Clinigen scores for lucky Leaver
WHAT a week it’s been for Aston Villa nut Andrew Derrick Leaver.
First his beloved Villa reach their first FA Cup Final since 2000 and then Clinigen, a speciality pharmaceuticals company he founded in 2007 and where he is still a major 21pc shareholder, announces a ‘transformational’ deal and the shares rocket.
They touched 585p before closing 3.5p or 8pc up at 565p following the acquisition of Idis for £225m, which will create a leader in the market for the supply of ethical medicines – prescription drugs, as opposed to illegal ones – to UK hospitals, a market estimated to be worth more than £3bn.
The deal is to be funded through a £135m placing at £5 a share and £90m of debt through a new facility.
Broker Numis lifted its target price 12pc to 860p and believes the earnings enhancing deal propels it to a global leadership of the ethical unlicensed supply market whilst balancing out its portfolio and reducing reliance on Foscavir, which is forecast to provide 21pc of 2016 gross profit.
Private equity firm CBPE Capital makes a mouthwatering turn on the sale. It originally bought Idis for £22m in 2005. Idis is a strong brand with a 25 year history of supplying unlicensed medicines.
Another top performer on AIM was Immedia, which is run by former Radio One DJ Bruno Brookes.
The shares boogied up to 24.25p and closed 6p or 37.5pc higher at 22p after announcing a new contract to deliver a real-time corporate radio channel to BT’s Openreach employees, using its new mobile streaming platform, which enables large dispersed organisations to engage directly with employees.
HSBC was a major talking point in dealing rooms as Europe’s biggest bank admitted it is considering moving its headquarters from Britain. The heavyweight’s shares advanced 17.5p to 629.7p helping the Footsie close 17.03 points better at 7070.70.
One in the eye for Aerie Pharma, which found itself in intensive care on Wall Street, collapsing 56pc to $15.60. The drugmaker shocked the market by revealing its lead experimental eye drug failed a late- stage study. The eye drop, Rhopressa, did not lower pressure inside the eye as much as Timolol, a commonly prescribed drug.
Europe’s biggest defence contractor BAE Systems, 11p higher at 514.5p, also attracted buyers after hiring advisers to carry out a review of its US-based IT and analysis support businesses. It could lead to their disposals as BAE confirmed it had received a number of enquiries from potential buyers. Under pressure of late after losing a lucrative US education contract, FT owner and publisher Pearson remained in the doldrums, falling 42p to 1360p. It revealed Glen Moreno, 71, is stepping down as chairman and will leave in the next 12 months after more than nine years in the role. His departure is part of a management shake-up which sees former Severn Trent water company boss Sir David Arculus and fellow board member Ken Hydon also exiting.
In a trading update, Pearson reported a 1pc fall in underlying sales in the first three months of the year to £900m. It’s 47pc-owned Penguin Random House book arm had a good first-quarter, buoyed by 40 best-sellers published around the world including the 50 Shares Of Grey film tie-in the 1m copy bestselling debut novel The Girl On The Train.
Demand ahead of Wednesday’s trading update lifted fashion retailer Next 15p to 7175p. Broker JPMorgan Cazenove recently upgraded to overweight from neutral and raised its target price to £77 from £71.
Just Retirement put on 6.3p to 175p after insurer Phoenix, 2.5p dearer at 845p, selected the firm to provide advice to its customers reaching retirement. Flow control group Rotork slumped 54p to 2376p after warning that its order intake in the first three months of the year had declined 7.3pc year-on-year as challenging conditions in the oil and gas markets persisted.
The control division saw orders fall 5.8p, while the fluid system arm reported a 30pc drop in orders due to project delays and uncertainty in markets. Liberum says sell, believing the rating still looks expensive.
RapidCloud International rose more than 15pc or 4p to 30p after winning a contract with RedBox, the courier service of AirAsia. The initial contract is for a five year term, under which the subscription-based cloud computing solutions company will design, build and operate a cloud-based Logistic Management System for RedBox.
Speculative Petra Diamonds lost 6p to 161.8p following its plan to issue $300m of senior notes to help fund new Cullinan plant in South Africa and settle certain debt facilities. SHARES of Anglo Pacific, the only listed company in Europe that generates earnings from royalties over minerals, jumped 5.25p to 94.25p. Macquarie initiated coverage with a target price of 110p and says it generates attractive long-term free cash flow and has a dividend yield of 9pc, with significant scope for a re-rating as confidence in the royalty portfolio increases and deal activity drives diversification.