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Deutsche Beteiligungs or DBAN is a small German based middle market private equity firm that currently manages 2.5B in AUM. The company is valued below book value which assigns no value to its investment fee income which makes it attractively valued. Peers usually trade at a premium to book and 10 to 20 times fee related income. The company has recently expanded to Italy and into private debt which will allow the company to continue to grow AUM. I think DBAN is probably a nice place to park my money for the future.

Every year I move through my current portfolio positions and evaluate them against the original thesis. I first brought Village back in Feb of 2022 back when it was struggling profitability wise. Since then net margin has expanded from .98% in 2021 to 2.34% in H1 2024.

Sendas Distribuidora (NYSE:ASAI) or Assai is the second-largest grocery player in Brazil focused on the cash and carry segment of groceries. Assai executed a transaction with its former parent company GPA in 2021 to acquire 70 hypermarkets to convert into Assai stores. This transaction promised growth, which has materialized as of 2024. Profitability suffered as the company digested the large amount of new stores but this year’s SG&A to revenue is finally starting to come down, and the company is set to get back to 5% EBIT Margins. The stores are still relatively young, which should mean continued high growth coupled with a return to higher profitability means ASSAI could be a strong performer.

Summary of my Portfolio as of Q1 2024.

Newspapers globally are gradually shifting towards digital content amidst the waning print business. Over the past two decades, newspaper companies have faced significant challenges, with many experiencing their stock prices reaching their zenith in the late 90s and early 2000s, coinciding with the decline of print media. However, digitalization presents a promising avenue for newspapers to escape this decline. It holds the potential to not only reverse the downward trajectory but also trigger a reevaluation of stock prices, driven by anticipated growth and enhanced profitability in the market’s eyes.