Many of our advisers have requested more information on the stocks held in our Fund portfolios. In response, Allan Gray Portfolio Manager Dr Suhas Nayak recently held a fireside-chat webinar for advisers with the CEO of one of Australia’s leading companies: Sid Takla of Asaleo Care Limited.

Asaleo Care is an Australian and New Zealand manufacturer of everyday essential paper-based products which includes brands such as Libra, Tork and Tena in Australia and Purex in New Zealand. There is, however, nothing everyday about Asaleo Care which has had quite an eventful recent history. In 2012 a 50% stake was sold to an Australian private equity firm by a wholly-owned Swedish paper company (SCA). Just two years later, the company was floated to the public with SCA retaining its stake. More recently, the company’s Australian tissue business was sold.

You can read a full transcript of the chat, during which Sid discusses Asaleo’s business, its outlook and the impact of COVID-19. You will also learn from Suhas about the thesis behind Allan Gray’s original investment, why it is perceived as a ‘contrarian’ holding and how we view its value today. Read the transcript now.