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Three executives from Aggreko, the FTSE 100 temporary power and temperature control group, showed their faith in the firm this week, topping up their interests a couple of days after it disappointed the market with a downbeat outlook for 2013. Ken Hanna, Chairman, purchased 6,750 shares at 1,736p each on Thursday for £117,180, taking his interest to 20,188 shares. Chief Executive Officer Rupert Soames and Chief Financial Officer Angus Cockburn also snapped up 1,470 and 1,400 shares, respectively, on the same day. On Monday, Aggreko released its pre-close trading update for the current financial year, in which it maintained its full-year guidance of 13% growth in revenue. However, the company said that after a strong year, its performance in 2013 would likely be lower. "The economic environment we will be facing in 2013 is particularly uncertain in many of our markets and it is difficult at this stage to provide a definitive view of the likely pattern of trading in 2013," Aggreko said.

Jefferies has reiterated its 'buy' rating and 130p target price for office space group Regus following Friday's 40m-pound cash offer for smaller peer MWB Business Exchange (MBE). "We view this as a strategically sensible transaction for Regus, cementing its leading market position in the UK serviced office market, with considerable potential cross-selling synergies," Jefferies said.

Credit Suisse has slashed its estimates for drinks giant and Guinness owner Diageo following the cancelled talks to acquire tequila group Jose Cuervo, but has retained its 'outperform' rating for the stock. With the stock trading at 17.5 times calendar 2013 earnings, in line with peers but with above-average growth and returns, Credit Suisse said that Diageo "remains one of the better long-term investment cases in our consumer staples universe".

Gasol plc ('Gasol' or the 'Company') (AIM: GAS) Equity for Services Share Allotment Gasol plc, the West African energy development company, announces that it has agreed to issue 1,117,837 ordinary shares in the Company ("Shares") at 13.6p per Share to Erasmus Advisory Services Limited ("Erasmus") in settlement of advisory services provided to the Company by Erasmus in connection with its Benin LNG Import Project. Application has been made for these Shares, which rank pari passu in all respects with the existing Shares, to be admitted to trading on AIM. It is expected that admission will take place on 28 December, 2012. Erasmus has agreed not to dispose of 558,918 of these Shares until financial close of the Benin LNG Import Project. - Ends -

The fall in Fresenius's share price means the shares now trade on a PE ratio of just over 17. That might sound high, but it's in line with its main competitors and, more important, is close to its all-time low rating in March 2009. So, in the short term, a share price bounce looks feasible. Besides, the shares are trading below their sum-of-the-parts valuation of €62 a share from Berenberg Bank. That implies the shares can also offer decent returns for longer-term investors.but as always dyor and good luck......

There are also technical reasons to buy Fresenius's shares in preference to other Dax 30 constituents. That's because at some point its share rating should return to the mean, so Fresenius's shares are more likely than others to hold up if the Dax falters. True, there are bear points to consider. Baxter has been aggressively challenging the company's grip on the dialysis market, with the latest reports linking it to a possible takeover of Swedish hemodialysis company Gambro. That would give Baxter traction in Fresenius's main hemodialysis market for the first time and that may put profits under pressure in the long run. In addition, Fresenius faces lawsuits in the US over deaths that are possibly linked to its NaturaLyte and GranuFlo products. This has turned into a class action suit that Fresenius will defend. The share price fall since the summer has arguably priced in the likely cost of an out-of-court settlement and the shares are likely to bounce if legal uncertainty is removed.

resenius Medical Care is the world's largest provider of technology and products for kidney dialysis treatment. Yet it is the company's share price that's in need of medical treatment following a profit warning caused by a combination of missed forecasts and lawsuits in the US over alleged health complications involving two of its products. The price has underperformed the Dax 30 index of major German companies by about 35 per cent since the summer. Yet that creates the possibility that it can bounce if the company can sort out its problems. And whatever its short-term problems - the company missed its forecast for third-quarter sales and profits by just 2 per cent - Fresenius Medical has an enviable market niche in dialysis products and services. The company, which was a spin-out from the larger Fresenius Healthcare (which still owns 30 per cent), is the market leader of the $75bn (£46bn) global dialysis market. It concedes ground to US company Baxter in some specialist areas, such as peritoneal dialysis, but Baxter's global market share still lags behind. Fresenius generates two-thirds of its revenues in the lucrative US market and benefits both from the sale of machines and drugs and products related to kidney treatment. It also has an important foothold in emerging markets, with China rising to be the second biggest buyer of dialysis equipment after the US. That fits in with management's notion that Fresenius can continue to grow its business simply by following the trend for more new dialysis clinics in which it can place its machines.

A prospective dividend yield of 5 per cent isn't bad, although the payout will barely be covered if Darty's earnings come in around City estimates (see table). Meanwhile the shares, which are on a pre-Christmas run, are rated at 16 times forecast earnings for 2012-13. There are other retailers on similar ratings that, unlike Darty, are reporting decent sales growth - such as Halfords or Next. As the group continues to struggle in weak eurozone markets, expect the shares to have a drab time of it in early 2013. .....But as always dyor and good luck..

