A tough period for AIM showed little sign of letting up as its first constituent of the new year, in the form of Alliance Pharma PLC (AIM:APH), this week laid out plans to head for the exit door.
Alliance on Friday said it had reached a near-£350 million agreement with largest shareholder DBAY Advisors to be taken private.
Shares surged 37.9% to 61.16p on the news the Isle of Man-based DBay had tabled a 62.5p offer, equating to a 40.9% premium on Thursday's close.
For AIM, the move marked further bleak news after 2024 saw listings on the junior market drop to 688 and the lowest number since 2001, according to AJ Bell.
Just six of these were worth over £1 billion come the year-end, against 30 in late 2021, with initial public offerings in 2024 also at their second-lowest since AIM’s 1995 launch.
Alliance cited “operational challenges” that had hindered plans for acquisitions in the past year, in keeping with wider concerns over low valuations and access to capital on AIM.
“Access to private capital and DBAY's support will allow it to return to its buy-and-build strategy more quickly than if it remained on the public market,” Alliance added.
Tough week for AIM as blue chips the bright spot
Alliance’s update capped off a dreary week for AIM, in which its All-Share index headed into Friday morning down 1.1% at 719 points.
The junior market’s largest constituents fared no better, with the AIM 100 falling 1.4% to 3,451 in the meantime. In contrast, London’s blue-chip index headed towards the weekend on the front foot, benefitting from climbing commodity and oil prices since Monday.
The FTSE 100 had gained almost 1% to reach 8,302 come Friday, making it a bright spot in London as the likes of the FTSE 250 also turned negative.
ImmuPharma heads junior market risers
Several companies managed to stave off the new year blues though, not least ImmuPharma PLC (AIM:IMM) which bagged this week’s spot as AIM’s biggest riser.
The shares surged 195% following Thursday’s news of groundbreaking findings from the firm’s preclinical research around lead P140 asset into the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus.
Via subsidiary ImmuPharma Biotech, the ImmuPharma said research had proven improved diagnostic accuracy, better identification of patients likely to benefit from P140 therapy, and enhanced monitoring of treatment responses.
The results pointed to progress towards personalised medicine for SLE and other autoimmune diseases, ImmuPharma told investors.
Mindflair PLC also jumped on news of a US$3 billion (£2.4 billion) fundraiser by indirect investee Infinity Reality.
Mindflair said it held a stake of Infinity Reality, which was valued at US$12.25 billion through the deal, after the latter’s acquisition of portfolio firm Landvault last year.
Shares in Mindflair rose 52.3% over the week as a result, placing it as the junior market’s second-biggest riser.
A third-quarter update by Victoria PLC (AIM:VCP) saw it emerge as AIM’s third-largest gainer with a weekly rise of 44.4%.
Having been among the market’s losers in 2024, embattled flooring company Victoria cited “a small improvement in demand” and said second-half trading would be stronger.
Elsewhere, N4 Pharma PLC (AIM:N4P) gained 22.8% after unveiling Avacta Group founder and former chief executive Alastair Smith as an independent non-executive director on Wednesday.
Tower Resources graced investors with news of a pair of farm-out deals with Prime Global Energies, sending shares up 21% on Friday and by 12% for the week.
The oil and gas explorer landed a long-awaited and pivotal farm-out deal in Cameroon, where a well will now be drilled later this year to potentially unlock a substantial field.
At the same time, the new partner is also supporting a separate exploration venture in Nambia too, removing a hurdle and boosting investor sentiments from frustration to hopeful optimism.
Team Internet also racked up gains on news of two bid approaches, each worth 125p in cash, on Tuesday.
Shares remained nearly 12% higher for the week even though Friday saw TowerBrook Capital Partners drop out of the running for the digital marketeer, leaving focus on rival prospective bidder Verdane.
Enteq Technologies PLC (AIM:NTQ) led the week’s junior market fallers in the meantime, having shed 64.5%.
The specialist energy services company on Friday highlighted positive recent demonstrations of its Saber drilling technology, but also warned of cash flow ahead.
RBG Holdings PLC (AIM:RBGP) followed with a drop of 58.6% after saying on Wednesday that it had terminated a contract with the founder of its law firms, Rosenblatt and Memery Crystal.
Ian Rosenblatt had breached a consultancy agreement and restrictive covenants, it said, after buying a firm of solicitors last year and in December changing its name to Rosenblatt Law Limited while also hiring RBG’s ex-dispute head Tania MacLeod.