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Proactive news highlights – Electric Word, Scancell and PureCircle

Last updated: 16:16 18 Dec 2015 GMT, First published: 15:37 18 Dec 2015 GMT

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Let's start with a journalistic theme.

A  notable riser was Electric Word (LON:ELE), whose shares added 25% as it announced it has agreed to sell its 70% stake in online magazine iGaming Business to Clarion Events for around £13.8mln.

The deal values iGB, an online magazine focused on the business-to-business (B2B) online gaming market, at £19.7mln.

Last year, the magazine generated revenues of £5.4mln and underlying earnings [EBITDA] of £2.0mln after costs.

Meanwhile, PureCircle (LON:PURE) has won regulatory approval for its sweetener rebaudioside M, or Reb M for short, with sign off from European Food Safety Authority.

EFSA has concluded Reb M is safe and can now be used across the EU. The company said the green light from the watchdog was a “significant milestone”. Shares eased 0.25% on the day to 399p.

Elsewhere, Scancell Holdings (LON:SCLP) added 2.75% to 14p each as it said it has recruited a top team lead its phase II study on its lead cancer vaccine SCIB1, which will be assessed in combination with a checkpoint inhibitor.

To mining and junior gold firm Ariana Resources (LON:AAU) told investors today it had sold a package of lithium-containing tenements in Pilbara Australia for cash and shares.

The sale was arranged and carried out by Asgard, Ariana’s 86%-owned Australian subsidiary that specialises in metals for new technologies.

Shares in the Turkey focused miner were unchanged at 0.80p.

Armadale Capital (LON:ACP) has raised £420,000 via a placing to advance its Mpokoto gold project in the Katanga province of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The firm issued 14mln shares at 3p each - a 20% discount to  last night's closing price of 3.75p.

Peter Marks, Armadale chairman, said the group was approaching the final phase of the definitive feasibility study.

"Having recently completed additional metallurgical testwork, which has confirmed the value of our cost effective processing route, we are now focused on the completion of the DFS.

In oil and gas, Independent (LON:IOG) has now been approved as the exploration operator of the Skipper licence in the North Sea.

The Oil and Gas Authority has also approved the company’s acquisition of the 50% interest of the project it doesn’t already own from partner Alpha Petroleum.

It is expected that the formal completion of the acquisition will now occur next week.

Sticking to the sector, Mosman Oil and Gas (LON:MSMN) has received a 12 months suspension and extension approval for one of its licences in the Amadeus Basin in Australia. 

The oil explorer will use the additional time to plan the next phase of exploration on the licence, EP145.

John W Barr, Mosman’s executive chairman said: "Operating in such a challenging market, it is essential to continuously review the operational strategy for 2016.

“This approval enables us to focus on other core projects, in particular the STEP acquisition."

Aggregated Micro Power (LON: AMPH), the renewable energy developer, has extended its option arrangement to acquire 100% of Forest Fuels to the end of March next year.
 
As reported in May, the firm was negotiating a biofuel partnership with Forest Fuels -  a major UK wood chip supplier.
 
The other terms of the agreement are the same, including £3 million in cash, and following certain performance criteria being met, a further 2.5 million new shares in due course.
 
Regency Mines (LON:RGM) has rearranged the number of shares in issue ahead of the potential reorganisation at its annual general meeting (AGM) next week.
 
The mining firm issued seven new shares at 0.07p per share, taking the total to a number dividable by 20.
 
At the AGM, the company is proposing to reorganise its shares, with each share of 0.01p divided into two shares of 0.0095p and 0.0005p.
 
The firm also today said chairman Andrew Bell now owns 3.09% of the share capital havinbg bought around 13.1mln shares at  0.014p each today.
 
StratMin Global (LON: STGR), London's only listed graphite company, is convening a meeting on January 6 to propose a  capital reorganisation.
 
The firm is seeking shareholder approval to create a differential between the nominal value of  the shares and the market price so it can raise funds in the future via issuing shares.
 
Proposed is that each of the around 151 mln shares be subdivided and reclassified into one new share and one deferred share of 3.99 pence each.
 

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