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Buying(investing) here earns an 8 % pa return over 12 months , better than any other sound investment I know , and better than some of the bonds/prefs I hold. There is also the probability of cap app as markets recognise that interest rates are very likely to be much lower in 12 months and LGEN's regular and pretty stable divi will look even better by comparison. I have added today.

Zach ... it is just possible that the board PSN recognise that they can make greater use of capital by building houses and selling them! The boards of companies doing share buybacks are implicitly saying that they can find no better use for the money and/or they are artificially seeking to raise the SP because that's what their bonus is linked to.

News this am that OCDO are planning to close the Hatfield CFC and transfer activity to Luton which achieves 200 units per hour (cf Hatfield at 150/hr) expects most staff to move.

see
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/JET2/trading-update/15923572
The usual cautious but positive stuff from Jet2, an upgrade on profits of ~5%% from previous (and they know their figures to within 1-2%). So around £390 m profit against a current MC of £2.8 for a forward P/E of around 7 , if the P/E adjusts, as it should, to maybe 10 then we're looking at a SP of 1700-1800p. Having bought at 1000p I will hold , looking to sell some if/when we reach those levels.

https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/WG./statement-on-final-proposal-and-deadline-extension/15917613
It looks like WG have finally caved in , tho' not a definite deal it is now MUCH more probable , SP will bounce sharply this am.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/apr/14/fast-build-modular-homes-an-answer-to-the-uk-housing-crisis
Interesting story of a currently loss-making venture with prospects of profits and socially beneficial future.

Happy - you may be right BUT you may also be wrong, as I have said before an offer situation is unique in that it is the only time when PI's have as much knowledge as the market, 'cos everybody with a notifiable interest has to play with their cards face up. That gives rise to the plethora of RNS's which describe in detail the transactions being made. If you haven't already (and your assumptions suggest to me that you haven't) I recommend you browse through this
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/WG./wood-group-john-plc/analysis

I have been monitoring this data feed for a few weeks now and can see no pattern of behaviour(eg steady additions to positions) that suggests that the major players believe an offer acceptance is probable.
As you can see, even though there is a constant flow of small (ish) trades there is no obvious trend to add, indeed my analysis suggests that on balance the corporate holders are gently selling, though not enough to scare the horses. I have also suggested that these major holders have assured WG board that, in the event the offer falls ,(i.e. it is rejected)they will hold through the resultant SP fall and back the board and the company to achieve a higher market cap and SP over time.

A summary of the current state of play.
The latest and allegedly, final offer from Apollo is for 240p per share and the decision day is next wed 19 April.
WG have rejected five offers which ranged from something below 230p (when the SP was148p) to the current 240p only 3p above the previous rejected 237p offer.
As of next wed the outcomes are as follows , Wood accept the current offer or Apollo make a last ditch increased offer which , on recent evidence is very unlikely to be more than a few pence increase, and Wood either accept that or reject it. .IMV all the SP action is implying that the market knows that Wood are committed to rejecting. What SP action ? you might say - well the current SP is STILL 28p below the offer price and II's who assume acceptance would not be passing up a quick 12-15% profit in a week, but there is no SP surge, the big holders as per recent RNS's are selling a few and volumes are normal. Recent analysts' views concur , there is no rush to upgrade estimates and several are sitting at below the offer price.
As a recent holder here based on my assumption of a turnround, and as admitted, a seller at 215 p I will wait until next week and will certainly buy if the bid falls (along with the SP). I reason that the board (all of whom would either be retained or walk with a nice pay off) have belief in the turnround and expect to drive the company forward to higher profits and a (much) higher SP . If they reject the offer they are putting their reputations and their personal rewards on the line , brave and maybe?, justified.

