(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers within the main London indices on Monday.
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FTSE 100 - LOSERS
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NMC Health, down 2.0%. The private healthcare firm reported a slate of board departures, including the resignation of founder and joint Non-Executive Chair Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty. The departures comes as NMC tries to unravel the shareholdings of some of its major investors. The Abu Dhabi-based hospital operator said Shetty, who had been banned from attending board meetings for inaccurately reporting shareholdings in the company, has resigned with immediate effect. NMC announced the departures of Chief Investment Officer Hani Buttikhi and Director Abdulrahman Basaddiq. Their resignations are with immediate effect. Buttikhi and Basaddiq were appointed to the company's board under a relationship agreement between NMC, Shetty, former director Saeed Mohamed Butti Mohamed Khalfan Al Qebaisi and now-resigned Vice Chair Khaleefa Butti Omair Yousef Ahmed Al Muhairi. NMC has been trying to unravel shareholdings of investors Shetty, Al Qebaisi, and Omeir Bin Yousef following the revelation of a complex set of share transfers between the trio.
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DS Smith, down 1.3%. The packaging firm said Chief Financial Officer Adrian Marsh is to leave the group to join FTSE 250 bookmaker William Hill. Marsh's departure date will be determined in due course, DS Smith said, but William Hill said he will join the company as CFO later in 2020. Marsh will be replacing Ruth Prior at London-based William Hill, who is departing for product testing company Element Materials Technology. William Hill shares were flat.
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SEGRO, down 1.2%. Deutsche Bank cut the warehouse property investor to Hold from Buy.
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FTSE 250 - WINNERS
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Jupiter Fund Management, up 6.8%. The fund manager confirmed a potential GBP370 million all-share deal for Merian Global Investors. Jupiter will be issuing Merian shareholders 95.4 million shares, giving Merian shareholders an approximate 17% stake in the combined company. There is also an additional deferred payment of up to GBP20 million depending on performance targets being met. Merian had asset under management of GBP22.4 billion as of the end of 2019, and the merger will create a company will assets of GBP65 billion. Jupiter, a member of the FTSE 250, said the deal "significantly enhances" its UK investment capability, and widens the range of investment services available to clients.
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FTSE 250 - LOSERS
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Tullow Oil, down 4.2%. The oil and gas firm announced disappointing drilling results at the Marina-1 exploration well off the coast of Peru. The well did not find any "significant" hydrocarbons, Tullow said. It was testing the La Cruz and Mal Pelo formations, with some minor gas shows found but no discoveries in the main targets. Tullow said the well was drilled to a total depth of 3,022 metres, in water 362 metres deep. Marina-1 will now be plugged and abandoned. Tullow has a 35% interest in the well, which is operating by Karoon Energy with a 40% stake. Pitkin Petroleum holds the remaining 25%.
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IMI, down 3.3%. The engineer was downgraded to Underperform from Neutral by Credit Suisse.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - WINNERS
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Share, up 8.0%. The stockbroker agreed to a GBP62 million takeover offer from interactive investor, it confirmed. Share owns the Share Centre, an online stockbroker focused on retail investors. Manchester-based interactive investor, or ii, has its own trading and investment platform. ii will be paying in both cash and shares, with some 90% of the offer in stock and 10% in cash. Shareholders in Share will get 4.1 pence in cash and 0.00084 of a ii share per share in Share held. Based on a value of GBP441.62 per ii share, the deal values each Share share at 41p each, valuing the entire company at GBP61.9 million. This price is a 41% premium to Share's closing price of 19.00p on Friday in London, with the stock 15% higher on Monday morning in early trade at a price of 33.48p. Share shareholders will own around 6.8% of the combined company.
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OTHER MAIN MARKET AND AIM - LOSERS
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Laura Ashley, down 42%. The clothing and homeware retailer said trading in its current financial year ending June 30 has been challenging, heaping more pressure on the retailer's already precarious finances. Laura Ashley said its unscheduled update was in response to "press speculation regarding its financial position". The Times reported on Sunday that its Malaysian owners were trying to save the high street chain with an emergency cash injection. The company said for the 26 weeks to the end of December, total group sales were GBP109.6 million, down 11% from GBP122.9 million for the same period a year prior. The decline was attributed to market headwinds and weaker consumer spending. Laura Ashley said recent movement in store stock and customer deposit levels have resulted in a reduction to the amount it can withdraw from its bank facility with lender Wells Fargo. It confirmed that, as a result, it is in discussions with Wells Fargo and majority shareholder MUI Asia to figure out an arrangement that will allow the company to draw down additional amounts to meet its working capital needs in the short to medium term.
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By Arvind Bhunjun; arvindbhunjun@alliancenews.com
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