Edison Investment Research

Quilter (QLT); agrees terms of a cash offer to acquire Lighthouse Group at 33p per share

he purchase consideration represents a premium of 24.5% to the closing price of Lighthouse’s share on 2 April 2019

Intrinsic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Quilter, will acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Lighthouse at c. £46.2m, which includes an excess cash balance of c. £4m.

StatPro Group (SOG); signs a contract extension of $1.2m

StatPro signed a contract extension of $1.2m for three years

StatPro signed a contract extension of $1.2m for three years as the fund administrator secures a new client for StatPro revolution. As the asset management market looks to outsource key data management functions, fund administrators seem to be an increasingly important distribution channel for the group.

Shield Therapeutics (STX); announces positive preliminary results

Positive results were witnessed for the pivotal Phase III AEGIS-CKD study of Feraccru vs. placebo

Shield Therapeutics announced its preliminary results for the year ended December 2018. Net cash stood at £9.8m (FY2017: £13.3m), while loss for the year was £1.8m (FY2017: £19.6m).

Gjøkåsen Deep is third well to disappoint in frontier south eastern Barents

Lundin Petroleum has announced that the Equinor operated 7132/2-2 well, Gjøkåsen Deep, did not discover hydrocarbons. Sandstones of varying quality were encountered in the late and early Triassic primary objectives, and a deeper extension to evaluate the underlying reservoir potential did not encounter reservoir rocks. The well was located in production licence PL857 and Lundin had assigned 428mmboe gross prospective resources to the prospect. The well followed on from the Gjøkåsen Shallow well (also in PL857) which had been estimated by Lundin to hold 768mmboe, but came up dry in February this year.

Serco (SRP); awarded c.£63m NexGen IT task order from US Air Force

The group will perform the majority of the work at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama

The US Air Force has awarded Serco a deal to manage, configure, deploy, sustain and enhance NexGen IT solutions for US Air Force Civil Engineering (AFCE).

YouGov (YOU); half year results: reports revenue growth of 18%

YouGov announced its half year results for the six months to 31 January 2019. Adjusted operating profit grew 41% to £12.5m and adjusted PBT increased 28% to £13.7m. Adjusted earnings per share rose 33% to 9.6p (2018: 7.3p). Company revenue continued to grow strongly (up 18% to £66.5m), combined with further notable improvements in profit margins. The company reported cash and equivalents of £25m.

Windar Photonics (WPHO); secures agreement with The Technical University of Denmark

DTU has started implementing an innovative software solution into the company's products

Windar Photonics announced that it has entered into an exclusive agreement with The Technical University of Denmark (“DTU”) to expand the capabilities of the company’s retro-fit products.

EMIS Group (EMIS); completes the disposition of its Specialist & Care segment

The consideration comprised £14.0m paid on completion

EMIS Group has completed the disposition of its non-core Specialist & Care segment to Northgate Public Services (UK) Limited for a total cash consideration of £14.9m.

Oxford BioDynamics (OBD); US subsidiary established and commercial lead appointed

Oxford BioDynamics appointed Glen Ferguson as Senior VP

Oxford announced the formation of Oxford BioDynamics, a wholly owned subsidiary. Oxford BioDynamics appointed Glen Ferguson as Senior VP to drive further US market penetration. Ferguson has 25 years of experience in companion diagnostics, licensing and contract negotiation and strategic alliance development. He will also serve as President of Oxford BioDynamics.

EJF Investments (EJFI); total NAV return at 19.08% for year ended December 2018

Total realised gains were driven by the sale of legacy REIT TruPS CDO securities in January and April

EJF Investments released its final FY18 results, stating a 19.08% return in total NAV per share, inclusive of dividends. NAV stood at £114.5m, 178.4p per share, as of 31 December 2018, while £16.9m in capital was raised through ordinary share placings and total realised gains of £17.8m were recognised during the period.