Micro Focus slumps as Elliott dumps its stake

Software group Micro Focus was on a downward slide after activist investor elliott Management sold its stake in the company.

the New York-based hedge fund, run by billionaire Paul Singer, revealed it had built a 5.1pc position in april.

rumours emerged that elliott wanted Micro focus to sell itself to a private equity firm, and the activist also suggested that it flogoff its Suse Linux arm, which creates computer operating systems for businesses.

Private equity house eQt bought Suse in July for £1.9bn. the unit had been one of the profitable parts of Micro focus, and a particularly bright spot when the group revealed disappointing results in January and March.

But it seems that elliott has decided to call it quits, as a regulatory filing yesterday showed it had reduced its holding in the £6bn company to below 5pc, possibly to zero. Micro focus’s shares fell back 3.3pc, or 47p, to 1383p in response.

the FTSE 100- listed software company has not had a good year. Its botched acquisition of HPe Software in 2017 has weighed heavily, and chief executive Chris Hsu quit in March when it emerged that the integration of HPe was a year behind schedule.

over the year to date, Micro focus’s shares have sunk 44.4pc.

Gold-focused Centamin led a slide in the London-listed miners, after cutting its production forecast for the second time this year.

the company said it had produced 117,720 oz of gold in the third quarter, 27pc more than in the previous quarter but 25pc less than the same time last year.

operational improvements ‘have taken longer than planned to materialise’, Centamin added. It expects to produce just 480,000 oz of the precious metal in total this year, down from an original estimate of 580,000 oz.

Investors remained unimpressed, and shares slumped by 16pc, or 17.41p, to 91.34p.

Centamin’s mining peers also found their shares in the red, as the prices of industrial metals dipped.

Copper specialist Kaz Minerals dropped 4.6pc, or 25.2p, to 526p. on the ftSe 100, Antofagasta was the index’s biggest faller losing 5.4pc, or 47.6p, to end at 827p.

Anglo American, Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton followed close behind shedding 4.3pc (74p down, to 1669.2p), 4pc (157p down to 3744.5p) and 3.9pc (66.4p down to 1635.6p) respectively.

weighed down by the declining heavyweight miners, the ftSe 100 edged down by 1.4pc, or 99.8 points, to 7,318.54.

outside of the stock exchange’s biggest companies, used car specialist Motorpoint revved up expectations as it said revenues should rise by around 9pc over the year. though the company said it would ‘closely monitor customer confidence in light of the ongoing economic and political uncertainty’, its performance showed no signs of slowing.

Shares in the business rose 3pc, or 6p, to 209p. Business consultancy First

Derivatives had a disappointing end to a generally lacklustre week, falling 8pc, or 280p, to 3220p on top of a 15pc drop the day before.

It was under pressure as short sellers – who make a profit by betting that a company’s share price will fall – raised concerns around the company’s growth, profits and accounting. However, analysts at Liberum still recommended a ‘ buy’ rating on first Derivatives’ stock. Plastics Capital, which makes packaging for the food and manufacturing industries, expressed some alarm in a trading update over how quickly public opinion had turned against plastic waste, to the point where it is considering changing its name.

Shares in the company ticked up 2.7pc, or 3p, to 114p.