Shares in Silverjet, the business-class-only airline, fell 2p to 22p after it said that the Reuben brothers had decided not to convert their £10 million loan into shares. This had been looking unlikely since they would have had to pay 60p a share. Silverjet will have to continue to pay interest on the loan at 200 basis points over Libor until it has to be repaid in December 2009. Mike Stoddart, of Daniel Stewart, who has a 0p price target, forecast that losses for the year would increase to £29 million. Silverjet may need to issue new shares to bolster finances, he said.
Oxford BioMedica rose 5p to 23¾p after reports of a 50p-a-share bid from Sanofi-Aventis, its French development partner for Trovax, its lead anticancer product. This would cost Sanofi less than the £350 million that it pays for its licence for Trovax. Sources played down an imminent bid from Sanofi, which is due to give a trading update today. Evolution reiterated its “buy” with a 70p price target, saying that the fall in the share price had left Oxford vulnerable to a bid.
OEM rose 17p to 29½p after having announced after the close on Friday that it had received £2.3 million cash in settlement from some parties in its ongoing claims against the estate of Brian Schneider, its late director.
Oilexco’s shares rose 112p to 753½p after it said that drilling at its Huntingdon well in the North Sea had reached the bottom of the oil reservoir, giving it a depth of 452ft. Merrill Lynch lifted its reserve estimate for the field by a quarter to 200 million barrels and set a target price of 937p. KBC Peel Hunt said that the field was geologically complex and kept an estimate of 150 million barrels and a “hold” rating.
Melorio, the training company, was flat at 108½p despite four directors buying £60,000 of shares. Stagecoach Theatre Arts stayed at 54½p after Hardman & Co, the broker, raised its profit forecasts. Aminex, the oil explorer, fell 4p to 20¼p after its Tanzanian well turned out dry.