The tie-up of America's second and third largest tobacco companies - Reynolds American (US: RAI) and Lorillard (US: LO) - has been welcomed by investors in Imperial Tobacco (IMT). As part of the four-way $27bn (£15.7bn) merger, Imperial will pay $7bn for the established Kool, Salem, Winston and Maverick brands, as well as the next generation Blu e-cigarette brand. As a result, Imperial's US market share should rise to approximately 10 per cent.
This month, Imperial's chairman Mark Williamson has added a personal vote of confidence in the deal. On 11 August, he almost doubled his stake in the company, adding 3,955 shares to his pile at a price of 2,501p each, or nearly £100,000 in total.
In a subsequent trading update, the group noted that the ongoing violence in Iraq had dented its sales growth. The rise of Islamic extremists has disrupted distribution across Imperial's Middle Eastern markets, and specifically interrupted its stock optimisation programme in Iraq.
| Buys | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Capital Gearing Trust | Alastair Laing | 08 Aug 14 | 1,119 | 3,125.6 | 34,975 | 1,277 | 0.044 |
| Diverse Income Trust (The) | Michael Wrobel (ch) | 12 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 78.55 | 7,855 | 200,000 | 0.062 |
| Dunedin Income Growth Inv Trust | Peter Wolton | 11 Aug 14 | 3,417 | 261.74 | 8,944 | 26,630 | 0.018 |
| Elementis | Ian Brindle | 08 Aug 14 | 1,726 | 275.47 | 4,755 | 32,898 | 0.007 |
| Elementis ♥ | Ian Brindle | 08 Aug 14 | 3,616 | 275.47 | 9,961 | 36,514 | 0.008 |
| Greencoat UK Wind | Kevin McCullough | 11 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 109.44 | 10,944 | 10,000 | 0.003 |
| Gresham Computing ♥ | M Royde | 13 Aug 14 | 60,000 | 113.625 | 68,175 | 5,875,654 | 9.292 |
| Gresham Computing ♥ | M Royde | 12 Aug 14 | 60,000 | 116.3333 | 69,800 | 5,815,654 | 9.197 |
| Henderson | Angela Seymour-Jackson | 11 Aug 14 | 11,082 | 225.7 | 25,012 | 11,082 | <0.001 |
| Henderson Value Trust | Graham Oldroyd | 07 Aug 14 | 6,074 | 245.585 | 14,917 | 6,074 | 0.013 |
| Huntsworth | Lord Myners of Truro (ch) | 11 Aug 14 | 100,000 | 46 | 46,000 | 300,000 | 0.092 |
| Imperial Tobacco | Mark Williamson (ch) | 11 Aug 14 | 3,955 | 2,501.23 | 98,924 | 7,403 | <0.001 |
| International Personal Finance | Cathryn Riley | 07 Aug 14 | 4,681 | 533.999 | 24,996 | 14,795 | 0.006 |
| Poundland | Teresa Colaianni | 07 Aug 14 | 15,723 | 317.5 | 49,921 | 15,723 | 0.006 |
| PuriCore | Michael Ashton (ce) | 11 Aug 14 | 50,000 | 35 | 17,500 | 69,350 | 0.138 |
| PuriCore | Michael Ashton (ce) | 11 Aug 14 | 100,000 | 39 | 39,000 | 169,350 | 0.338 |
| Quarto Group (The) Inc | Michael Hartley | 12 Aug 14 | 3,000 | 142.5 | 4,275 | 5,000 | 0.025 |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings | Sir Frank Chapman | 07 Aug 14 | 381 | 1,039.75 | 3,961 | 7,434 | <0.001 |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings | John Neill | 07 Aug 14 | 306 | 1,039.75 | 3,182 | 43,551 | 0.002 |