But a backdrop of significant management change isn't ideal for driving large-scale plans. After all, chief executive Thierry Falque-Pierrotin will leave Darty on 4 January, with finance director Dominic Platt set to perform that role until a replacement is found. And even when the restructuring is completed, Darty will still be heavily exposed to the grim conditions in France. Past restructuring hasn't yielded ideal results, either. Darty paid private equity group OpCapita £50m in February to take Comet off its hands. While that allowed Darty to exit the dire UK retail electricals market, the final cost of the disposal increased the group's debt by €175m, helping turn a previously comfortable cash pile into a significant debt burden. Darty, like all retailers, is also facing growing competition from the internet as price-conscious consumers surf the web for the best deals. And while Darty says that it is growing its web-generated sales faster than the market, overall progress looks modest, with just 11 per cent of product sales generated online. Argos, in contrast, generates 42 per cent of its sales online.

In response, management plans to focus on the group's core businesses in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. That involves exiting Italy, Spain, the Czech Republic and Slovakia - Darty has already announced the disposal of its Italian business to local retailer DPS. The aim is to sell or close the remaining chains over the next 12 months, while the Turkish operation will be kept under review. The move, says management, should eventually deliver €50m a year of costs savings, while the planned sale of non-core properties should realise €35m, more than offsetting the envisaged €30m cost of the restructuring.

Electronics retailer Darty (DRTY), formerly Kesa Electronics, is having a hard time. With nearly 70 per cent of its sales generated in France - where eurozone-induced misery has left the IMF forecasting growth of just 0.4 per cent in 2013 - Darty is under pressure as hard-pressed consumers rein in their spending. In fact, with its half-year figures, management revealed that like-for-like sales in France had tumbled 2.8 per cent year on year and that profits had slumped 44 per cent to €24.4m (£19.7m). Overall, Darty revealed a €7.3m pre-tax half-year loss, with group like-for-like sales having fallen 1.7 per cent. But Darty's problems go beyond France. Some 9 per cent of sales are generated in 'non-core' markets of Italy, Spain and Turkey and, in aggregate, those operations saw like-for-like sales fall 4.7 per cent and make a €19.8m half-year loss. Darty is also struggling with sub-scale operations in Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Its more established operations in Belgium and the Netherlands, responsible for 22 per cent of sales, are hardly booming, either. Like-for-like sales there grew 3 per cent at the half-year stage, but those businesses still delivered a €1.4m loss. "The consumer electronics market is tough across all countries in Europe and no respite is assumed in the near future," says new chairman Alan Parker.

http://www.investegate.co.uk/endace-limited-(eda)/rns/emulex-offer-for-endace-shares-dispatched/201212210700080856U/

http://www.investegate.co.uk/sage-group-plc-(sge)/rns/transaction-in-own-shares/201212210700080841U/

http://www.investegate.co.uk/british-sky-broad.-(bsy)/rns/share-buyback/201212210700080846U/

http://www.investegate.co.uk/enegi-oil-plc-(eneg)/rns/final-results/201212210700070829U/

http://www.investegate.co.uk/petra-diamonds-(pdl)/rns/block-listing-six-monthly-return/201212210700100602U/

http://www.investegate.co.uk/aggreko-plc-(agk)/rns/directorpdmr-shareholding/201212210700101111U/

"Mathenais a well-regarded business in the US upstream oil and gas markets, with a strong management team and market share in the pressure control drilling markets," said Weir's Chief Executive Officer Keith Cochrane. "This deal is a close strategic fit with our existing pressure control business and gives us a larger suite of products which we can sell to the expanded customer base. The business has strong growth potential and increases our exposure to shale oil and gas, markets with attractive long term structural growth prospects."

Engineering solutions group Weir is to buy pressure control rental equipment firm Mathena as it attempts to up its exposure to the fast-growing shale oil and gas market. Mathena, which makes a range of pressure control products including hydraulic chokes, mud-gas and shale-gas separators for the for onshore oil and gas markets, will be acquired for an initial payment of $240m (£148m) with a maximum deferred consideration of $145m payable over two years, subject to profit targets. In a statement on Thursday morning, Weir said: "In addition to its manufacturing expertise, Mathena differentiates itself through a strong customer service culture, product innovation and the ability to offer complete bespoke rental and service packages. The acquisition will increase the aftermarket focus of Weir Oil & Gas with approximately 80% of Mathena's revenues generated from equipment rental and 20% from related parts and service." The group said that this acquisition is a "strong strategic fit" with Weir Seaboard in the pressure control market and supports the expansion of its flow back services.

Chief Executive Chris Hyman said he was pleased with the operational and financial performance delivered by the Group in 2012, particularly in the light of challenging conditions in some of the firm's markets. In a separate announcement, Serco set out its plans to establish an independent charitable foundation to mark its 25th year as a publicly traded company. The firm is making a one-off endowment of £5m to the Serco Foundation and will provide ongoing support for its stated mission to "help charities through the application of Serco's people, skills and capabilities".