Member Info for markbantam

To access free "hard" copies of the Australian newspaper and other business publications from all over the world, try PressReader.com . You sign in with your local library, card number+ card pin if your county subscribes (which i think most do) .

The site is good for many newspapers (NYTimes. Washington post etc) and magazines of all subjects so is good for general use. I find it a bit clunky but occasionally useful

Ok for me just signed in

"The fact his esperience is in corportae finance activities rather than Oil and Gas means this is only going one way imv."

Mayne or maybe not. This an interim appointment so experienced CFOs in oil and gas aren't just sitting on the shelf. The interim appointment will have been made with regards to the extreme circumstances - a bit of don't worry about draining the swamp when the alligators are snapping at your heels

"The problem.is people selling shares to make 10-20-30%"

Not to them it isn't. A profit is a profit. It depends on their risk reward and only they know that.

Posters keep on talking about the pension surplus of the scheme. Trustees are obliged to work in the interest of the pension fund, not the company. There may be as surplus at present for the DB but that can and does change with market conditions etc, so Trustees would have to tread very carefully and would have to consult with the Pension Regulator as it would be a "notifiable event" ( as a result of the Maxwell pension scandal) etc). I can't imagine that there is an easy quick case to be presented whilst Wood financials are in a mess. It is a very complex area but I don't think you can count on the surplus as a ready source of funds.

Hopefully it will go to 50 but then there may be a pause when the low tolerance risk buyers at 20 -25 sell half of their holding to get their capital back and let the rest of their "free" shares have an all profit ride up ( or down in "sharebel" view )

I'll be happy with 70p, making a nice profit and moving onto the next. The company is a mess and will take ages to sort out so accept any takeover and invest in a better run company

I'll be happy with 70p, making a nice profit and moving onto the next. The company is a mess and will take

Read to last line!

Motley Fool Analysis Edward Sheldon Published 24 February, 10:39 am GMT.

https://www.fool.co.uk/2025/02/24/down-60-this-month-is-ftse-250-stock-john-wood-group-worth-a-look

"Worth a look today?

When a stock falls by 80%+, there can sometimes be an opportunity for a rebound. But investors need to weigh up the possibility of a rebound against the risks (further share price weakness).

Now, taking a bullish view for a minute, the company’s planning to transform itself by moving away from lump-sum turnkey projects (where a contractor agrees to complete a project for a fixed price) and cutting costs (annualised savings of $60m this year). These moves could help to improve its fortunes.

However, in my view, the risks here are very high. The debt on the balance sheet’s a problem, especially with the lack of free cash flow. If the company’s forced to raise equity to address this, it could lead to further share price weakness for investors. Often, a major equity raise dilutes existing shareholders’ holdings significantly.

I’m also concerned about the provisional findings from the independent review. At this stage, we don’t know how prior earnings will be affected.

One other thing worth mentioning is that in 2023, private equity firm Apollo Global Management made several offers for this company. However, it then suddenly decided it wasn’t interested in a deal. Apollo didn’t say why it pulled out, but the sudden withdrawal suggests it saw something it didn’t like.

Given the risks, I don’t see much appeal here. I think there are much better stocks to consider buying today."

Agree Guardian is reporting similar " FT: Embattled Wood Group enters takeover talks with UAE’s Sidara

There’s a second flurry of takeover excitement in the City of London. Oil services and engineering company John Wood has entered talks with Sidara about a potential takeover by the United Arab Emirates-based company, the Financial Times reports. This has lifted John Wood’s share price by 30% to 34p, raising its value to around £240m.

That recovers some of its recent losses – the company’s value halved on 14th February after it predicted its free cashflow would be negative this year.

Awkwardly for John Wood, it rejected a £1.4bn takeover offer from Sidara last May, arguing that the bid “fundamentally undervalued” the company. That’s hard to defend, given Sidara were offering 205p per Wood share…."

You are probably correct that there is more to come/gain but I have no issue with people taking profits as nobody except themselves know their own position with regard to risk/reward.

