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Climate change is happening faster than most anticipated with many countries set to miss their agreed reduction targets.

This sense of urgency is starting to gather pace, states such as California which have excessive registration times may expedite future applications, we can but hope.

Same applies to companies considering entering the field of bio stimulants/biologicals, by the time they have something discovered and registered it will be too late , hence the need for scaling and consolidation in equal measure.

Interesting, are they drawing attention to the technology which they embarked on 30 years ago, or bit of a flyer to remind investors that Plant Healthcare is here too ?

Consolidation in this space is almost a certainty, whilst the Ai discovery by Evogene is good arguably a bigger hurdle is field testing and regulatory acceptance, this is going to be the main driver in acquiring companies like PHC with so much this work already completed.

...ohhh the irony of it all, talk about turning the tables..

"City AM's appointment of insolvency practitioners and immediate sale will come as The Daily Telegraph, its Sunday sister and The Spectator prepare to be put up for sale by receivers who were called in by Lloyds Banking Group last month."

Its a different ball game for THG, they have economies of scale, own their own hosting service, content creation, studios - the list goes on.

One of THG Studios anchor tenants is Sky backed The Overlap, tons of sports content right there with syndication options, footy coverage much of which could be exclusive ..

Its a good demographic too in a relatively small area.

Lots of optionality with this acquisition, Ingenuity has huge customer base which may wish to advertise along with other clients, could be a real money spinner in the long run, vouchers and other incentives to join spas hotel weekends.

As others have said, it gives THG board a voice to defend themselves against misinformation, already we have seen a slew of positive press articles.

I can see Kelso liking this too, many of their shareholders could advertise own ventures/businesses ..global expansion is a great idea, similar reasons to above.

Partnering with the L’Occitane Group and Elemis to deliver international DTC expansion

https://www.thgingenuity.com/resources/case-studies/elemis

L'Occitane: sales in the Americas soar by 57% in the first quarter

https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/L-occitane-sales-in-the-americas-soar-by-57-in-the-first-quarter,1539962.html

Shares of L’Occitane rose as much as 9.8 per cent in early Wednesday trading, the biggest advance in a month

https://www.scmp.com/business/companies/article/3228959/loccitanes-billionaire-owner-said-consider-buyout-us42-billion-company

Market valuation and actual valuation are generally worlds apart, we see this all the time with seemingly huge premiums being paid in takeovers but really they are just paying what the company is worth.

THG is a prime example, bids at 170p rejected as undervaluing the business but currently trading at 95p

Hutchmed is now a third lower following the $1.3b Takeda partnership, market is awash with short sellers paying little or no attention to fundamental valuations imo.

Given this paradox its going to be difficult to come up with a sensible valuation which isn't considered ridiculous, my own thoughts are between 400 - 450p based partly on revenue forecasts but more importantly on what major holders may accept.

Of the handful of trackers covering THG they all had 'consumer discretionary' within their top three weightings, this includes one of the largest world funds with over 100 billion under management.

These funds are prolific and must influence share price movements due to their colossal size, as share prices increase so do their holdings.

That's some move for Hang Seng

https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3228797/hong-kong-stocks-surge-amid-rally-chinese-developers-tech-leaders-beijings-dovish-tilt-fans-big

Its more of an indirect benefit lifting sentiment, makes shorts jumpy too.

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202307/25/WS64bf6cc5a31035260b818609.html

China vows to spur growth of private economy

Updated: July 19, 2023 21:1

https://english.www.gov.cn/policies/latestreleases/202307/19/content_WS64b7e139c6d0868f4e8ddf20.html

"After making life more difficult for many private firms in recent years, China’s leadership is shifting course and has made high-level pledges to improve the business environment."

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/07/24/china-policy-measures-to-bolster-economy.html

Spain's drought-hit tourism sector seeks to save water

https://www.rte.ie/news/2023/0721/1395723-spain-water/

Santander recognise the importance of Bio agriculture contribution;

Banco Santander is now entering the biotech industry by investing in Kimitec through the Fondo Agro Smart. With this strategic agreement, they join us in our revolution to drive a transition from synthetic chemistry to nature-based products in the agricultural and agribusiness sectors.

“It’s a strategic deal for Santander. Not only are we entering the biotech industry; we’re [entering] alongside one of the scaleups with the greatest chances of becoming the most profitable unicorn in the years to come”. – António Simões CEO of Santander Spain.

https://maaviic.com/en/banco-santander-takes-5-stake-in-kimitec-and-maavi-innovation-center/

Chemicals giant Bayer also partners with Kimitec

February 02, 2023

Bayer and Kimitec join forces to bring the next generation of Biologicals to millions of growers worldwide

https://www.bayer.com/media/en-us/bayer-and-kimitec-join-forces-to-bring-the-next-generation-of-biologicals-to-millions-of-growers-worldwide/

Just dipping into this hugely complex topic and how to translate into on-the-ground scenarios for companies like Plant Impact.

For example the relationship between heat stress and crop production is not just concerned with water, it also has a direct impact on pest behaviour and breeding habits, cycles may increase lasting for longer.

Novozymes has a blog (below) which puts across the key areas well and how bio stimulants can play an ever increasingly important role.

This is one of the papers referenced, very comprehensive;

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aat3466

Blog

https://biosolutions.novozymes.com/en/bioag

Its a huge and important subject given just how quickly our climate is now changing, recognising these subtle nuances is not always easy.

_______________________________________________

With regard to Novozymes, we should start seeing sales in India second half of 2023

https://www.lse.co.uk/rns/PHC/novozymes-distribution-agreement-ca0wklz48oha9zr.html

Just read Matt's LinkedIn post, thought it was a good summary - if the share price had gone up then it would have heaped with praise.

I caught sight of a post somewhere, not sure which forum but it said something like

"THG is a great stock, it just goes up day after day"

..you just know what's going to happen next lol

Moving up nicely, now sitting just outside of top 200 UK companies

This sort of systematic sustained buying suggests funds are active regardless of news flow, if THG is to be included automatically in the new indexes, trackers and such will have purchase their allocation accordingly.

http://www.stockchallenge.co.uk/ftse.php

Expecting to see a sharp reduction in CAPEX too, Shanghai factory update would be good, duly inspected and signed off.

Any change to strategy following the appointment of Ms Ling Yang, managing director of The Carlyle Group?

Good to see you too 2phevs, had a double take thinking it was the THG thread : )

There's certainly a lot of value locked up in PHC, getting to this stage has taken a long time together with substantial investment - I can see why it might appeal to Kelso.

Having watched mostly from the side-lines for many years it does seem things are finally coming together, managements clear communications and tone help with this also.

That sugar cane link is pretty convincing as is the Spanish one earlier.