Best ASX Hydrogen ETF Reviewed

WTF is the Metaverse & Do you need to Care? + CSLs $16.4Bn Acquisition, is it a buy?

G’day Money Pals!

Firstly, this newsletter will be my last for 2021. Like most of you, I’ll be taking a few weeks off The Money Pal to relax, recharge, and plan some new content for 2022!

This year has certainly been a game-changer for me, thanks to my, shall we say ‘hiccup’ in January. That experience has made me all the more motivated to keep making investing wisdom go viral in 2022!

So with that said, I’d like to thank you all for your continued support throughout the year and wish you a Merry Christmas & A Very Happy New Year!

🚨 New Article 🚨 - Hydrogen (ASX: HGEN) ETF Review

Thematic ETFs like ETF Securities ETF, HGEN are designed to invest in a range of companies that stand to take advantage of potential megatrends in technology, society, and the environment.

Thanks to HGEN, the Clean Energy megatrend is no exception. In this article, I’m getting under the hood of HGEN, its key industry drivers and outlook + sharing my verdict.

You can read the full article via the link below ⬇️

What Caught My 👀 This Week

Apple is on its way to being the first company to hit a $3 trillion market cap! As of the Closing Bell on Wednesday, Apple’s stock was sitting at $171 per share, and it only needs to hit $182.85 before crossing the historic point.

#From Around The Web

WTF is the Metaverse, and should you care?

Just last week Meta Platforms, formerly known as Facebook spent $60 million to buy the naming rights to the word “Meta” held by the financial services company Meta Financial Group. If that isn’t a dead giveaway that Zuckerberg & co are going all-in on the Metaverse, then their name change does the trick.

It’s a courageous thing to publically pivot a hugely successful behemoth in a new direction. But Facebook didn’t morph into a giant by watching from the sidelines, it got there by innovating. Their focus on the Metaverse is consistent with their culture of innovation, for better or worse.

But what exactly is the metaverse, and why is Zuckerberg’s company investing 10 billion U.S. dollars? There is no agreed definition for the Metaverse, however, Meta Platforms define it as “a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you.” Here’s a keynote from Meta unpacking their plans to take on the Metaverse.

Facebook isn’t the only one attempting to monetise the Metaverse. Nike recently acquired virtual shoemaker, RTFKT for an undisclosed amount, however, the company was recently valued at 33M during a seed round.

The acquisition is set to help Nike expedite its production of virtual wearables. Nike CEO John Donohoe said the “acquisition is another step that accelerates Nike's digital transformation and allows us to serve athletes and creators at the intersection of sport, creativity, gaming and culture.”

This article from the verge shares everything you need to know about the metaverse, and why you need to care about it.

CSLs Next Frontier

For those that don’t know CSL intimately, let me start by saying it’s one of Australias few global corporate success stories. In fact, I think it’s pound for pound Australia best export when you consider the scale of their operation and the competitive advantages they’ve carved out.

CSL is a global leader in developing and delivering high-quality medicines that treat people with rare and serious diseases. In doing so, CSL has generated enormous wealth for shareholders over the years. Just have a look at that Chart! It certainly explains why I’ve ever met an unhappy CSL shareholder!

This week CSL announced their $16.4Bn bid for Swiss Based Vifor Pharma.

The deal, which is would be CSLs biggest adds an additional revenue stream to complement their existing Plasma (CSL Behring) and Influenza Vaccine (Seqirus) businesses by providing access to new markets like Renal and Iron Deficiency, that have limited overlap with CSLs existing operations.

Specifically, it seems CSL is particularly interested in building market share in the kidney disease (renal) treatment market through this acquisition.

Kidney disease is a large market expected to grow in the low double digits through to 2026. Unfortunately, growth is largely driven by aging populations, rising obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Source: CSL investor presentation 14/12/21

CSL has a successful history of acquisitions, with their most Notable being Novartis. CSL acquired the Novartis influenza business for $US275 million in 2014 and spun it into Seqirus, which generated roughly 20% of CSLs $US 9.98Bn in annual revenue in FY20/21.

CSL CEO and Managing Director Paul Perreault had this to say when commenting on the deal:

“Vifor Pharma enhances CSL’s patient focus and ability to protect the health of those facing a range of rare and serious medical conditions. It brings an outstanding team and a leading portfolio of products across Renal Disease and Iron Deficiency and a proven partnering and business development and licensing strategy. Vifor Pharma will also expand our presence in the rapidly growing nephrology market, while giving us the opportunity to leverage our complementary scientific expertise”

CSL will be funding the deal through a combination of existing cash, debt and share placements to institutional and retail investors. The share placement program for institutional investors will raise $US4.5 billion at $273 per share. A $750 million retail share purchase plan will follow.

CSLs investor presentation below provides some more context behind CSLs rationale for the deal.

For full disclosure, I own Shares in CSL.

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