Q: Antti Aarnio-Wihuri is now 85 years old. He is the primary owner of the Wihuri group, which in turn is the major shareholder (~50% IIRC?) of Winpak. Your recent report on Winpak is great, but doesn't contemplate the eventual transition of Wihuri's leadership and what that might mean for WPK. Potential for Wihuri to buy the WPK that it does not already own?
5i Research Answer:
The listed ownership position is 55.6% today. Anything is possible, of course, in a transition, but it is hard to predict and thus forecasts are largely speculative. WPK has essentially been a consolidation/privatization target now for more than two decades. With lots of cash, good cash flow and a low valuation and a (slowly) declining share count, we've always thought, 'what's the point of it even being public?'. But the company seems comfortable in paying out special dividends to its shareholders. In an estate shuffle of course things could change, but it is hard to base an investment thesis on that point alone.