A further slip in the pound on more political uncertainty has given a boost to equity markets in London in early trading today. Click here for The Trader Nicole Elliott's latest thoughts on the markets.
IC TIP UPDATES:
De La Rue (DLAR) has announced the appointment of Kevin Loosemore as its new chairman. Currently heading up Micro Focus (MCRO), Mr. Loosemore will act as the banknote printer’s chairman designate effective today, replacing current chairman Philip Rogerson upon his retirement on 1 October. We remain sellers.
KEY STORIES:
Burford Capital’s (BUR) extended rebuttal of Muddy Waters’ short-selling note continues today, with an extended chronology of its investment in Napo Pharmaceuticals’ litigation against Salix Pharmaceuticals. One of the litigation funder’s earliest investments, the case has been the subject of investor inquiries following what Burford describes as “inaccurate and misleading” reporting by Muddy Waters. The group also said it plans to “provide a further presentation on other accounting and disclosure matters” in a forthcoming update, news which appears to have pushed the shares higher in early trading.
In a show of faith in his company’s revamped business plan – or a small bid to arrest the slide in the shares – Hamish Paton has acquired 50,000 shares in Amigo Holdings (AMGO), at an average price of 79.6p. The guarantor loans group saw its stock collapse last Thursday, after telling shareholders that impairments and relative costs were rising, and that tighter credit standards, higher spending on operations and compliance, and a prioritisation of new customer lending rather than repeat business was the new course of action.
The future of Debenhams is once again in doubt, as commercial landlord Combined Property Control will reportedly challenge the deal that saved the retailer in the high court - backed by Sports Direct (SPD). Sports Direct previously held a stake in the group, but was wiped out when Debenhams fell into the hands of its lenders. The BBC is reporting that the case is funded by Sports Direct.
OTHER COMPANY NEWS:
Smurfit Kappa (SKG) announced an offering by one of its subsidiaries, Smurfit Kappa Treasury Unlimited Company, of €500m of euro-denominated senior notes due in 2027. The packaging group intends to use the proceeds of the offering to redeem previously-issued notes due in 2020 and 2021, along with the costs of its latest notes offering, which is being privately-conducted. Smurfit intends to issue a notice today for the conditional redemption of the 2020 Floating Rate Notes, and a notice for the conditional redemption of its €250m 2021 Notes.
AB Dynamics (ABDP) announced the $24.7m acquisition of Dynamic Research Incorporated, a supplier of automotive engineering products and services to the US with expertise in performing track testing of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems and vehicle dynamics tests.
Macfarlane Group (MACF) has acquired Leyland Packaging Company for £3.25m. Leyland is a packaging distributor with a focus on industrial customers.
Old Mutual (OMU) is out with half-year results today, having disclosed its headline earnings per share and “results from operations” a fortnight ago. Interim chief executive officer Ian Williamson used the announcement to highlight the group’s IT revamp, which has apparently saved the savings and investment outfit “more than 2.8 million minutes of processing time”.
