A round up of the day’s news brought to you by the team at small-cap broker and advisor Hybridan.
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Beximco Pharma 78.5p £715m (BXP.L)
The fast-growing manufacturer of generic pharmaceutical products and active pharmaceutical ingredients, announces it has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Baclofen (10 and 20 mg tablets), a muscle relaxant drug indicated for the treatment of muscle pain, spasms, and stiffness in people with multiple sclerosis or spinal cord injury or disease. This is Beximco Pharma’s ninth Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) fully developed in-house and successfully approved for the US market since the Company’s oral solid dosage facility was approved by the US FDA in June 2015. The Company expects to launch the product through its US distribution partner in due course. According to IQVIA audited market data, there are currently nine active players for Baclofen in the US market, which generated sales of more than US$ 110m in 2020.
Cornish Metals 14.1p £37.13m (CUSN.L)
Cornish Metals has filed a technical report pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 – Standards for Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) for the South Crofty Tin Project, Cornwall, United Kingdom under Cornish Metals’ profile on Sedar (www.sedar.com). The Company’s news release dated June 9, 2021 summarizes the mineral resource estimate. The technical report, titled “South Crofty Tin Project Mineral Resource Update” was prepared by AMC Consultants (UK) Ltd on behalf of Cornish Metals and was co-authored by Nicholas Szebor, CGeol (London), EurGeol, FGS and Robert Chesher, FAusIMM (CP). All of the co-authors of the Technical Report are independent of Cornish Metals, meet the definition of a “Qualified Person” under NI 43-101 and have consented to the disclosure in Cornish Metals’ June 9, 2021 news release which describes the updated mineral resource estimate for the South Crofty Tin Project.
Iomart 246.25p £270m (IOM.L)
Iomart Group plc, the cloud computing company, announced the appointment of Andrew Taylor as a Non-Executive Director of the Company, with effect from 1 August 2021. As described in the Company’s Final Results announcement in June, the Board has sought the appointment of a fourth independent Non-Executive Director to add additional sector skills to support the execution of the Group’s refreshed medium term strategic plan and is delighted to have secured an executive of Andrew’s experience and calibre. Andrew has over 25 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry, and has a demonstrable track record of achievement in previous roles, both in the UK and internationally. He is the CEO of Gamma Communications plc, a leading provider of unified communication services to the business market in Western Europe.
Metal Tiger 23p £36m (MTR.L)
The AIM and ASX listed investor in natural resource opportunities, has received firm commitments from existing and new strategic, institutional and sophisticated investors for a conditional capital raising of A$5m (approximately £2.677m) (before costs), at a placing price of A$0.37 (approximately 20p) per CHESS Depositary Interest (CDI). The Placing is expected to facilitate additional liquidity to the Company’s ASX quotation and assist Metal Tiger to establish an increased presence in the Australian market. The net Placing proceeds will be applied across Metal Tiger’s global resources investments. Cobre Limited (ASX: CBE), a Company in which Metal Tiger holds a 16.62% interest, is a related party of Metal Tiger’s Chief Executive Officer, Michael McNeilly, under the ASX Listing Rules, which has conditionally subscribed for 2,702,703 new CDIs as part of the Placing for A$1.0m. As per the requirements of the ASX Listing Rules, Cobre’s participation is subject to Metal Tiger shareholder approval and the Company intends to convene a shareholder meeting during August 2021 to obtain shareholder consent.
Red Rock Resources 0.75p £9.12m (RRR.L)
Red Rock Resources Plc, the natural resource development company with interests in gold, manganese and base metals, announced the appointment to the Board of Alex Borrelli as an independent Non-Executive Director with immediate effect. Alex Borrelli, FCA, initially studied medicine and then qualified as a chartered accountant with Deloitte, Haskins & Sells, London in 1982. He then worked in Corporate Finance at Guinness Mahon, Samuel Montagu and as a Corporate Finance and Main Board Director at Charterhouse. His subsequent investment banking business included nine years as Head of Corporate Finance and AIM Nomad qualified executive at Shore Capital. He has acted on a wide variety of corporate transactions in a senior role for over 20 years, including flotations, takeovers, mergers and acquisitions for private and quoted companies. For the last 15 years, he has been acting as chairman and director of various listed companies, including AIM-listed Greatland Gold PLC, Xpediator PLC, Tiger Royalties and Investments PLC and most recently Bradda Head Holdings Limited.
