategic moves, the concentrated contemplation
continues" - however the market continues to place a low probability on such
steps being taken.

We are encouraged that one potential impediment to this has now been resolved.
In September, it was announced that an agreement had been reached amongst the
warring parties in the family, following legal proceedings in Nevada, related
to the Murdoch Family Trust (MFT).

Under the agreement the three wantaway siblings (Prudence, Elisabeth and
James) have monetised their portion of the MFT, leaving Lachlan (and Grace and
Chloe) as beneficiaries of the new controlling Trust, which owns 34% of News
Corp's B shares.

In our view, a resolution of the on-going succession battle was likely always
a prerequisite for structural reform, all else equal this development makes
the probability of steps being taken to unlock value higher. With that said -
as the last two years prove - predicting the timing of such events remains a
futile task, with the family firmly in control.

In such situations, it is critical to our approach that the NAV side of the
equation can work in our favour, whilst we wait for the event. In this vein we
remain optimistic. Results for the quarter ending June 2025 showed continued
positive progress at Dow Jones (37% of NAV), where revenues grew +7% and
EBITDA +13%. The Professional Information Business ("PIB") is performing
strongly (+10%), underpinned by Dow Jones Risk & Compliance (+21%) and Dow
Jones Energy (+12%). As PIB grows as a proportion of the overall business,
margins push higher, now at 25% vs. 13% in 2019, with incremental margins of
c.45%. Given the higher growth nature of PIB, we expect this to continue in
the years ahead, driving earnings growth for Dow Jones.

This growth and value remain poorly reflected in News Corp's share price. Net
of the stake in REA, the implied value of the stub assets stands at $3.3bn, or
approximately 4.0x EBITDA for the coming year. We believe Dow Jones alone is
worth ~3x the entire stub and note that the New York Times trades at 15x and
Information Services peers at 20x. Whilst timing remains uncertain,
prospective returns from the family and management taking steps to narrow this
discount and unlock value appear compelling.

 

Contributors / Detractors (in GBP)(4)

 

 Largest Contributors  1- month contribution  % Weight3

                       bps
 Samsung C&T           43                     2.0
 HD Hyundai            41                     1.9
 Hyosung Corp          41                     1.5
 Vivendi               37                     7.6
 Christian Dior        36                     2.6

 

 Largest Detractors    1- month contribution  % Weight(3)

                       bps
 Gerresheimer          -85                    3.1
 News Corp A           -82                    6.4
 Mitsubishi Logistics  -32                    3.2
 Entain                -28                    2.0
 Rohto Pharmaceutical  -23                    4.0

 

(3)All Figures shown as % of Net Asset Value

(4)Contributors and detractors from Factset

 

 

MUFG Corporate Governance Limited

Corporate Secretary

 

13 November 2025

 

LEI: 213800QUODCLWWRVI968

 

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