Conviviality Retail Share News (CVR)

LONDON (Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.
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FTSE 100 - WINNERS
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ARM Holdings, up 43%. The microchip designer confirmed it has agreed to be acquired by Japanese technology and telecommunications conglomerate SoftBank Group for GBP24.3 billion. The agreement earlier had been reported by the Financial Times newspaper. ARM said SoftBank will pay 1,700.00 pence per share, a 43% premium to ARM's closing price on Friday of 1,188.73p and a 42% premium to the all-time high that ARM shares hit in March 2015. SoftBank said is intends to maintain ARM's existing management team and brand and will maintain the company's headquarters in Cambridge. It plans to at least double ARM's UK headcount over the next five years. ARM's board said it unanimously recommends the offer. Fellow computer chip designer Imagination Technologies Group was also up 11%.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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TUI, down 2.7%. The travel operator was continuing its declines in wake of the terror attack in Nice, France on Friday and the failed military coup in Turkey. TUI closed down 1.1% on Friday. Numis said the geopolitical tension will place further strain the travel and leisure sector which already was under pressure in the aftermath of the UK's vote to leave the European Union. The bank believes these events rule out any hopes of a strong late summer booking market. Numis said those companies which are asset heavy, or with committed capacity going into late season, will be most affected. Within tour operators, mid-cap operator Thomas Cook Group had around 20% of its summer 2016 capacity in Turkey at the start of the year, making it the most exposed to the region. However the bank believes TUI has a better forward booking position and a higher quality business model. Thomas Cook was the biggest faller in the FTSE 250, down 2.7%, having closed down 4.2% on Friday.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Micro Focus International, up 3.8% at 1,874.00 pence. Citigroup raised its price target on the software and information technology business to 2,100p from 1,900p and reiterated its Buy rating.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Gable Holdings, up 33%. The non-life insurer's shares resumed trading after being suspended pending the publication of its 2015 results. Gable said on Friday its loss widened in 2015 due to a number of one-off provisions and said it was implementing a strategic restructuring plan following changes in the regulatory landscape. Gable posted a pretax loss of GBP24.3 million for 2015, widened from GBP5.4 million a year earlier, despite revenue rising to GBP60.4 million from GBP51.5 million, after incurring a number of one-off charges. Gable noted a GBP7.5 million provision to eliminate the remaining balance of the pre-2012 historical reserving gap, and said the provision to fully write off the debtor relating to an after-the-event insurance policy rose to GBP7.9 million from GBP6.0 million.

Transense Technologies, up 31%. The sensor systems manufacturer said it has signed a licensing agreement with US conglomerate General Electric Co and said trading in the first half met its expectations. The company said GE has agreed to licence its Surface Acoustic Wave technology for certain torque applications. GE will pay USD500,000 to Transense on signing of the deal, plus another USD250,000 dependent on the technology passing various tests GE will conduct. GE will then pay Transense royalties on each unit which uses the technology. The GE deal was announced as Transense said trading in the half to the end of June was in line with its expectations.

Conviviality, up 10%. The off-license and convenience store chain operator reported marginal growth in profit in its recently-ended financial year, as revenue more than doubled, bolstered by Conviviality's acquisition of fellow drinks wholesaler Matthew Clark last year. Conviviality said its pretax profit in the year ended May 1 rose to GBP9.1 million from GBP9.0 million the year before, as revenue more than doubled to GBP864.5 million from GBP364.1 million. Revenue was boosted by the acquisition of Matthew Clark in October last year, but this did also contribute to an increase in operating expenses to GBP87.6 million from GBP28.0 million, which held back profit.
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MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Mirada, down 18%. The television and broadcasting software provider reported a widened pretax loss for its financial year to the end of March, hit by one-off charges and higher investments in its products, but said it continues to be optimistic on the outlook for its technology. Mirada said it made a GBP829,000 pretax loss in the year to March 31, compared to a GBP113,000 loss a year earlier, driven by higher amortisation charges and administrative costs. This included increased product investment spending and a one-off tax charge booked on the lease of its office in Wapping, east London. Revenue rose 6.0% to GBP6.0 million from GBP5.7 million, helped by the roll-out of Mirada technology on the Televisa Group-owned Cablevision Monterrey network in Mexico. Mirada said its pipeline in other markets in South East Asia and Eastern Europe also is growing.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com; @ArvindBhunjun

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