Asian and European markets have rallied with the FTSE 100 rising 1.6%, or 165 points, to 10,415 after a swift reversal in yesterday’s oil price spike. From an intra-day high of $115 a barrel on Monday, Brent crude has dropped back to $92 in response to US president Donald Trump saying the war in Iran was ‘very complete’ and reports of an emergency release of stockpiles coordinated by the International Energy Agency. The rally, which began on Monday afternoon, repairs yesterday’s fall caused by the surge in crude on concerns that shipments through the key Strait of Hormuz would be stopped for a prolonged period. The UK blue-chip index remains below the 10,910 it stood on before the US and Israel launched an air barrage on Iran on 28 February.
Chrysalis (CHRY), the £419m winding-down growth capital fund that provoked a row with its fund managers by serving notice on them last month, has repaid a further £32.8m of its £60m Barclays loan after the fall in its shares in credit provider Klarna reduced the borrowing base, or collateral, for the debt. This leaves £17.2m to clear the balance as the investment company had already made use of a provision to repay £20m free of redemption penalties. It wants to pay the rest by September. As of Friday 6 March, the company had £76.7m of liquidity: £30.7m in cash and £46m in listed shares in Klarna and payments provider Wise.
Bellevue Healthcare (BBH), the soon-to-be-renamed CT Healthcare Trust, has sold £18.7m of shares to Threadneedle Asset Management Holdings Limited, the UK subsidiary of Columbia Threadneedle which has replaced Bellevue Asset Management as fund manager. The purchase of 13.1m shares held in treasury following previous buybacks at a price of 142.57p per share bolsters the company which saw shareholders sell 40.9% of its shares last week in a 100% tender offer timed just before Columbia Threadneedle fund manager Kosta Kleyman takes over the portfolio. This left the investment trust with around £60.5m of assets.
Baker Steel Resources Trust (BSRT) continued its rich vein of form last month with the mining fund’s net asset value (NAV) jumping 14.5% to £185m with NAV per share rising 22.1p to 174.3p, partly as a result of the 69% leap in Tungsten West, the south Devon tin miner now its largest holding at £39.5m. “Recent events in the Middle East have created new levels of uncertainty but as things stand we are not aware of any meaningful negative impact on our portfolio companies,” the company managed by Trevor Steel said. BSRT shares have soared 123% in the past year but at 120.6p, up 4.9% today, still stand on a 31% discount to the new NAV.
Shareholders in Shires Income (SHRS) and Aberdeen Equity Income (AEI) yesterday gave over 97% backing to all the resolutions relating to the merger of the Aberdeen stablemates. Shires, which is being merged away, saw its shares suspended this morning. It will hold a second general meeting to complete the transaction on 19 March.
International Biotechnology Trust (IBT) got another boost from M&A after Day One Biopharmaceuticals, a Nasdaq-listed cancer treatment specialist and 1.8% holding, agreed to a $2.5bn bid, pitched at a 67% share price premium, from Servier Pharmaceuticals of France.
Baillie Gifford Shin Nippon (BGS) announced the tender price for its oversubscribed 15% tender offer, saying it will buy back the shares at 156.95p. Payment is expected to be made on 19 March.
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