Shares in Hornby Plc (LON:HRN) steamed ahead this week after the model train maker was the subject of a mandatory takeover from its largest shareholder.
Phoenix Asset Management snapped up a 20% stake in the company from New Pistoia Income Limited – the same fund that failed with an attempt to oust chairman Roger Canham back in April.
Given that unsuccessful coup, Pistoia decided to cut ties and offload its 17.6mln shares in the Scalextric maker.
The net result of the deal means Phoenix now owns 55% of Hornby and was obliged under City rules to launch an offer for the rest of the shares it doesn’t own as a result.
Those investors would get 32.375p a share – the same price Phoenix paid to New Pistoia – valuing Hornby at £27.4mln.
For its part, the lossmaking toymaker has said the offer “significantly undervalues Hornby and its future prospects”, but investors were buoyed by the possibility of a buyout as shares jumped 12% to 32.5p.
Also taking a ride higher was Ortac Resources Ltd (LON:OTC) after it received some good news from the Misisi gold project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Misisi is owned by Casa Mining, a private vehicle which in turn is roughly 45%-owned by Ortac, assuming the conversion of a loan note.
Work undertaken by African Mining Consultants on the project confirmed an interim inferred mineral resource of just over 1mln ounces of gold at an average grade of 2.27 grams per tonne.
What’s more, if the cut-off grade at Misisi is lowered from the 1.5 grams used in the base case to 0.5 grams, the resource rises to 1.57mln ounces at an average grade of 1.65 grams per tonne.
That news was followed by confirmation from the Slovakia Main Mining Bureau that its permit for the Sturec gold project will be re-issued. Shares gained 15% across the week to 3.5p.
Elsewhere, Nostra Terra Oil and Gas Company plc (LON:NTOG) and its fellow North American minnow Magnolia Petroleum PLC (LON:MAGP) both saw their share prices derailed as the spat between the two oil producers rumbled on.
Back in May, Nostra said it would take a 10% in Magnolia and subsequently called for a general meeting – set for next month – in order to try and make some changes, including the immediate removal of the Magnolia chief executive Rita Whittington.
This started a war of the words between the two companies this week, with Magnolia claiming that Nostra Terra has “positioned itself to opportunistically acquire” its assets, adding that approving the resolutions would “not be in the best interests” of shareholders.
Nostra then retorted by saying it’s working on a full response to Magnolia’s announcement which it believes contains “factual inaccuracies”. Either way, it doesn’t look like this one is going away any time soon.
Nostra shares shed more than 7% this week to 1.55p, while Magnolia shares dipped by almost 12% to 0.08p.
Those two were more reflective of the general performance of the junior market over the past five days.
The AIM All Share lost 0.2%, or 1.9 points, to finish the week around 969.5, although that was still enough to get one over the blue chips, with the FTSE 100 closing 0.6%, or 42 points, lower at 7,421.
Microsaic Systems plc (LON:MSYS) was another heavy faller this week and one of those dragging the junior market into the red.
The company saw its value drop by a third to 1.75p after it warned investors that it expects first half and full-year revenues to be “significantly lower” compared to last year’s numbers.
Back in December towards the end of the last financial year, the AIM-quoted group described market conditions as “challenging”.
Trading has continued to be difficult in its existing markets for small-molecule detection and Microsaic isn’t holding out much hope for a sudden turnaround in 2017.
A special mention must go to Animalcare Group PLC (LON:ANCR), which announced plans to raise at least £30mln on Friday in order to fund a “truly transformational” reverse takeover of European animal healthcare company Ecuphar NV.
Raising that much money is no mean feat for an AIM-quoted firm, especially one whose market value is only £80mln.
The cash and shares acquisition will mean the enlarged business has direct sales organisations in seven countries, as opposed to just the one for Animalcare currently.
The company said the deal would also expand its international reach into 50 export markets and would ‘greatly increase’ the diversity of its veterinary medicines product range.
And finally, the AIM market waved goodbye to one of the most prominent figures in the junior mining sector as Peter Hambro left Petropavlosk PLC (LON:POG), the company he founded.
Hambro was voted out of office at the company’s annual general meeting on Thursday after he was opposed by a group of shareholders speaking for over 30% of the shares.
Ian Ashby was voted in as his replacement, while Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck was appointed as senior independent director.