UK SMALLCAP ROUNDUP: SSL Agrees GBP2.54B Offer From Reckitt

Dow Jones smallcap news is now on Twitter, allowing you to catch up on the news away from your desk. Go to http://twitter.com/DJ_UK_Smallcaps SSL INTERNATIONAL PLC (SSL.LN), the maker of Durex condoms, said it agreed terms for a GBP2.54 billion takeover by household products maker Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC (RB.LN). Reckitt Benckiser's offer represents a premium of 32.8% to SSL's closing price Tuesday and is four times SSL's share price five years ago, according to SSL Chairman Gerald Corbett. Reckitt said the acquisition of SSL would add Durex condoms and Scholl footcare products to its stable of "Powerbrands" and will immediately boost earnings. At 0747 GMT, SSL shares +288 pence or 33% at 1,170 pence. EREDENE CAPITAL PLC (ERE.LN), an investor in infrastructure, swung to a fiscal 2010 pretax profit as its investments rose in value and said it was looking to make more investments in the growing Indian infrastructure market. At 0747 GMT, shares +0.25 pence or 1.3% at 20.25 pence. DOMINION PETROLEUM LTD. (DPL.LN), an oil and gas explorer, said it didn't find any oil or gas at an exploration well in Uganda. The company said the Ngaji-1 well at Lake Edward Graben was drilled to 1,765 meters. No hydrocarbons were found, Dominion said. At 0747 GMT, shares -1.93 pence or 34% at 3.7 pence. PROMETHEAN WORLD PLC (PRW.LN), a maker of interactive white boards for schools, said it has agreed to buy a U.S. education software firm for up to $13 million. Promethean said SynapticMash's LearningCube software, which allows teachers to assess student performance, will strengthen its learner response system product, a handheld device used in classrooms during lessons. At 0747 GMT, shares -0.3 pence or 0.2% at 166.7 pence. FAIRPOINT GROUP PLC (FRP.LN), a consumer debt advisor, said it has agreed to buy price comparison website Moneyextra.com Ltd for an expected cost of GBP8 million as it looks to increase customer numbers by offering more money-saving products. At 0748 GMT, shares flat at 76.25 pence. WINCANTON PLC (WIN.LN), a haulier, said trading in the past three and half months has given it grounds for cautious optimism, as it reported a recovery in customer volumes and a stronger outlook for new business. At 0748 GMT, shares -1.75 pence or 0.8% at 217 pence. OPTOS PLC (OPTS.LN), a maker of retinal imaging scanners, said fiscal third-quarter revenue was broadly flat from a year earlier and it is making progress on getting optometrists to use its systems more frequently. Optos said two new products designed to appeal to opthalmologists are due to launch this year and a third product, a smaller desktop scanner, is scheduled for launch in 2012. At 0748 GMT, shares -8 pence or 7.6% at 98 pence. BLACKS LEISURE GROUP PLC (BSLA.LN), a retailer of outdoor clothing and equipment, reported a 30% year-on-year fall in sales for the 17 weeks to the end of June, with particularly tough trading in May, but said it is encouraged by an improved performance of its newly-opened stores. At 0749 GMT, shares -2.5 pence or 6% at 39 pence. DJ UK Smaller Cos +0.4% AIM +0.3% By Jason Douglas, Hannah Benjamin and Rachael Gormley, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0) 20 7842 9272; uksmallcaps@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 21, 2010 04:30 ET (08:30 GMT)