The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers on AIM in London on Wednesday.
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AIM - WINNERS
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Finsbury Food Group PLC, up 23% at 109.68 pence, 12-month range 75.67p-110.06p. The Cardiff-based cake maker accepts a private equity buyout offer worth £143.4 million. The takeover offer is from investment funds managed by Isle of Man-based asset manager DBAY Advisors Ltd. DBAY offers to pay 110 pence per Finsbury Food share, a 24% premium to the stock’s closing price in London on Tuesday. DBAY currently holds a 13.6% stake, which is had began building back in August of last year. It currently holds acceptances for the offer for a further 12.3% of the company. DBAY will offer an alternative to cash for shareholders who want to retain an economic interest in Finsbury Food. This will be in the form of non-voting B shares in acquisition vehicle Frisbee Bidco Ltd. ‘I am confident that Finsbury will thrive under DBAY’s stewardship in the private market, with access to DBAY’s investment and operational support to pursue the current strategy of scaling Finsbury’s buy-and-build M&A in the future,’ says Finsbury Non-Executive Chair Peter Baker.
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Wishbone Gold PLC, up 18% at 2.72p, 12-month range 1.41p-10.50p. The Australia-focused mining company says the drill rig and support trucks have arrive at its Red Setter project in the Paterson Range, Western Australia. The equipment is operated by Strike Drilling. Says drilling is underway on the newly cleared heritage sites. ‘We are pleased to be continuing on from last year’s successful drill program which confirmed a hyperthermal gold/copper system. The analysis done in the meantime has added greatly to our knowledge of the system and provides additional targets on which to focus,’ says Chair Richard Poulden.
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AIM - LOSERS
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Tandem Group PLC, down 20% at 168.00p, 12-month range 158.00p-329.00p. The sports and leisure product retailer reports disappointing first-half results, and forgoes an interim dividend after paying out 3.43p per share a year before. In the six months to June 30, says revenue falls to £9.8 million from £12.9 million a year before, as it swings to a pretax loss of £1.1 million from £307,000 profit. In the period to September 15, revenue is £15.1 million, which is behind the prior year’s level of £19.1 million. Says toy sales in UK have slumped this year, despite normally being considered ‘recession-proof’, as outdoor toy demand takes a hit from poor weather. Consequently, revenue in Toys, Sports & Leisure fell 44% in the first half. Notes ‘encouraging signs’, and cites the continued success of its eMobility initiatives, with revenue in the segment rising 53% annually during the period. Still, it expects annual sales to be down 11% and 13% against market expectations, with underlying pretax profit to be around break-even. ‘We remain steadfast in our commitment to our strategic objectives, and the challenging market conditions have not deterred us from pursuing avenues for growth and exciting innovation,’ says Chair Steve Grant.
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Longboat Energy PLC, down 13% at 20.03p, 12-month range 8.00p-49.50p. The exploration and production company, active in Norway and Malaysia, shares a ‘minor’ discovery at the Velocette exploration well in Norway. Says exploration well 6607/3-1 S encounters hydrocarbons in primary target in Cretaceous turbidite sans in Nise formation. However, the volumes at Velocette are at the lower end of pre-drill expectations, meaning the discovery is ‘not considered to be commercial in isolation’. Will now plug and abandon the well as planned. ‘Although we are disappointed not to have made a commercial discovery in Velocette, the presence of good quality sandstone reservoir, which was the main pre-drill risk, and the presence of gas is encouraging,’ says Chief Executive Helge Hammer.
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