Semper Fortis Esports* 2.9p £12.1m (AQSE:SEMP)
Semper Fortis Esports PLC, the esports company focused on establishing esports teams, forming brand and technology partnerships, and providing business to business advisory services, has rebranded its Top Blokes esports team as “SMPR”, bringing the brand closer to its mother company. SMPR is an acronym for SEMPER, which in Latin translates as ‘Always’, a symbol of commitment and focus for the brand. SMPR will now be the official brand for the current and future Semper Fortis esports teams. The Company is looking forward to developing this new brand and identity with official merchandise and content. The new brand logo and identity for SMPR can be found here: http://www.SMPR.gg.
TP Group 3.9p £30.4m (TPG.L)
Further to the announcement made on 6 July 2021, the Board has now completed a detailed review of the business and a number of opportunities to significantly improve performance have been identified. Following this review, David Lindsay is now appointed as permanent CEO, subject to completion of the standard on-boarding process being undertaken by the Company’s nominated adviser. A further announcement will be made in due course in this regard, which shall contain all necessary disclosures pursuant to Schedule Two, paragraph (g) of the AIM Rule for Companies. In addition, as announced previously, the Company had received a number of expressions of interest to acquire its Maritime Engineering business. Whilst there was significant interest and offers were made, they did not meet the Board’s valuation expectations and the Board has decided to withdraw the Maritime business from sale. The Company is trading in line with market expectations and there remain significant market opportunities and strong customer relationships which give the Board confidence for the future. A further update will be made to shareholders in due course. TP Group delivers complex equipment, software and services for mission, business and safety critical applications in defence, space, intelligence & security and energy sectors. With more than 400 people in 6 European countries, it serves global customers through long-term contracts.
United Oil & Gas 3.95p £25.5m (UOG.L)
The growing oil and gas company with a portfolio of production, development, exploration and appraisal assets, issued a trading and operational update in respect of the half year to the end of June 2021. Q2/21 Group working interest production averaged 2,937 boepd, yielding a H1/21 average of 2,730 boepd, ahead of H1 guidance of 2,300 to 2,500 boepd and in line with full year guidance of between 2,500 and 2,700 boepd. Highly successful H1 drilling campaign, with the Abu Sennan Licence continually performing above the company’s expectations. As previously noted, an additional fully funded exploration well (ASX-1X) has now been added to the drilling schedule, following the significant success of the 2021 drilling campaign. In Italy, in early April the Government granted Environmental approval for the development of the Selva natural gas field concession, a key milestone on the road to achieving first gas. Revenue for the first half of 2021 is expected to be c. $10.3m-10.5m. Realised oil price of c. $63.10/bbl.
XL Media 54p £141.8m (XLM.L)
The global digital performance publisher, today provides a trading update for the six months ended 30 June 2021. The Company continues to make good progress in the current financial year, buoyed by a consistent performance in the Personal Finance vertical, record organic growth in the European Sport vertical and a positive impact from the recently acquired US Sports vertical. However, this progress is partially offset by the Casino vertical’s performance, where tail revenues continue to deteriorate and new revenue is being built from a smaller existing asset base. For the six months ended 30 June 2021, XL Media expects to report revenue of approximately US$32m (H1 2020: US$27.7m), EBITDA of approximately US$2.9m (H1 2020: US$3.5m) and Adjusted EBITDA of approximately US$7.0m (H1 2020: US$5.1m). Cash balances remained strong and at end of June 2021 were approximately US$38.0m (30 June 2020: US$24.8m). The Company therefore reaffirms guidance as previously stated on 27th May 2021 of revenue for full year 2021 of between $65m and $70m. The integration and commencement of a number of marketing initiatives across the Company’s US sports assets continues to gather momentum, with increased levels of traffic reported across all sites since their acquisition. The US Sports vertical is well-placed to benefit from the US sports season in H2 2021.