Another Ft article with significance for LGEN (and 7 other major pension providers)
https://www.ft.com/content/b68e6341-ebdf-41a8-9c16-22c614389383?desktop=true&segmentId=7c8f09b9-9b61-4fbb-9430-9208a9e233c8#myft:notification:daily-email:content
Although I am a firm believer in not breaching copyright, I will summarise:
"UK pension assets are equivalent to 120% of UK annual GDP ."( that's roughly £2 trillion)
"Security of DB pensions has now been largely solved"
" This (the offloading to the buyout market) is the end game of many sponsors- and record volumes are being anticipated"
The quotes are taken directly from the article but have been edited for brevity without , I hope, distorting their meaning.

sd235 this quote from the FT article is unambiguous.
"The latest modelling by actuaries saw life expectancy assumptions at retirement age fall 1.9 per cent, or six months, compared with the previous year’s model."
As to your comment
"They will only be able to take advantage of increased yields when the bonds are redeemed and they buy replacements with higher yields. So that will depend on the average redemption dates of the bonds they hold."
Perhaps you forget that as DB schemes are taken on LGEN will be continually buying bonds and can take advantage (as I am) of the fall in bond prices and corresponding rise in coupons. for example, LGEN's accounts show they wrote an additional £3.3billion in premiums last year, much of which revenue will have been deployed in the bond market.
I am not suggesting that LGEN is a boom stock merely that I fully expect steady growth and that the financial conditions I describe to add impetus to the steady 5-10% growth projections. I have said on several occasions that my annual folio objective is inflation +10%, I believe LGEN will achieve that over the next 2/3years.

Hi Andy... You ask what's the catalyst? a very fair question .... and here is at least in part my answer.
The recent chaos over the " LDI crisis" has cast a pall over the insurance industry generally and has in the short-term depressed SP's, however when the LDI crisis is fully understood (see some of my previous posts) it will be seen as a significant positive for LGEN and others, on two counts, first is that as bond values have fallen so bond interests rates have risen , meaning that many DB pension funds are, for the first time in decades solvent or nearly so . That means that many companies are taking this opportunity to offload the risks attendant to funding a pension fund to providers like LGEN, hence a rush of profitable business.( see recent LGEN reports). Second while the value of these long -term assets(bonds) has fallen, their suitability for funding DB schemes has risen, the income stream they provide, more suitably matches the long-term liability they fund, making LGENs long term position more secure.
The second substantial change is as described in this FT article
https://www.ft.com/content/8af4e821-1e14-4c6a-a98c-1b670851b38c
which for those without access I summarise as saying that the recent actuarial evidence is that life expectancy has fallen and the windfall effect of this may be worth 2% or about £30 billion to the insurance industry (the sooner you die the less pension you get - in brutal terms)
So, while LGEN is a dull, boring stock to hold, its merits as safe, stable and a good progressive divi payer merit it's inclusion in my folio, I will continue to hold and, probably, add at these levels.

Hi , I said here a few days ago that my feeling was that the T/O will NOT take place. based largely on the Price action and the SP's current value about 20% below the offer. I must admit that as I had been out of contact for almost three months, I hadn't done my normal in-depth analysis. Well, I still haven't but I have done a bit more. Here are my summary conclusions.

I still believe the T/O will Not take place, the SP still hovers much further below the bid price than would be expected if the market perception was for a deal. The SP is where it is despite the fact that three entities - Barclays, Liontrust and Pzena (US) have between them acquired 15.6% of WG. The major holders who were required to declare on the initial news are AFAIK still holding ~ 22% (anybody checked the dozens of RNS's to refute that?) In all my FT feed suggests that 54% of stock is held by the top ten holders.
SO , while there has been no rush for the exits with short-term profits in hand and three players have bought in the hope of a quick profit, we still have the very untypical sight of a SP 20% below the T/O price which is due to close in 13 business days and for which as far as we know the board still reject.
I still think a deal is more than likely to fail and with it a sharp fall in WG's SP, BUT, that most II's are content to hold for a better long-term future. (And may well have assured the board as much), thus reinforcing their refusal to accept.

Interesting clarification in OCDO's RNS
https://www.londonstockexchange.com/news-article/OCDO/ocado-victory-in-autostore-proceedings/15898768
see this sentence
OCADO'S CLAIMS AGAINST AUTOSTORE( my caps) for infringing Ocado's IP are continuing in Germany and New Hampshire, USA.

It therefore looks like ALL of Autostore's claims are now dismissed

A more formal notification from the chambers who acted for OCDO
https://www.blackstonechambers.com/news/autostore-technology-as-v-ocado-group-plc-ors/
while predicting short term market moves is not my thing, I cannot help but see this as short-term positive.

