While it is perhaps the norm that most fund raising amongst small caps will be at a discount to the prevailing share price, it is surprising that more companies do not follow the latest example of Wishbone Gold (WSBN), with a premium placing of £1.4m. Here the raise at 14p was designed to provide additional working capital for the Company as it embarks on its Red Setter exploration program. The advantage of a premium placing is that it has the benefit of reducing the number of so called flippers in a stock, as well as providing a benchmark of value. In addition to the fresh funds, Wishbone said that its Program of Works for the Red Setter Project has been approved by the Western Australian Government's Department of Mines. This includes the drilling program outlined in an earlier RNS for up to 100 drill holes to depths of 300 metres, designed to test for potential gold and copper mineralisation on multiple magnetic targets identified at Red Setter over a 3km2 area.
Long dated income play Dukemount Capital (DKE) took another step in its stated journey to become a £100m business, with news of a Joint Venture Agreement in relation to flexibility power group HSKB Ltd. Dukemount is set acquire 50% of the issued share capital of HSKB for nominal value. The Joint Venture will initially develop two gas peaking facilities which together will produce around 10MW of power for a total approximate cost of £6.25 million. Dukemount said that the Joint-Venture provides the Company with a strong future of revenue growth, and the potential for further deals in this fast-growing and dynamic sector.
Shares of Shield Therapeutics (STX) continued their recent recovery, where the newsflow has tilted the company in favour of the bulls. Earlier this week the commercial stage pharmaceutical company noted a recent publication of positive long-term results from a study comparing the effectiveness of ferric maltol 30 mg bid with intravenous (IV) iron (ferric carboxymaltose given according to each centre's standard practice) over 52 weeks. From a trading perspective, it would appear that Monday’s announcement of the commencement of trading on the OTCQX Best Market has added to sentiment given the prospect of a fresh pool of liquidity from that source. Shield Therapeutics were up 10% on the day.
Guild Esports (GILD) was on the front foot once again, with a 10% share price rise. The company, which describes itself as a global team organisation and lifestyle brand, announced the achievement of a major audience milestone, with 500,000 social media followers across all channels. This 230% increase in social media following has been achieved over the past two months alone, and suggests that not only is the stock market warming to the space Guild occupies, but that the esports area appears to be maturing into the mainstream in the real world as well.
One of the best ways of extracting shareholder value over the years is for a company to spin off an asset where the sum of the parts is greater than the present value. This has been the case at Alba Mineral Resources (ALBA), with the diversified resource company. Here we heard that in order to unlock real and sustained value in its asset portfolio it is to effect a divestment of its Greenland assets into a new Greenland-focused, AIM-quoted company. Closer to home Alba is set to prove up sufficient new mineralised zones at Clogau-St David's in order to bring the Mine back into commercial production