| Rolls-Royce Holdings | I Davis (ch) | 07 Aug 14 | 190 | 1,039.75 | 1,976 | 18,083 | <0.001 |
| Savills | Liz Hewitt | 07 Aug 14 | 3,400 | 594.5 | 20,213 | 3,400 | 0.003 |
| Scapa | James Wallace (ch) | 08 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 127.45 | 12,745 | 860,000 | 0.584 |
| Small Companies Dividend Trust | William van Heesewijk | 07 Aug 14 | 3,000 | 165 | 4,950 | 85,000 | 0.514 |
| Spirent Communications | Ian Brindle | 08 Aug 14 | 3,046 | 97.48 | 2,969 | 31,450 | 0.005 |
| Spirent Communications ♥ | Ian Brindle | 08 Aug 14 | 6,946 | 97.23 | 6,754 | 38,396 | 0.006 |
| SSE | Peter Lynas | 12 Aug 14 | 2,000 | 1,451.9 | 29,038 | 2,000 | <0.001 |
| SVG Capital | Helen Mahy | 11 Aug 14 | 3,529 | 424.712 | 14,988 | 3,529 | 0.002 |
| Sweett | DC Wilton | 07 Aug 14 | 5,000 | 35.13 | 1,757 | 45,334 | 0.066 |
| Sweett | AC Lovell | 07 Aug 14 | 50,000 | 35.13 | 17,565 | 50,000 | 0.073 |
| Sweett | J Dodds | 07 Aug 14 | 50,000 | 35.13 | 17,565 | 50,000 | 0.073 |
| Sweett | PN Woollacott | 07 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 35.13 | 3,513 | 129,666 | 0.189 |
| Sweett | K Berry | 07 Aug 14 | 25,000 | 35.13 | 8,783 | 4,515,285 | 6.574 |
| Sweett | PMM Sinclair (cfo) | 07 Aug 14 | 12,500 | 35.13 | 4,391 | 52,263 | 0.076 |
| Sweett | MJG Henderson (ch) | 07 Aug 14 | 25,000 | 35.13 | 8,783 | 548,030 | 0.798 |
| Sweett | DR Pitcher | 07 Aug 14 | 25,000 | 35.13 | 8,783 | 2,054,648 | 2.992 |
| Sweett ♥ | RS Mabey | 07 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 35.13 | 3,513 | 370,210 | 0.539 |
| Sweett ♥ | DL Webster (ce) | 07 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 35.13 | 3,513 | 1,105,338 | 1.609 |
| Telecity | Michael Tobin (ce) | 08 Aug 14 | 890 | 729.38 | 6,491 | 696,000 | 0.343 |
| Telford Homes | James Furlong | 08 Aug 14 | 10,000 | 265 | 26,500 | 1,311,860 | 2.202 |
| Tungsten Corp | L Jopp (coo) | 08 Aug 14 | 13,778 | 301.8 | 41,582 | 22,498 | 0.022 |
| Sells | |||||||
| Company | Director | Date | No of shares | Price (p) | Value (£) | Holding (shares) | Holding (%) |
| Advanced Computer Software | Michael Jackson | 07 Aug 14 | 1,072,884 | 116.25 | 1,247,228 | 0 | 0 |
| Imperial Innovations | Prof David H Begg | 13 Aug 14 | 3,000 | 450.83 | 13,525 | 18,319 | 0.013 |
| Liontrust Asset Management | Jos Ions (ce) | 07 Aug 14 | 500,000 | 230 | 1,150,000 | 905,180 | 1.991 |
| Liontrust Asset Management | Adrian Collins (ch) | 07 Aug 14 | 100,000 | 230 | 230,000 | 403,998 | 0.888 |
| SVG Capital ♥ | Lynn Fordham (ce) | 12 Aug 14 | 35,000 | 426.649 | 149,327 | 478,209 | 0.228 |
| Whitbread | Christopher Rogers | 13 Aug 14 | 25,214 | 4,199.71 | 1,058,915 | 75,000 | 0.041 |
| * placing/tender/open offer ♥ spouse/connected party † depositary receipts | |||||||
