Rosebank Industries (LON: ROSE), which was set up by founders and management of FTSE 100 index constituent Melrose Industries, joined AIM on Thursday 11 July. Just like Melrose Industries, Rosebank Industries has started out on AIM as an investment company seeking a large initial acquisition. The plan is to identify underperforming industrial and manufacturing companies, acquire them and improve their performance. Rosebank Industries raised £50m at 250p/share and the share price soared on the first day and the momentum continued on Friday. The share price jumped 170% to 675p.
Goldstone Resources (LON: GRL) says gold production at the Homase project in Ghana was 1,400 ounces by the middle of June, with gold recoveries doubled to 68%. Production is set to increase to 1,000 ounces/month. The share price soared 126% 1.525p.
Investment company Mindflair (LON: MFAI) was given a boost by the acquisition of Landvault by AI company Infinite Reality. Landvault is valued at $450m in shares and is part of the portfolio of Sure Valley Ventures Fund, where MindFlair holds13%, plus a further 5.3% via its stake in Sure Ventures (LON: SURE). The fund owns 7% of Landvault and the valuation of the stake is $6m, which is a 470% increase on book value at the end of 2023. That suggests that MindFlair’s share is nearly $1.1m. At 0.9p, 89.5% higher, the investment company is valued at £2.5m. The end-2023 NAV was £5.84m, equivalent to 2.13p/share.
Faron Pharmaceuticals (LON: FARN) has met with the FDA in the US to discuss the plan for registration for bexmarilimab for treating myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The FDA acknowledged the difficulty of running a randomised study in the relapsed/ refractory setting and proposed a phase III study in frontline high risk MDS. This study targets a larger number of patients and could speed up approval for the cancer treatment. The share price increased 67.6% to 157.5p.
FALLERS
Biome Technologies (LON: BIOM) is still suffering from delays in orders at its bioplastics division and technical validations may not be finalised until later in 2024. Also, the coffee packaging market has weakened. In contrast, there should be significant revenues from the RF Technologies division. Overall revenues will be well below expectations. A small loss is expected for 2024. Additional working capital may be required. The share price slumped 53.6% to 32.5p, which is an all-time low.
UK Oil & Gas (LON: UKOG) has raised £500,000 at 0.015p/share, while the share price fell 36% to 0.016p. This cash will repay the convertible funding facility with RiverFort Global Opportunities and YA II PN. The remaining cash will fund hydrogen storage projects.
Crimson Tide (LON: TIDE) shares declined 35.2% to 175p after Ideagen decided not to bid. That is similar to the level prior to bid approaches being announced.
Clontarf Energy (LON: CLON) says Bolivian joint venture partner NEXT-ChemX is commissioning a direct lithium extraction plant, which is preparing for preliminary testing. Bulk samples will be collected and tested. This could move the Bolivian lithium assets to stream two of the process to gain approval for development. The Bolivian lithium law is expected to be updated. The share price dipped 21.7% to 0.09p.