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Share succumbs to £62mln takeover

Last updated: 15:13 17 Feb 2020 GMT, First published: 09:05 17 Feb 2020 GMT

Volex PLC -

Share PLC (LON:SHRE), the owner of The Share Centre, found itself in the news rather than commenting on it, as its shares surged 14%.

The company has agreed to a £61.9mln takeover offer from a rival platform, Interactive Investor.

Under the deal terms, Share investors will receive 41p in a combination of cash and stock for each share they hold - a 41% premium to the firm’s closing price of 29p last Friday.

12.45pm: Nanoco files patent infringement claim against Samsung

Up for sale semiconductor nanoparticles specialist Nanoco PLC (LON:NANO) climbed 5.1% to 22.6p after it commenced a patent infringement lawsuit.

The lawsuit has been filed against Samsung.

The lawsuit claims infringement of Nanoco's US patents relating to Nanoco's unique synthesis and resin capabilities for quantum dots.

11.30am: Petra Diamonds in a hole after downbeat outlook statement

Petra Diamonds Limited (LON:PDL) lost some of its shine, slumping 17% to 6.96p, as the firm warned it had made a “slower start” to its current year.

For the six months ended 31 December, the miner reported adjusted earnings (EBITDA) of US$67.2mln, down 11% on the prior year, while revenues slipped 6% to US$193.9mln.

Looking ahead, Petra said the new calendar year “had a slower start” than expected which would see production for its second half weighted towards the fourth quarter, although it said production for its current financial year was still expected to exceed guidance of 3.8mln carats.

10.30am: CloudCoCo falls off its perch

CloudCoCo Group PLC (LON:CLCO) fell off its perch, tumbling 14% to 0.925p, after it fell into the red last year.

What the “information technology as a service” provider called group trading EBITDA (underlying earnings) in the year to the end of September 2019 turned negative at £0.2mln, compared to a profit the year before of £0.6mln.

Good old fashioned loss before tax widened to £5.6mln from £4.0mln on revenue that fell to £7.3mln from £10.2mln.

9.30am: Volex's Chinese factories grind back into action

Volex PLC (LON:VLX), a supplier of power cords, charged 11p higher to 159p in early trade on Monday after it revealed all of its Chinese sites have resumed production.

A week ago the company said that as a result of the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus - the disease formerly known as the coronavirus - in Wuhan, three of its four sites in China had stayed closed after the end of the extended Lunar New Year holiday.

All four sites are now back in operation, albeit not at full pelt, the company said today.

Starcom PLC (LON:STAR) was also in the ascendant, rising 4.4% to 1.175p, after it deepened its relationship with Zero Motorcycles.

Starcom, which specialises in the development of wireless, Internet of Things remote tracking solutions, is to develop certain technology enhancements to the Starcom Helios units that are integrated within Zero's motorbikes. These enhancements will be supplied over the coming three months.

At present, sales of motorbikes using Starcom's Helios units are low but Zero has tipped the wink that it expects a big jump in demand for the motorcycles this year.

Proactive news headlines:

Advanced Oncotherapy PLC (LON:AVO) saw its shares jump higher on Monday as the developer of next-generation proton therapy systems for cancer treatment announced a deal with the Mediterranean Hospital of Limassol in Cyprus. In a statement, the AIM-listed firm said the hospital has agreed to purchase a LIGHT system for €50mln.

ReNeuron Group PLC (LON:RENE), a global leader in the development of cell-based therapeutics, has announced the publication in a peer-reviewed journal of positive clinical data from the PISCES II Phase 2a clinical trial of its CTX stem cell therapy candidate for disability resulting from stroke. In a statement, the AIM-listed firm said data from the study were originally presented by Professor Keith Muir at the American Heart Association International Stroke Conference 2018 in January 2018, having been announced by the company in October 2017.

Ormonde Mining plc (LON:ORM) has completed the disposal of its 30% interest in the Barruecopardo tungsten mine and has received the €6mln in cash due as consideration. Following the transaction, Michael Donoghue and John Carroll have retired from the board and the company. Jonathan Henry, previously a non-executive director, is appointed executive chairman, while Tim Livesy and Richard Brown are appointed non-executive directors.

OptiBiotix Health PLC (LON:OPTI) has signed a distributor agreement with Advanced NutriSolutions Inc./Select Ingredient covering the United States and Canada. Under the terms of the agreement, Advanced NutriSolutions Inc./Select Ingredient will supply OptiBiotix's cholesterol and blood pressure-reducing probiotic strain Lactobacillus plantarum LPLDL, under an exclusive licence, to customers in the United States and Canada for inclusion into dietary supplements formulation.

