Appreciate Group shares soar 58.54% to 41.3p on £83m takeover by PayPoint
PayPoint said it would acquire Appreciate Group in a deal valued at c. £83m. PayPoint agreed to pay Appreciate shareholders 33p in cash and 0.019p in new PayPoint shares for each Appreciate share held. Appreciate shareholders will still receive a 0.8p interim dividend for the 6 months ended 30 September.
The offer values Appreciate shares at 44p, a 69% premium to Appreciate's closing price on Friday. The deal will see PayPoint shareholders own 95% of the combined entity, with Appreciate shareholders owning the remaining 5%. PayPoint expects the deal to become effective in 1H 2023.
Caspian Sunrise shares rise another 15.28% to 4.15p on new oil trading subsidiary and maiden dividend declaration
Caspian Sunrise said last Thursday it was creating a new oil trading division, and declared a first dividend of 0.044p/share worth US$1.1m.
Caspian Sunrise said the new trading division would enable it to sell its own production directly to international and domestic customers starting next year. This is expected to yield a US$5-10 per barrel increase over the net price currently received by the company.
Caspian said its production was continuing at a rate of approximately 2,400 bopd.
Caspian shares jumped 41% on the day of the announcement and another 15.28% today. Shares are up 68% since the announcement.
Aston Martin shares rise 19.61% to 133.9p on continued volatility after last week's guidance downgrade
Aston Martin reported last Wednesday a pretax loss of £225.9m in 3Q, more than a 100% increase year-on-year (3Q21: 97.9m). Aston Martin pointed to supply chain challenges, logistics disruptions, inflationary pressures, and weakness in the GBP/USD exchange rate as reasons for the decline.
Aston Martin therefore lowered its guidance for the full year. It now sees wholesales in line with current consensus in the 6,200-6,600 range, compared to a >6,600 target before. Similarly, the company lowered its adjusted EBITDA margin growth forecast from 350-450bps to 100-300bps.
Aston Martin did record a 33% increase in revenue year-on-year to £315.5m (3Q21: £237.6m).
Amedeo Felisa, CEO of Aston Martin Lagonda commented:
"...I am personally involved in the steps we are taking to address the supply chain issues we have encountered during the course of the year. Whilst this has created short-term impacts on our performance, I am confident that with the actions we are taking, we will exit the year in a stronger position to deliver on our goals for 2023 and beyond."
Aston Martin shares slipped 15% on the day of the announcement, but have since recovered and surpassed the pre-announcement price. Shares are currently up 26% since the announcement, but still down 73% YTD.
Westminster Group shares rebound 15.63% to 1.85p on volatility after revenue forecast downgrade
Westminster Group said last week it expected revenues to decrease by 1/3rd compared to market expectations for FY22, and pre-tax loss to be approximately half of FY21's £1.9m.
Westminster said the forecast downgrade was due to "slippage" of a multimillion GBP technology project for the MENA region. The company still expects to be awarded the contract this year, but is "running short on time to deliver and recognise revenues in 2022, and accordingly, depending on when the order arrives, some of this revenue is now likely to slip into 2023."
Westminster shares fell 25% on the day of the announcement, but have since recovered to within 5% of the pre-announcement price. Shares are still down 43% YTD.