It might have been a new year, but the biggest corporate news on the first session of 2025 came from a number of old deals completing.
Investors in the oilfield and engineering services provider were cheered by news that the £33.7million of prior planned loan notes were replaced by an extra cash consideration at completion. Wood Group rose 2.6 per cent, or 1.7p, to 67.3p.
Vodafone said it had finalised the sale of its Italian operations to Swisscom for £6.6billion.
Hookipa plans a £24million fundraise on completion of the deal, diluting Poolbeg’s stake in the firm to just over 40 per cent.
Stock Watch – Poolbeg Pharma
Meanwhile, FTSE 250-listed John Wood announced the completion of the sale of its 51 per cent stake in Ethos Energy Group – a joint venture with Siemens Energy focused on rotating equipment – to One Equity Partners for £110million in cash.
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Among the small caps, Roquefort Therapeutics gained 3.7 per cent, or 0.15p, to 4.2p, as it revealed plans to sell its Lyramid subsidiary to Pleiades Pharma for at least £8million.
Contango Holdings took on 12 per cent, or 0.15p, at 1.4p, after the Zimbabwe coal producer received a royalty payment of £160,000.
Poolbeg Pharma plunged 39.8 per cent, or 2.83p, to 4.27p after it said it was in talks with US biopharma Hookipa over an all-share combination.
Debt fight: Vodafone said it had finalised the sale of its Italian operations to Swisscom for £6.6bn but will continue to provide some services to Vodafone Italy for up to five years
Meanwhile, Emmerson gained 19.7 per cent, or 0.12p, to 0.73p, after the Morocco-focused potash development company signed a deal with a specialist litigation funding firm to secure £8.8million in financing, with the funds to go towards its dispute with the government of Morocco.
Banking issues were a drag, however. Barclays shed 0.5 per cent, or 1.25p, to 266.9p, while HSBC fell 0.2 per cent, or 1.9p, to 73.2p.
