Friday May 9, 09:39 AM
UK small caps open lower; Claimar Care hit as finance director goes
LONDON (Thomson Financial) - UK small caps were lower in early trade, reflecting weakness in the wider market, with Claimar Care (LSE: CCGP.L - news)
on the back foot following the resignation of the group's finance director.
The FTSE Small Cap index was 5.40 points off at 3,233.60 by 9.15 am, while the FTSE 100 was 55.90 lower at 6,214.90.
Claimar Care, which provides domiciliary care services to local authorities in the Midlands and the North-West, plummeted 18 pence to 59-1/2 in reaction to news that David Jackson has resigned as group finance director.
Q1 losses, albeit reduced, clipped 3 from Redline Communications (RDL.TO - news) , at 75, while the appointment of Hoare Govett as broker and financial adviser failed to excite energy and climate change consultancy AEA Technology (LSE: AAT.L - news) , 2 adrift at 68. Oxford Biomedica (LSE: OXB.L - news) eased 1 to 25-3/4 in the wake of an in-line update.
Traders took profits in Intec Telecom (LSE: ITL.L - news) , 2 lower at 55-1/4, in the wake of Thursday's 'very preliminary' takeover approach.
Blinkx (LSE: BLNX.L - news) , spun out of software developer Autonomy a year ago, was the best-performing small cap, rising 7-1/2 to 32-1/2 amid talk of a 60 pence-a-share takeover, possibly by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Sources say he is likely to face competition from Google (NASDAQ: GOOG - news) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT - news) .
On Thursday, Blinkx launched its new online video indexing technology, and is thought to be considering a Nasdaq (NASDAQ: news) listing for its shares.
Buying ahead of full-year results, scheduled for next Friday, lifted Freedom4 Communications, the old Pipex Communications (LSE: FFC.L - news) , 0.12 to 1.65.
Tinopolis (LSE: TIN.L - news) also made headway, climbing 9-1/2 to 43-1/2 following the agreed 44.7 million pounds, or 45 pence-a-share, cash offer from Bidco, a newly incorporated company formed and controlled by investment partnerships advised by Vitruvian Partners.
Traders sensed a bidding war developing for Flomerics Group, whose shares shot up 13 to 102 after the company rejected a 104 pence-a-share cash offer from Mentor Graphics (NASDAQ: MENT - news) , saying it has had potential interest expressed by a number of other parties.
Also on the upside, ReEnergy Group (LSE: RGY.L - news) ticked up 0.25 to 4.62 after the company agreed to sell Estech to an LSE-listed company for up to 1.9 million pounds cash.
Estech, a developer of autoclaving technology, is the group's only operating subsidiary, and ReEnergy intends either to adopt a revised investment strategy or return cash to shareholders and wind itself up.
Elsewhere, Mercury Recycling Group attracted support and rose 3 to 22-1/2 as the recycler of fluorescent light tubes and sodium street lights notched up bumper full-year profits and expressed confidence about future prospects.
Also on the up, Liverpool-based brewing and pubs company Cains Beer Company moved up 0.62 to 8.50 after the company secured a nationwide listing with supermarket group William Morrison for its Finest Lager brand.
And buyers nibbled at Zambezi Resources (LSE: ZRL.L - news) , 0.875 of a penny firmer at 10.50, following news of the discovery of a potentially significant deposit using an airborne survey technique at the 100 percent-owned Kangaluwi Copper Project in Southern Zambia.
Finally, and on the new issue front, Iofina started life at 70 pence, compared with a placing price of 55. The company is involved in the exploration and production of both iodine and natural gas which have been discovered on acreages which it has acquired, and is currently acquiring.
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