TP ICAP (TCAP) shares ticked up 4.03% to 211.9p after raising £310m from rights issue
TP ICAP Group said it has raised around £310m (or $430.25m) from a rights issue, aimed at funding the bulk of the cost of its purchase of U.S. share trading platform Liquidnet.
The company also noted in its early morning statement that shareholders had subscribed to 98.3% of shares on offer at a price of 140 pence per share. Under the terms of the fundraising, it said shareholders will receive two rights for every five shares they own.
Commenting on the acquisition in January, CEO, Nicolas Breteau noted that the purchase will provide “a unique opportunity to transform TP ICAP's growth prospects by materially accelerating our stated strategy of electronification, aggregation and diversification”.
He added, “We believe our two businesses are highly complementary and the deal, when completed, will help us to drive growth and shareholder value in the medium to long term.”
Eve Sleep (EVE) shares soared 39.13% to 6.4p as it plans to launch CBD range
Shares in the direct to consumer sleep wellness brand jumped after Sana Lifestyle, a distributor and licensee of CBD and plant-based wellness products, announced that the two companies will partner and release an all-new range of CBD oils to market in early 2021.
Ben Hamburger, Chief Executive of Sana Lifestyle, said the new CBD range was created for those consumers “increasingly looking for natural, plant-based solutions which complement and aid their busy lifestyles at the end of a hectic day – more so than ever before.”
Cheryl Calverley CEO at Eve said the company has been expanding its product range over the past year and it had now created its own CBD range. The new CBD range consists of oil drops that incorporate two CBD infused extracts, both renowned for aiding relaxation.
She added, “As such we are delighted to be partnering with Sana Lifestyle in 2021, to develop our very own CBD range that can be easily incorporated into a bedtime routine, allowing the mind and body to switch off.”
Online Blockchain (OBC) shares jump a further 37.50% to 104.5p as bitcoin rallies
Shares in the blockchain group - the technology at the heart of bitcoin - have rallied again after bitcoin hit a $50,547.70 high across European trading yesterday. The Guardian wrote that the price surge means Elon Musk’s Tesla has piled up a virtual profit of £420m in the week since the entrepreneur said the car company had bought bitcoins then worth $1.5bn.
Tesla’s $1.5bn investment already sent prices in the cryptocurrency to a new record last week, rising as much as 16% to a high of $44,795.20 according to Bloomberg data.
Cryptocurrency prices have continued to rise after Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk unveiled the investment and revealed that he believes bitcoin is on the “verge of broad acceptance”.
In recent news, Online Blockchain recently raised £1m per share to fund additional new projects as well as enhance the deployment of Umbria, the Group’s new development project in decentralised finance which is anticipated to occur in the first quarter of 2021.
The proceeds will also support its existing crypto and blockchain-based products and are anticipated to satisfy its current working capital and development needs for the next year.
"We are very pleased to have received further support at this moment of high interest in Blockchain and DeFi (Decentralised Finance) projects,” CEO, Clem Chambers stated.
MyHealthChecked (MHC) shares rose 36.94% to 4.3p as it advances fundraise to expand product portfolio
The home-testing healthcare group has now received an assurance from UK regulators that shares to be issued are eligible for relief under the enterprise investment scheme.
The move follows an earlier announcement made last month outlining the Company’s intentions to raise £3.4m from placing and subscription of 194.3 million shares at 1.75p.
MHC is looking to launch its current products into the retail sector, develop a pipeline of new products and more than double its team by December 2022 as the Group broadens its overall testing capabilities within the home testing market through a multi-sector strategy.
According to Data Bridge Market Research, the compound annual growth rate for the at-home testing kit market is projected to grow 6.8%, from $8.87bn in 2019 to $16bn by 2027.
The group, formerly known as Concepta, rebranded to MyHealthChecked™ in December 2020 in order to reflect its expansion strategy into new markets as it focuses on widening its portfolio to include a broader mix of female health and personalised healthcare products.
Trainline (TRN) shares fell 4.82% to 474.3p as Barclays downgrades stock to underweight
Shares in the independent rail and coach travel platform operator slumped on Wednesday after Barclays analysts downgraded the stock to underweight with a target price of 360p.
In recent weeks, analysts have revised their position on the stock, with JPMorgan Cazenove downgrading it to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’, cutting its price target to 382p from 486p.
According to data recorded at the end of January 2021, UK train passenger numbers are still tracking well below previous year’s levels, at 27% in December and 14% in January so far.
"While we would argue cuts to short term numbers are anticipated, we are also getting more cautious on the speed of recovery going into 2022E," JPMorgan Cazenove noted.
“While we highlighted that an ongoing shift towards the concession model in the UK rail industry is unlikely to meaningfully change Trainline’s offering and business model, we expect ongoing negative sentiment to impact the shares," it said.