Zephyr Energy 6.35p £77.8m (ZPHR.L)
The Rocky Mountain oil and gas company focused on responsible resource development and carbon-neutral operations, announced that its Ordinary Shares have been approved to trade on the OTCQB Venture Market in the United States of America and will commence trading at the market open today under the ticker ZPHRF. The Company believes that dual trading on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and the OTCQB will provide enhanced investor benefits, including easier access for investors based in the U.S. and increased liquidity due to a broader pool of potential investors. The ability to trade in the Company’s existing Ordinary Shares on AIM will not be affected by having the OTCQB facility and no new Ordinary Shares have been issued. Zephyr will continue to make announcements and disclosures to the London Stock Exchange through the Regulatory News Service and has no Sarbanes-Oxley or U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reporting requirements.
What’s cooking in the IPO kitchen?
Northcoders, an independent provider of training programmes for software coding, to join AIM. It offers a range of training and software development solutions to individual and corporate customers. The Company’s offering includes ‘bootcamp’ training courses, government funded apprenticeships and bespoke training courses and software development solutions. The Company operates a hybrid delivery model by providing its services in person at one of Northcoders’ regional office ‘hubs’, currently located in Manchester and Leeds, or digitally via its online platform. Gross proceeds for the company of approximately £3.5m at an anticipated Mkt Cap on admission of £12.5m.Due 27 July.
Quantum Exponential Limited, a company formed to identify investment opportunities in the quantum technology sector, to apply for admission of its Ordinary Shares to trading on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market . Raising up to £5m targeted for August.
SigmaRoc (on AIM) to complete RTO of of Nordkalk Oy Ab, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rettig Group, for a total Consideration of EUR470m. Nordkalk was established in 1898 as a limestone developer in Finland and since expanded across northern Europe to become the leading limestone company in the area. The Company has raised £260m from the Placing and £1.6m from the Retail Offer. Based on the Placing Price, Mkt Cap on Admission is expected to be approximately £542m. Due Late August.
BiVictriX Therapeutics to join AIM, a UK based drug development company which was incorporated in February 2016 and has developed its proprietary Bi-Cygni® technology. This technology utilises Antibody Drug Conjugates (ADC”s), an existing class of potent biological drugs, for the treatment of various cancers including Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, the first condition which BVX intends to treat.
Central Copper Resources, a company focused on delivering a high grade copper project into production and exploration of assets in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and in the Republic of Zambia to join AIM. By 2022, CCR intends to be ready to commence the project financing of its Mbamba Kilenda copper project. Offer TBA. Due early August.
Spinnaker Acquisitions to join the Main Market (Standard). A company formed for the purpose of undertaking an acquisition or acquisitions of a majority interest in a company, business or asset. Due 28 July.South West Brands the multi-brand cannabidiol consumer goods company intends to float on the Main Market (Standard). Raising funds to continue to develop its existing portfolio of brand IP and pursue its strategy of adding brand IP assets to the portfolio over the course of the first 24 months following Admission. The Company expects Admission to occur in July 2021. Timing and offer TBA.
Big Technologies to join AIM. Big Technologies plc provides products and services to the remote and personal monitoring industry under a number of brand and trading names, with ‘Buddi’ being the most well known and used in respect of activities within the core criminal justice market. The Company’s criminal justice solution involves proprietary monitoring software combined with modular monitoring hardware being used to accurately track the location of tag wearers. Alongside this, the Company also offers monitoring services solutions for its customers. £16.1m via a placing of new ordinary shares. £185.6m via a sale of existing ordinary shares. Market capitalisation on admission based on an issue price of 200 pence of approximately £ 577.0m Due 28 July.
HydrogenOne Capital Growth to IPO on the Premium Segment of the Main Market. HGEN is targeting a raise of £250m. First London listed investment fund dedicated to clean hydrogen. Due by the end of July.
*A corporate client of Hybridan LLP
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