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Really not surprised to see this starting to gain traction. The initial reaction was ridiculous, especially as there was also a reassuring trading statement. I can see this drifting up to £10.50 in the next few days.

I'm buying this morning. It would be far too cheap even at £9.25 without bid interest. It's now essentially debt free again and given £140m pbt it won't take long for them to build up another £200m cash pile for acquisitions, buybacks, dividends. Plus, given the defensive nature of the business, the downside (to profits at least) is limited. Remember this used to trade on a p/e of 20-30. Ok, so growth has moderated and there are UK headwinds but a p/e of 15+ hardly seems demanding. I'd probably accept £14 just so I could take a quick buck and deploy elsewhere. But either way the market is seriously mispricing this.

I'll be livid if they don't accept this. A 59% premium is pretty good for a FTSE 100 company. Even people who bought at all time highs would rather break even than go down to £40 again. And given the SP was £50 8 years ago, can anyone be sure it won't still be £50 in 8 years time?

The way the UK market seems to work is certain perfectly decent small and midcap shares enter a downward spiral for no good reason then takeovers off a pittance more than the SP and investors accept it because it's better than the downward spiral. It's pathetic.

Interesting how this is being caught up in the AI software crash. Doesn't seem particularly vulnerable to me but I'm far from an expert. Any views?

... But this reminds me of PRU a few months ago, which went from £6 to £12 without any real changes to financial performance. So yes, this could perhaps go down to £6 or £7 but I wouldn't be surprised to see it back up at £15 within 18 months or so.

... But this reminds me of PRU a few months ago, which went from £6 to £12 without any real changes to financial performance. So yes, this could perhaps go down to £6 or £7 but I wouldn't be surprised to see it back up at £15 within 18 months or so.

So shorts are reducing, there's an ongoing buyback and fundamentals are solid. Yet the SP keeps falling. Sentiment is awful. But this reminds

I wonder what the plan is for the cash pile? Seems pointless to sit on 1/4 of market cap (and counting) in cash. There's no track record of acquisitions, no buybacks, and no divi. Introducing a small divi should be a priority, I reckon and I'd prefer buybacks to acquisitions.

This research chimes with my experience. I had a very bad experience with a company and spent a long time writing a review detailing the problems I had had. But my review was rejected on spurious grounds - they could not be sure if it authentic. My suspicion at the time was that this was because the company was paying a chunky fee to be protected from negative reviews. This research would appear to confirm my suspicions.

The problem isn't the move to the main market. All mid and small cap stocks in the UK have been targeted whether on AIM or FTSE 250. In fact, the AIM 100 has massively underperformed the FTSE 250.

This is to my mind the biggest no trainer in the FTSE 250 now that ALPH has been bought out. Great management, solid track record while other UK tech stocks have mucked up (GBG, LTG, etc.), and now weirdly low value. I just hope it doesn't bounce too hard before ALPH goes through as I expect to make this my biggest holding (though TBF it doesn't have the potential ALPH had).

Any views on whether AT. might need to do a capital raise? That's the only situation where shorts are really scary, as they can push the price down so it gets diluted at a lower level. There's debt here but it looks manageable to me and growth prospects look good medium term. So it looks to me like shorts are basically just ganging up on this company because they can. But i don't see why it won't bounce back to £7-8.

I have quite a large holding and so far am only very slightly down, so I'm not saying this because I've lost lots of money, but this is the first time I've thought it was a mistake to invest. The results are terrible, management is untrustworthy and keep on making unpleasant unexpected changes to dividend policy, and the current payout makes it uncompetitive. Why hold GSF when there are other much steadier renewable infrastructure trusts that pay a much higher dividend? I'm amazed the SP hasn't dropped 30-40%.

Yes, there's a case for saying the update is neutral. If pbt is in line with guidance who cares if revenue is down, especially given that this seems to relate to transient or cyclical factors. So why a drop of over 20%? This is now dirt cheap and a strong buy IMO. I'm just annoyed I burned my cash pile on this prior to the drop, especially given all the shorters would have known it was coming.

Why do I invest in heavily shorted AIM stocks? Why does anyone? I do think this company has a lot of promise but as of now I feel like a prize fool!

£38 would be pretty lame. A less than 40% premium on a company that was on a low valuation - especially given it has almost everything going for it (cash, growth, interest rate hedge...) - and about as far from needing rescuing as you can get would be hugely disappointing. But while I think £50 would be reasonable, I just can't see it. US companies are swooping on bargains and at £50 it's not really a bargain any more. I guess it depends on how much Corpay think they need it and I honestly have no idea on synergies, etc.

If it does go for anywhere near £52, then the market is seriously mispricing this at present. Corpay will presumably have an eye on the current share price, which is telling them that £40 would probably be enough. Obviously the board could hold out for more, but if their respective valuations are do far apart, then why did they keep talking?

So what do we think this might sell for? It was £28 when the bid news broke. Though the 6-month average would have been less. It's now £34. I would say £38 is the minimum and £45 the max. My guess would be £40-42. Tilbrook is the biggest single holder and I can see why, having quit as CEO, he'd be willing to sell. But surely only at quite a significant premium. And I reckon institutions would be happy to get £40. The fact the SP has been creeping up suggests the market thinks there's a very decent chance of a sale, though they must be expecting around £40 as there's some real downside now it's at £34.

I fail to understand the price action on this. May 6, when the takeover interest is announced, the price is £28. It rises 2% on the day and subsequently rises to £30. Then we find out today that the board is happy for talks to continue, and the price rises to £32. So a serious takeover possibility in a company that is about as far from having to sell itself off cheap leads to a price rise from £28 to £32. I just don't get it. Surely, a company like Alph could realistically expect to be bought out at, say, a 60% premium to the prior price? So why is the SP up less than 15%?