IC TIP UPDATES:
Shares in Marlowe (MRL) are up 3 per cent this morning after the group announced the acquisition of Suez Water Conditioning services. MRL bought the group for an enterprise value of £4.5m. The deal will further expand the group’s water treatment operations in the UK. Buy.
On the back of a strong set of half-year numbers, Polymetal International (POLY) has secured a $250m long-term five-year fixed rate loan with Alfa-Bank, in order to refinance its existing facilities. In the first half of the year, the gold-silver miner’s average interest rate stood at 4.11 per cent. The shares remain a buy at 660p.
Shares in SDX Energy (SDX) are 8 per cent adrift this morning, after interim results for the North African explorer-producer revealed total comprehensive income of $1m for the period, despite stronger realised prices and netbacks. Second half production guidance has been re-iterated, though the drilling programme for 2018 now looks largely complete. Under review.
KEY STORIES:
All of a sudden, DNO wants to raise “concerns and dismay about the wider governance culture and shareholder value strategies” of Faroe Petroleum (FPM), the company it acquired a 28.2 per cent stake in earlier this year. DNO has abandoned a push for an extraordinary general meeting while it considers its options, but has now accused Faroe of a “disdainful attitude”, casting further confusion over the possibility of a takeover, once a no-bid period expires at the start of October. Separately, Faroe has also confirmed that the Agar Plantain well, in which the North Sea independent has a 25 per cent stake, was spud on Friday, and will take up to six weeks to complete.
Chaarat Gold (CGH) is to raise up to $100m through the issue of secured convertible debt. The funds will be used to fund the acquisition of an unnamed “medium-sized polymetallic asset” in the Commonwealth of Independent States, as well as general corporate purposes, the development of Tulkubash in the Kyrgyz Republic, and the refinancing of existing debt. The shares are suspended.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Boku (BOKU), the direct carrier billing company, has landed an agreement with Huawei – China’s leading smartphone manufacturer. Boku will provide a carrier billing platform as a payment method for purchases from Huawei AppGallery, Huawei Mobile Cloud and Huawei Themes. Direct carrier billing enables customers to charge purchases made on their mobile devices to their phone bills. Boku’s shares were up 3 per cent in morning trading.
Shares in EVR Holdings (EVRH) were up 5 per cent in morning trading, after the creator of virtual reality music content said its flagship MelodyVR platform had entered a multi-year agreement with Sony/ ATV Music Publishing Europe Limited, EMI Music Publishing Europe and Solar Music Rights Management Limited. This deal licenses the distribution of songwriters’ music from Sony/ ATV. EVR says it also “significantly enhances” MelodyVR’s library of original content.
Shares in IG Design Group (IGR) are up more than 4 per cent in early trading after the company announced the acquisition of US gift packaging company Impact Innovations for £56.5m. The deal will be funded in part by a £50m share placing with institutional investors, and management said the offer was “significantly oversubscribed”. The deal will create the largest consumer gift packaging business and is expected to be earnings accretive in each of the next three years with annual synergies of around $5m (£3.9m).
