SMALL CAP MOVERS: Pulsar Helium up thanks to £5m IPO fundraising
There was the rarest sighting on AIM this week: the less noticed IPO.
Pulsar Helium, which floated on Friday and raised around £5m, got off to a good start, with shares up 12 per cent to 28p in the first few hours of trading.
And while demand for new listings has waned (and that’s putting it mildly), new helium companies appear to have little trouble finding investment.
Helix and Georgina Energy set the IPO trend this year Helium Onea strong player in the small business exploration sector, has laid most of the groundwork.
The first half year’s efforts in Tanzania showed that it was possible to sink a well and find and isolate the inert gas in a manner broadly comparable to the exploitation of conventional hydrocarbons.
IPO: Pulsar Helium, which floated on Friday and raised around £5m, got off to a good start, with shares up 12 per cent to 28p in the first few hours of trading
Now we’re seeing a wave of interest from companies that have either moved to helium from more traditional prospecting or used publicly traded shells to find assets and take them public.
So from a single UK helium listing from just over a year ago, we have a vibrant subsector with names like Mendell Helium (formerly Voyager Life), Mosman Oil & Gas, Predator, Zephyr Energy and 8Mile (formerly BlueJay Mining). .
Why all the fuss? Well, helium plays a crucial role in the modern economy because of its unique properties.
It is a lightweight, non-reactive gas that does not burn or explode, making it ideal for a variety of high-tech applications.
It is essential for cooling the powerful magnets in MRI scanners, which are essential in healthcare diagnostics.
It is also used in the production of semiconductors, which power the electronics in everything from smartphones to computers – so will be central to the AI revolution.
In scientific research, helium cools particle accelerators and nuclear reactors. It is also critical in space exploration for purging fuel tanks and pressurizing rocket systems.
The demand for helium is high because it is not renewable; once released, it escapes into space, making it a valuable and finite resource.
Lesson over. Now let’s look at the broader market. The AIM All-Share had a solid week, rising 1.4 percent to 744.11, a marginal performance against the well-performing FTSE 100.
One highlight was Cloud CoCowhich rose 180 percent to 0.32p after announcing the sale of its IT services subsidiary for £9.2 million; a step that will help pay off his debts. The company also announced that it is in advanced talks to sell its Connect data center services business.
Maternal care Shares rose 24 per cent to 4.37p on Friday after news of a refinancing, joint venture and return to profitability.
Investors were particularly excited about partnering with Reliance Brands to target key markets such as India and Bangladesh, where the brand is expected to resonate strongly.
Onc-immune had a positive end to a volatile week, with shares rising 12 per cent to 15.6p on Friday.
The autoantibody profiling specialist revealed plans to recapitalize the company, aiming to raise at least £2m while cutting debt by half.
Emmerson Shares fell 72 percent this week, which many believe is an overreaction.
The drop followed an ‘adverse recommendation’ in the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process for the Khemisset Potash project in Morocco.
However, Panmure Liberum noted that this is not the formal decision of the regional investment authority, and reminded investors that a previous rejection at the ministerial level had been reversed.
Oxford Biodynamics had five equally rough trading days, wiping out 70 percent of its market value after announcing it was seeking new financing.
The company outlined plans for senior employees to receive a quarter of their wages in newly issued shares and revealed an investigation into further financing options, in addition to possible asset sales or a spin-off of the US division. The share closed the week at 1.17 pence.
Shares in security technology company Thruvisie fell by 41 percent to 9.5 cents after the profit alarm sounded.
The update came with this tidbit: CEO Colin Evans would be leaving the group to ‘further expand his non-executive board portfolio’.
Finally, Versarien Shares fell 41 per cent to 0.3p after the advanced materials specialist raised £450,000 by issuing shares at discount prices.
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