A mixed news bag to end the week. Here is a summary...
Renewable Energy Generation (LON:WIND) told investors it had received an offer for its operating assets.
The offer is worth around 60p per share, a 60% premium to yesterday’s close, but is not an offer to acquire the ordinary share capital of REG.
As part of the deal, some assets will be bought by a new spin-off company formed by the executive management team of REG.
In mining news, Jubilee Platinum (LON:JLP) has concluded the sale of its Middelburg smelter operation and received 85% of the £5.42mln consideration. Proceeds will be used for two platinum surface projects.
Also from the sector, Premier African Minerals (LON:PREM) has raised a further £810,000 of debt to support its RHA tungsten operation in Zimbabwe while it builds up to full production.
Premier will issue 36 unsecured convertible loan notes worth £25,000 each to financier Darwin Strategic, for which it will receive 90% of face value.
Botswana Diamonds (LON:BOD) shares surged in early deals as its joint venture with Russian giant Alrosa was awarded a new prospecting licence in the Orapa area.
Licence PL260/2015 includes ground, which is the highest priority for the venture and contains three previously-discovered kimberlite bodies, the firm revealed.
Work has begun immediately on a review aimed at defining new anomalies and drill targets.
Elsewhere, OptiBiotix Health’s (LON:OPTI) move to register five new microbial strains under the Budapest Treaty, could give it added clout at the negotiation table reckons Hybridan.
Strain registration protects ownership and allows OptiBiotix to build application patents around specific strains creating valuable assets.
“As OptiBiotix advances its programmes towards commercialisation it is vital that its know-how, microbial strains and processes are protected,” Hybridan said.
News that Swiss drugmaker Roche is to acquire Adheron Therapeutics puts the spotlight on AIM quoted Abzena (LON:ABZA), which has had a hand in the development of Adheron’s therapeutic antibody treatment.
Adheron’s SDP051, a potential treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and fibrotic disease, was ‘fully humanised using Abzena's Composite Human Antibody technology, the company explained.
It is one of ten clinical-stage treatments being developed by Abzena’s partners and, notably, Adheron is the third of the company’s partners to be taken over.
In financing news, Horizonte Minerals (LON:HZM) has satisfied all of the conditions set down by the Toronto Stock Exchange related to its recent share placing.
As a result, an outstanding £425,000 will be now received by the nickel explorer taking the total raised by the share issue to £1.55mln.
Horizonte will use the cash to develop the nickel assets just acquired from Glencore in Brazil, next door to its own Araguaia project.
In oil, President Energy (LON:PPC) identified some 302mln barrels of prospective oil resources in Boqueron, its largest exploration target on the Hernandarias block, Paraguay.
The same prospect, if it is found to be gas or condensate rather than oil, is estimated to host 559bn cubic feet of gas and 17mln barrels of condensate.
Boqueron is seen by President to have a chance of exploration success of 22%.
Westminster Group (LON:WSG) said today that the prop shaft for its flagship ferry in West Africa has now been repaired and arrived back.
It will be installed on the vessel once a slip is available and a further update will be given once installed and operational.