Amur Minerals Corporation (LON:AMC) has revealed the results of metallurgical tests conducted on the Kun-Manie nickel sulphide project by consultant Gipronickel with a view to establishing the feasibility of generating a saleable copper concentrate. Kun-Manie is located in the Amur Oblast in the far east of Russia.

ANGLE PLC (LON:AGL) said an independent study of its Parsortix system has demonstrated key advantages of the company's flagship liquid biopsy technology. The University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf has published results of work undertaken to assess the analytical and clinical performance of Parsortix in multiple metastatic (i.e. spreading) cancer types with the main emphasis on metastatic breast cancer.

Redx Pharma PLC (LON:REDX) has extended discussions over a possible takeover offer to 28 February from 14 February. In an announcement on Friday afternoon, the drug developer said the ‘put up or shut up’ deadline for a bid by a consortium of investors has been extended for the parties to conclude ongoing discussions.

ImmuPharma PLC’s (LON:IMM) portfolio firm, oncology specialist Incanthera has announced its intention to list on the NEX exchange in London before the end of February. The company, which owns a 14% stake in Incanthera, will see its stake lowered to 11.9% following admission when the company lists, which is expected around 28 February.

Kavango Resources PLC (LON:KAV) has signed a joint venture agreement in respect of two prospecting licences situated in the Botswana section of the Kalahari copper belt. The first lies 30 kilometres north of MOD Resources' T3 mine development and is completely surrounded by MOD, Metal Tiger, and Sandfire licences. The second is close to the Namibian border, south of the Trans-Kalahari Highway and adjacent to a block of licences held by Kopore Metals Ltd.

Frontier IP Group PLC’s (LON:FIPP) portfolio firm, Cambridge Raman Imaging Limited (CRIL), has been awarded €140,000 (£116,380) in EU funding to accelerate the development of its graphene-enabled scanning microscope. CRIL, which was spun out from the University of Cambridge and Italian university Politecnico di Milano in 2018, is developing a microscope which uses graphene to modulate ultra-short pulses of light to diagnose and track cancer tumours.

Bacanora Lithium PLC (LON:BCN) has reached agreement with the administrators of Solarworld AG to amend a joint venture agreement which relates to the Zinnwald lithium project in southeast Germany. Bacanora acquired an initial 50% interest in the project in February 2017, as well as an option to acquire the outstanding 50% that it does not own, whilst Solarworld had the right, but not the obligation, to buy back Bacanora's shareholding for €1. Bacanora and Solarworld have now agreed to cancel this arrangement. As a result, Bacanora will now own 50% of the project and Solarworld, which is currently in administration, will hold the other 50%.

Quadrise Fuels International PLC (LON:QFI) has updated on its business activities ahead of the publication of its interim results at the end of March. The specialist fuel firm said following its annual general meeting in November, it had made progress in a number of areas to “increase the breadth and depth of its business development programme”.

Benchmark Holdings PLC (LON:BMK) said it has conditionally raised total gross proceeds of £6.6mln through the Open Offer announced on 30 January 2020, representing the full amount proposed. Accordingly, the company has conditionally raised total gross proceeds of £43.0mln by way of the placing, which was also announced on 30 January, and the Open Offer, both of which were priced at 40p per ordinary share. Peter George, Benchmark’s executive chairman commented: "The proceeds of the Open Offer and Placing will in part be used to scale up CleanTreat as we prepare to launch BMK08, our novel medicinal treatment to combat sea lice, one of the main biological challenges in salmon farming. We are excited about the opportunity we now have to deliver Benchmark's enormous potential."

Avation PLC (LON:AVAP) said it has joined the Aviation Working Group (AWG), a not-for-profit legal entity comprised of major aviation manufacturers, leasing companies and financial institutions that contribute to the development of policies, laws and regulations that facilitate advanced international aviation financing and leasing. The company’s executive chairman, Jeff Chatfield commented: "The Aviation Working Group manages important projects and ongoing initiatives including the Global Aircraft Trading System (GATS), a system designed to modernise aircraft equipment trading and financing. AWG has also established a working group to assess, provide information, and potentially take action on Environmental Social and Governance in the context of aviation financing and leasing. These initiatives are relevant to Avation's business and operations."

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