Vectura Group (VEC) shares ticked up 32.59% to 161.7p as it agrees to £958m takeover
The pharmaceutical group focused on inhaled medicines informed shareholders that it had agreed to a £958m or $1.36bn, takeover by global investment firm The Carlyle Group.
Chairman of Vectura Bruno Angelic stated that while the board remained confident in the fundamentals of the business and its strategy, that the "attractive offer" proposed by the Carlyle Group secures the delivery of future value for Vectura Shareholders in cash today.
The Board has recommended an offer price of 155p per share, representing a 32% premium yesterday’s closing price. Separately, Vectura said it continues to make progress with its CDMO strategy and said that it expects deal momentum to continue during the year.
Wishbone Gold (WSBN) shares soared 21.41% to 19p ahead of project presentation
In a statement released this morning, Wishbone said Dr Simon Beams, the MD and Principal Geologist of Terra Search, will be presenting Wishbone's Halo Gold/Copper Project to an Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Conference this Thursday 27 May 2021.
The group said Dr Beams will present recent geochemical/magnetic results and geological understanding of the project, drawing comparisons to the geological setting and geochemical associations at the nearby 5m ounce Ravenswood Gold Deposit.
Metals Exploration (MTL) shares jumped 14.63% to 2.35p following confident outlook
Shares in the exploration firm have increased by over 30% in value in the past two weeks. Last week, the company released its final results for the year that ended 31 December 2020 in which it highlighted that FY21 is planned to be ‘a year of consolidation’ for the business.
The company, which owns the Runruno Gold Project located north of the Philippines, hailed its progress over the year after the firm reported record gold sales of 20,295 ounces in 4Q20, with total sales for FY20 of around US$122m, a 30% increase over the previous year.
MTL said it is ‘confident about the year ahead, and there are currently a number of projects underway to optimise operations at Runruno further.’ It also believes that considerable exploration upside remains with the potential to extend the current projected mine life.
CyanConnode Holdings (CYAN) shares rose 12.50% to 8.1p as it signs MOU
CyanConnode told investors that it has signed a MOU with Intellismart, a joint venture company formed by Energy Efficiency Services, and Investment and Infrastructure Fund.
Under the MOU, CyanConnode and Intellismart, which as a company is focused on expediting the deployment of 250 million smart meters across India, will work on existing EESL and Intellismart projects as well as new ones, in India and international markets.
The company said this collaboration will leverage its market-leading RF mesh technology as well as EESL and Intellismart's experience delivering innovative large-scale projects.
C&C Group (CCR) shares fell 13.26% to 263.9p as the firm posts €59.6m loss
Shares in the drink manufacturer fell after posting a drop in full-year revenues for the year to 28 February which caused the firm to swing to a loss as it felt the effects of the pandemic.
C&C said its operating loss of €59.6m (compared to €118.6m profit in the prior year) was ‘a direct result’ of the impact of Covid-19. Meanwhile, revenues also fell 56.1% to €736.9m.
Today, the group said it had launched a rights issue aiming to raise £151 million as part of its efforts to strengthen its position as it recovers from the pandemic and it looks to reduce leverage and provide sufficient liquidity to manage near-term trading uncertainty.