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News & Tips: Hogg Robinson, Trinity Mirror, Victrex & more

London shares are down, but not as heavily as some expected
February 9, 2018

London's indices are off again this morning but not as heavily as expected after more dramatic falls in the US and Asia overnight. Click here for The Trader Nicole Elliott's latest views. 

IC TIP UPDATES:

Shares in Hogg Robinson (HRG) are up more than 48 per cent this morning after the group announced two separate deals. The group is selling Fraedom, its payments business, to Visa for £142m in cash. The wider business is also up for sale, with GBT - which trades as American Express Global Business Travel - making an offer. The two deals are not contingent on one another, but the sale of Fraedom will increase the consideration received by each shareholder for the takeover to 120p per share from 110 per share without. We move to hold.

KEY STORIES:

Trinity Mirror (TNI) has agreed to buy the Express and Star titles from Richard Desmond’s production company Northern and Shell. The listed group - which produces the Mirror and other regional publications - will pay £47.7m of cash upfront, £20m worth of shares and a further £59m to be paid between 2020 and 2023. The announcement comes alongside a trading update in which management have raised expectations for the 2017 financial year.

Plastics specialist Victrex (VCT) appears to be trading well after a strong start to the financial year in which first quarter revenues were 41 per cent ahead of their relatively weak comparative period last year with sales volumes up by almost a third. But management did point out that performance has been boosted by currency moves and the recent strength of sterling could prove to be a headwind later this year.

OTHER COMPANY NEWS:

Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) has priced $400m of bonds due 2025 with a 7 per cent coupon, the proceeds of which will be used to pay the call price of Eurobonds which mature in 2019, general corporate purposes, and to, er, pay for the refinancing itself. The equity, which has fallen 40 per cent down in the past year following a number of operational delays and disappointments, took another tumble today to 252p, though this week’s lull in oil prices can’t have helped matters either.