(Changes name in second paragraph to Cinven fron CVC Partners, after brokerage corrects)
14:08GMT 10Nov2008-Just Retirement extends gains on bid hopes
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Shares in Just Retirement Plc extend their earlier rise to trade 50.5 percent higher at 73 pence -- the best performing stock in the market -- after the company confirms it has received preliminary expressions of interest for the business. A report in The Sunday Times said 52 percent shareholder Langholm Capital LLP has put the business up for sale at a suggested price of 300 million pounds, or 102 pence a share.
Stockbrokers Panmure Gordon said potential acquirers include private equity firm Cinven and some of the larger UK life assurers such as Legal & General Plc , Aviva Plc and Prudential Plc.
"Just Retirement is now in play and we believe it will be taken out at around 100 pence a share," the broker said. It has raised its target price for the stock from 75 pence to 100 pence and revised its investment recommendation from "hold" to "buy".
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13:38GMT 10Nov2008-Sinclair falls on financing concerns
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Shares in skin specialist Sinclair fall 12 percent over market concerns that it will have to raise more money, and that it may be vulnerable to a consumer downturn.
"There are general concerns in the marketplace that they are at some point going to have to do a little bit of refinancing especially in H1 2010," said an analyst. "You could (also) argue exactly how exposed to a consumer downturn some of the products are, especially there are quite a lot of co-pay elements in there and dermo cosmetics."
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12:47GMT 10Nov2008-JKX Oil & Gas higher on Ukrainian gas news
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Shares in JKX Oil & Gas Plc rise 8.6 percent after it completes the tie-in of its Ukrainian gas production to the Soyuz trunk line, effectively removing any delivery constraint on the amount of sales gas that can be delivered.
Evolution Securities says this will now clear the way for increasing gas exports in 2009. It repeated its "add" advice for the shares and reiterated its 450 pence price target for the stock.
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12:27GMT 10Nov2008-FTSE Small Cap Index up 1.3 pct by mid-session
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The FTSE Small Cap Index rises 1.3 percent as UK markets rally following a strong close in the United States on Friday and on news of a stimulus package in China, with the FTSE 100 Index up 2.4 percent.
Emerald Energy lifts 7.1 percent as the group announces a positive update on its Capella No.2 Well in Columbia and an amendment to its farm-out agreement with Canacol Energy Inc, prompting Evolution Securities to repeat its "buy" stance.
GoIndustry-DoveBid, the AIM-listed industrial machinery and equipment maker, falls 17.4 percent after warning its full-year 2008 performance may not meet market expectations, due to recent turbulence in global financial markets.
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12:19GMT 10Nov2008-Churchill Mining up on positive coal update
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Shares in AIM-listed Churchill Mining Plc rise 3.1 percent to 33 pence after an independent study for its East Kutai coal project indicates a combination of road and river barge transport is now possible. The group says this may "considerably decrease" its capital expenditure requirements. It also raises its initial tonnage target for the first year up to 3 million tonnes, while for the second year it now looks for 5 million tonnes.
Stockbrokers Ambrian says this is positive news for the group and is supportive of the project's key drivers. It reiterated its "buy" recommendation and 80 pence price target for the shares.
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12:08GMT 10Nov2008-Arc up on in-line update, Panmure says "buy"
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Shares in Arc, the multimedia technology provider, climb 3.4 percent following its in-line trading update, prompting Panmure Gordon to repeat its "buy" recommendation and 30 pence target price.
Panmure says it remains a buyer of the stock because of Arc's audio and video strategy and strong cash position.
However, the broker has reduced its revenue expectations for 2009 by 1 million pounds to 20.4 million pounds due to the anticipated tougher licensing environment.
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12:02GMT 10Nov2008-Dignity rises on update, Investec "buy"
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Shares in Dignity, Britain's only listed funeral services company, rise 7.9 percent as it says its 9-month operating profit is up 10.5 percent and its outlook is in line with expectations, prompting Investec Securities to repeat its "buy" stance and 740 pence target price.
Investec says Dignity has not seen any material impact from the current downturn and, while no business is immune, it is probably about as close as it gets.
The broker says recent share price weakness is a great opportunity to stake-build in a business that should be both robust in the downturn and perform well if the sentiment improves.
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11:26GMT 10Nov2008-Rank rises on legal tax win
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Shares in Rank Group Plc. rise 3 percent to 65.25 pence as the bingo, casino, and online gaming firm receives 59.1 million pounds from the UK government in returned taxes.
"I would have though it would have gone up a bit more than it has done today but we're in very difficult markets so I can understand what's happened," says one analyst who estimates that the legal win is worth six or seven pence per share.
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11:03GMT 10Nov2008-Carr's Milling higher after profits double
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Shares in Carr's Milling Industries Plc. advance 4.6 percent to 507.5 pence after it reports more than doubled full year profits and says it is well placed for the current financial year. Pretax profits for 2007/08 increased by 113 percent to 12.9 million pounds, although 4.1 million of this was due to inventory and foreign exchange gains.
Investec Securities said while the group benefited from this windfall, there was equally a fair degree of solid underlying improvement from volumes and margin gains. Excluding the windfall element, the broker expects further progress and is forecasting pretax profits of 9.9 million pounds for 2008/09. It reiterated its "buy" recommendation and 550 pence price target for the stock.
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