Mariana Resources and Kefi Minerals continued to lead the risers towards the end of the session while shares in Rosslyn Data Technology and Feedback were particularly under pressure.
Mariana was the standout gainer after the Turkey-focused mining exploration specialist has agreed to be taken over in a deal that values the business at almost £167mln.
Glen Parsons, chief executive of Mariana Resources, added some detail to the news in an interview with Proactive Investors on Stocktube.
15.10pm...ULS Technology sees full year ahead of market forecasts
ULS Technology plc (LON:ULS) shares are rising 8.27% to 106.38p after saying it sees full year results beating market expectations.
The provider of online B2B platforms for the UK conveyancing and financial intermediary markets said it expects revenue to rise 8% to £22.3mln and adjusted profit before tax to increase 15% to £4.4mln.
“This has been especially pleasing given the various industry challenges that the 12-month period presented, most notably through the trough in market activity that followed the Buy to Let tax changes and a quieter period over the summer of 2016 following the EU Referendum result,” said chief executive Ben Thompson.
The momentum achieved in the year to 31 March 2017 is expected to continue in the current financial year, the group added.
Oxford Instruments plc (LON:OXIG) advanced 8.91% to 923.0p after announcing the sale of its industrial analysis business to Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation for £80mln in cash, on a debt free basis.
The Industrial Analysis business provides handheld and bench-top instruments for analysing materials in a range of industrial applications. The deal is subject to regulatory approval in Austria.
Oxford said proceeds of the sale will be used to reduce debt.
Image Scan Holdings Plc (LON:IGE) declined 5.6% to 5.90p after the X-ray technology company said its profit margin in the six months to 31 March fell to 39% from 44% a year ago and order intake was flat at 1.3mln.
Still, the group reported a 50% jump in revenue to £2.1mln and swung to a profit of £111,000 from a loss of £44,000.
11.23am....Kefi Minerals jumps on Tulu update
Shares in Kefi Minerals have soared 21.64% to 5.78p after the gold explorer and the Ethiopian government triggered resettlement arrangements for the community around the company’s Tulu Kapi gold project.
Consultations are taking place at a national, regional and local level which would allow the construction of the mine to begin in the second half.
READ: KEFI Minerals and Ethiopian govt start the process to resettle the people living around the company's project site
Reach4entertainment Enterprises plc (LON:R4E) shares are down 2.03% to 1.45p after reporting an 89% drop in full year pre-tax profit. Pre-tax profit, including exceptional items, came to £0.5mln in 2016 compared to £4.5mln the previous year.
The company, which supplies advertising and marketing services to the theatrical, film and live entertainment sectors, said revenue rose 12% to £96.6mln from £85.9mln, boosted by foreign exchagne tailwinds.
08.46am... Mariana surges on takeover deal news
Mariana Resources Ltd (LON:MARL) shares surged 43% to 85.10p after the Turkey-focused mining exploration specialist agreed to be taken over in a deal that values the business at almost £167mln, representing an 84% premium on last night’s closing price.
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Canada-listed Sandstorm Gold, which already owns 7% of the AIM-listed company, is offering its own paper as well as 28.75p per share in cash.
READ: Mariana Resources agrees to be taken over in a deal that values gold digger at £167mln
Shares Windar Photonics PLC (LON:WPHO) advanced after the technology group said it received a new order for its wind sensors for use on electricity generating wind turbines.
The company said it a newly appointed distributor in China has ordered 15 WindEYE(TM) LiDAR units. "The Chinese wind market is a key market for Windar Photonics future growth why I am very pleased for this new order and the agility of our newly appointed distributor,” said chief executive Jørgen Korsgaard Jensen. Shares jumped 13.14% to 99.0p.
Feedback plc (LON:FDBK) is on the back foot after the medical imaging software company announced a £750,000 fundraise. Shares plunged 29.88% to 2.98p.
READ: Feedback taps the market to fund development and marketing of TexRAD
The group placed 27,272,727 new ordinary shares at a price of 2.75p each. Proceeds will be used to invest in product development, sales and marketing, primarily for TexRAD, Feedback's patented quantitative medical imaging software. The fundraise will also be used for general working capital purposes.
Rosslyn Data Technologies PLC (LON:RDT) slumped as it said it was buying rival data miner Integritie (UK) at £2.59mln. The deal will be funded by £2.21mln placing and up to a further £500,000 through an open offer. The placing price of 4.5p was at a 43% discount to yesterday’s close.
Rosslyn chief executive Roger Bullen said Integritie, which specialises in analysing unstructured data, will be an important add-on for the company.
Shares tumbled 29.05% to 5.59p.
READ: Rosslyn Data adds adds Intergitie to its data mining portfolio
Proactive news headlines...
BOS GLOBAL HOLDINGS Limited (LON:BOS), a specialist in productivity software, is forming a global project management office (PMO) based in Hong Kong.
The new operation will have the ability to handle single transactions worth more than US$20mln within three years, including acquisition, innovation partnerships and large reseller agreements.
Gold explorer KEFI Minerals (LON:KEFI) and the government of Ethiopia have triggered resettlement arrangements for the community around the company’s Tulu Kapi gold project. Consultations are taking place at a national, regional and local level which would allow the construction of the mine to begin in the second half.
Medical imaging software company Feedback plc (LON:FDBK) has tapped the market, placing shares at 2.75p a pop to raise £750,000.
Shares in Stadium Group plc (LON:SDM) were on a surge in early deals after the electronics firm reported a healthy rise in its order book. Shares rose
Russian gold producer Petropavlovsk PLC (LON:POG) returned to profitability in 2016, helped by the gold price rally and lower than projected cash costs.
Arian Silver Corp (LON:AGQ) has lapsed its option over the Noche Buena gold and silver tailings project to focus on its lithium assets in Zacatecas State, Mexico. Metallurgical testwork showed Noche Buena’s tailings are highly refractory and include minerals that would inhibit extraction of the silver and gold and incur smelting penalties, said the junior.
Concepta PLC (LON:CPT) remains on track for the launch this year of its fertility treatment myLotus. The first step for myLotus, which is targeted at women with the condition known as unexplained infertility, will be a European standard CE mark, following which the product will be launched both there and in China.