Agree -" I wonder if you would think that if you were a WG employee?" Why would an employee with a DB scheme want the trustees to hand over their pension surplus to a high risk management team. It's a potential double whammy if the the firm goes bust: most likely lose their jobs and lose up to 10% of pension.

I would expect the Trustees to tread very carefully on this as surpluses can turn to deficits

Agree that the reputation of the company is at stake. Although it is not a requirement for the CFO to be a chartered accountant ( the external auditors singing off do need to be) it raises alarm bells when a CFO misuses the qualification. Nobody in my experience has an "honest oversight" of their professional qualifications. I hope that the ICAEW take action and follow their own code of conduct against him and get a signed agreement not to use the term in future although probably won''t be needed as his reputation is now public.

FYI ICAEW state " We write to the individual or the organisation and ask them to agree not to misrepresent themselves and to enter into an agreement known as an undertaking. The undertaking becomes a legally binding document which we keep in our undertaking register." " If the individual or organisation does not agree to stop, we ask our solicitors to take up the case and, if necessary, to take out an injunction through the High Court to stop them from using the description or logo when they are not entitled to. The court usually orders the defendant to pay the costs of the legal proceedings. If individuals do not follow the terms of the injunction, they can be sent to prison."

The name change follows the completion of the sale of Abrdn’s European Private Equity business to Patria Investments, a global alternative asset manager.

https://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/news/abrdn-private-equity-opportunities-trust-changes-name-to-patria-private-equity-trust/

Chair Alan Devine said: "Our extensive due diligence into Patria and their commitment to the interests of our shareholders has assured us that the newly-titled Patria Private Equity Trust is well positioned to capitalise on the broader potential of private equity markets for the long term.”

Well he would say that! Let's wait and see. Anyone any thoughts on this change?

Abrdn Private Equity Opportunities Trust (APEO), a FTSE 250 company founded in 2001, has changed its name to Patria Private Equity Trust (PPET).

The name change follows the completion of the sale of Abrdn’s European Private Equity business to Patria Investments, a global alternative asset manager.

https://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/news/abrdn-private-equity-opportunities-trust-changes-name-to-patria-private-equity-trust/

Now renamed as Patria Private PPET.

"the WRAP Retail Offer is 533.75 pence per Share, representing a premium of 0.60% to the cum-income NAV per Share as at 19 February 2024."

I was a bit slow with regard to info on this, only getting the notification yesterday and didn't sign up. The Wrap offer looks like a non event seeing that the share price has fallen toda, practically negating the premium. Did anyone particpate is this/ have any thoughts on this?

Share price rise has been limited by investors knowing that GSK are trying to sell to raise funds for aquisition. Hopefully, they will get sell the remaining 4% later in the year and see where it goes from there. Pfizer don't see to be in any hurry to sell their stake.

Jan 17 (Reuters) - GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab has raised 978 million pounds ($1.24 billion) from a discounted sale of a stake in its spun-off consumer healthcare business Haleon (HLN.L), opens new tab, the British drugmaker said on Wednesday.

GSK sold around 300 million shares in Haleon at 326 pence per share, cutting its shareholding in the world's largest standalone consumer healthcare company to 4.2%

https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/gsk-sell-32-stake-spin-off-haleon-2024-01-16/

"Consumer goods giant Unilever (ULVR.L) on Monday said it would sell Elida Beauty, its non-core beauty and personal care division, to U.S. private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners.The financial terms of the deal, expected to be completed in mid-2024, were not disclosed. Elida's portfolio comprises of more than 20 beauty and personal care brands including Q-Tips, Brut, Caress, Timotei and Tigi and the business generated about 800 million pounds ($1.02 billion) in revenues in 2022."

https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/unilever-sell-elida-beauty-yellow-wood-2023-12-18/

Anyones thoughts on this and how this will change the business/share price

Some comments on cloud cover effect on temperatures but this article is probably a good place to start as it looks at the whole energy balance that others don't. https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/EnergyBalance#:~:text=Earth's%20temperature%20doesn't%20infinitely,of%20energy%20radiating%20into%20space.