SMALL-CAP WINNERS & LOSERS: Nanoco shareholders allege wrongdoing

(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main ...

Alliance News 27 March, 2023 | 9:26AM
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(Alliance News) - The following stocks are the leading risers and fallers among London Main Market small-caps on Monday.

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SMALL-CAP - WINNERS

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Petra Diamonds Ltd, up 2.1% at 72.5 pence, 12-month range 68.5p-139p. The diamond miner in South Africa and Tanzania hires Lerato Molebatsi as independent non-executive director from next Monday. Molebatsi is lead independent non-executive director at the South African Reserve Bank. She replaces Octavia Matloa, who will retire at the end of June.

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De La Rue, up 5.5% at 56.00p, 12-month range 50.58p-118.8p. Stock in the bank note printer jumps off recent lows, having hit a 12-month low a week ago.

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SMALL-CAP - LOSERS

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Nanoco PLC, down 2.0% at 19.90p, 12-month range 19.69p-72.6p. The quantum dot developer slides as a group of shareholders make a letter raising "serious corporate governance concerns" public. The group is led by Tariq Hamoodi, who holds a 4.2% stake in the firm, and shares "deep concerns" about actions within and involving Nanoco and minority shareholders Richard Griffiths and Lombard Odier. Among their concerns, the group says Nanoco has "apparently transacted" with the minority shareholders to raise finance on terms that benefit the minority shareholders. They also allege some of the statements around the "merits and settlement prospects" in the Samsung litigation "appear to be misleading". The group says the minority shareholders seemed to be acting on information that wasn't available to other shareholders or the market more generally. "Preferred shareholders dumped their shares in Nanoco whilst the share price was rising on the basis of statements made or withheld about the Samsung Litigation, before it sharply fell after settlement details were published," the group says. The group demands Nanoco's board removes or suspends directors involved in these activities - including its chair, CEO and CFO - and replaces them with independent directors.

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By Elizabeth Winter, Alliance News senior markets reporter

Comments and questions to newsroom@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
De La Rue PLC 94.00 GBX -1.67 -
Nanoco Group PLC 17.80 GBX -0.84 -
Petra Diamonds Ltd 44.00 GBX 2.33 -

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