It looks like todays sharp SP rise is down to this
https://www.aol.co.uk/news/ocado-declares-total-victory-robot-164532582.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANCsetQ5YMPJW6gNP6MTLKFO5jBksF7OxC1ANvprXSBSbfs8_JjllJvDsWBrJLssmO0iJKv734o1MeLLdUpwiGJjD5EsYhkov5ieutArpNGJzYqxNz__PE7uBzSDv-mGxDaynNdiS4RfCfeiIbuKhnO9MU1RSrrQxOnQRgH0UeDB
there are several other news outlets with the same story about the Autostore /Ocado legal squabble, while cases are still outstanding in Germany and the US it looks like Ocado's position is pretty secure,(and given that Autostore is owned by a US based hedgie)and we all know that hedge funds are dodgy, says he with family members working for them!!!!I
I suspect that a long running sore is almost lanced, and that Ocados' most valuable asset , its IP, is secure I look forward to a steady SP rise.

Hi Pang see
http://www.stockchallenge.co.uk/ftse.php

a market cap. of £4bill is needed(or thereabouts), that implies a SP rise of about 25% from here or an SP of just over £2 will get MKS into the FTSE100 at the next review, unlikely IMV unless a few other FTSE laggards have a poor run. All else equal I think a FTSE 100 place in the autumn is possible, if the SP continues to rise .

poker , remember that in a bid situation all holders are playing with their cards face up, so a shrewd Hedge fund (and I know I have family members working in them) will enter into to an off-exchange deal to take an option on a block of shares at say 225 or 230 from which they make a profit if the deal completes. The cost of such an option is often no more than a few percentage points of the deal cost (ie only pennies per share, but with the prospect of doubling there money on a deal completion).Both sides can benefit , the ultimate holders who may be banks , funds, insurers.... earn a little cut of the deal and do so even if the deal falls, the hedgies risk a little to earn a lot .

The fact that the SP is sitting 20% below the offer price suggest that the market thinks the deal will not go through . In these situations a lot of hedgies arbitrage the target company SP in the expectation of a deal , that means that the target SP tends to drift upwards as the deadline date approaches. That this is not happening ,supports the view that it won't complete. I held here and sold at 215 on the bid news , for a while it looked like I had screwed up and missed further profits, IIRC it got to about 225, I have ben watching events with a view to re-entering and doing a little arbing myself but am holding off for now . If as I suspect the deal falls and consequently so does the SP I may buy back in as I do believe the worst is over here and think, like the board, there is more value here than reflected in the bid.
GlA whatever your choice.

I've been accumulating 'spoons shares for some time now on the basis that as a well-run company in a recovery situation it is heavily undervalued. The company will never be a huge earner , because TM seems happy to run it on the basis that it offers an unique service and pays him well enough. I hold at an average in the 500's and will retain, in the expectation of an SP more than double that within a year or two. The latest figures reflect stability rather than booming profits , but they are refreshingly clear and easy to understand, JDW now own the freehold of almost 600 of their pubs and IMV those assets are probably worth almost the full MC of the company and their cash management is superb. They will return to modest divi payments in the near term which will add to confidence but Cap app. is my aim ,.The shares were in four figures pre-covid and IMV will return there.

Todays SP bounce may well be as a result of the GS upgrade but still IMV leaves the SP well short of fair value. I first bought here at below £1 and now hold a fair few with an average of < £1.10 (though while I was away my auto sell limit sold some at just above £1.60), I fear I have missed the chance to buy them back much lower!
Having reviewed the recent data I reckon MKS will have revenues of £12 bill when they report (already £9.2 bill in the first 3 quarters) and a PTP of £450 mill + excluding whatever it cost to buy GIST- anybody got any data?, IMV it's probably between £250-300 mill.
Anyway looking at "clean" accounts a £ 450mll PTP and rising, merits a P/E of >10 and a market cap of ~£4bill (versus just under £3bill at the mo.). To put all of that in simple terms it implies a SP of over £2 and I shall hold for that!