Revenue Assur. Share Discussion Threads

[ivor whopper] 19/7/2007 17:17

sorry i missed these, nice chart guys, well done.

[apppp] 19/7/2007 17:15

Lots of buys today totalling 700k but no change in the SP? Does this tell us anything about the current goings on (i.e. potential takover) or not?

[fse] 17/7/2007 17:52

alan I would agree there is confidence that the share price will be well north of 200p.
Of course we wont know until it happens but it does appear that way, enough to keep me holding ;-)

[alan@bj] 17/7/2007 08:25

Sorry FSE, should have made myself clearer. I was comparing the number of long positions in the rule 8.3 notice (around 1.4m) with the short positions of 300K, and feeling that indicated there's plenty of confidence in the evntual sale price being well above current levels. But I'm not at all sure if I'm interpreting that correctly.

[fse] 16/7/2007 18:11

Sorry alan not sure what you are looking for ...
would be nice if we knew who the bidder was.

There will be share disposals though by institutions ahead of this as one group of investors with specific manadate will sell ... shares are getting mopped up with ease by those who expect the bid to be well north of 200p
looking OK

[alan@bj] 16/7/2007 17:17

Agreed FSE, but can you interpret the dealings?

[fse] 16/7/2007 15:51

Self explanatory

DEALINGS BY PERSONS WITH INTERESTS IN SECURITIES REPRESENTING 1% OR MORE

(Rule 8.3 of the Takeover Code)

[alan@bj] 16/7/2007 15:27

Can anyone interpret the Rule 8.3 RNS for me?

[fse] 16/7/2007 13:36

Silly to sell at the moment but then again a profit is a profit.
At these levels they are hardly on demanding fundamentals, take over or not.
I am tempted to buy a few more for what will probably be a quick 15% profit ;-)

[apppp] 16/7/2007 11:58

Profit taking today or has someone got a sniff of something. I'm thinking the former?

[njp] 14/7/2007 00:40

Nice one, Tole. I'm hanging on to mine. :-)

[woozle1] 13/7/2007 19:59

No way this will be sold below £2.00. This is where the share price would likely be before the y/e. My guess is that Beart will ask for too much (and rightly so) and the bid fails. And that is why the share price response has been quite muted. Beart wants to be very rich and £2 will not cut the mustard.

W

[fse] 13/7/2007 18:30

>tole.... cheers for that one thats exactly how I read it...
Right side of 200p ... amen
They are worth it and if the bid fails I doubt they will fall back far as another bidder will enter the fray now they know that they are up for grabs and the price is going to be higher still IMHO.

[tole] 13/7/2007 17:55

Peter Shearlock's Small Cap Stock Picks.

Revenue Assurance in takeover talks

It looks as if a takeover is on the way at Revenue Assurance, the specialist bill-checker and debt management company which sells its services to energy utilities. On Thursday, the company responded to a sharp rise in its share price by confirming it was in preliminary talks. The shares, tipped here last October at 100.5p, jumped to 188.5p.

Given the strength of the recent figures, Revenue Assurance should command a take-out price the right side of £2. The Financial Times has already noted that this is the level at which management share options crystallise. Do not sell.

[a0148009] 13/7/2007 12:58

I see those sales from insiders that bought yesterday now selling to make their fast buck today are all being absorbed by the market which is a positive sign.

AO

[zho] 13/7/2007 11:04

Revenue Assurance Services - BUY/HOLD
Companies: RAS
13/07/2007

Tipped on these pages as a strong buy at 138.5p last month, Revenue Assurance Services (RAS) has surged on news the group is in bid talks. RAS is the largest provider of revenue assurance and debt management consultancy services to the UK utility market and is successfully replicating growth in the gas sector with a push into the far bigger electricity sector.

Led by astute chief executive Simon Beart, the company specialises in complex revenue assurance and debt management for utility clients including Centrica, with services ranging from the identification, negotiation and repayment of unbilled or over-billed gas and electricity on clients' behalf, to debt management and metering services. This is an invaluable service that helps clients improve processes, deliver more accurate billings and recover cash.

Even if a bid fails to materialise, strongly cash-generative RAS offers a compelling investment case, having recently announced a year to March of strong profits growth built on contract momentum – adjusted pre-tax profits leapt from £2.9m to £6.2m on turnover of £14.6m (£7.6m) – as well as a key deal in the gas market with Scottish Power.

Forecasts for the current year point to 10.8p of earnings, placing the shares on a p/e of 17.5, which looks relatively modest given growth prospects. Buy/Hold
James Crux
Market cap: £80.75m
PE Forecast: 17.5
Share price: 189p

[kenmill1] 13/7/2007 08:59

Newspaper article this morning suggests there are a number of trade buyers interested and the management incentives kick in at £2 so the bid is unlikely to be below that.

[nurdin] 13/7/2007 07:33

yup Papal I agree.My gut feel is that this might now flush out other bidders who no doubt have been on the sidelines salivating at their EBIDTA margins of 44%,their global prospects and the technology base that keeps the competition at bay.

200p? pah :o)

[papalpower] 13/7/2007 03:52

Yes, been through plenty of these now, with ICN, BOI, CSW, NTP, OSH, talk now of AUR and also now talk of RAS etc.. Funny that OSH is ongoing with the last bid at over 90p (when in fact the initial bid was at 36p when the share price was just 16p).

Shows how very undervalued some companies can get, and yes, a takeover rumour is indeed recognition of value....as people buy to make money, which means the company looks cheap to the buyer.

Somwhere around 200p would be my target here, any more would of course be nice, any less and someone is getting a bargain.

[a0148009] 13/7/2007 01:55

apple

An approach is recognition of value and potential and will alert other parties - therefore the acquirer should attempt a knockout bid with board approval with as many irrevocable acceptances from institutional shareholders they can muster in quick time to secure the company.This is a unique business with a defensible market demanding a substantial premium still in early stages of development.

AO

[applecore2] 13/7/2007 00:30

JAZZA - cheers - I'm APPP by the way at home. Will probably hold for at least the next few days to see how the share price goes and set a stop loss at -10p to the closing price every day in case the deal collapses. Is there some chance that even if this deal collapses that the share price could remain at current levels due to obvious interest this would generate from other external sources?

[jazza] 12/7/2007 23:31

APPP,

Re: strategy.....it's always easy with hindsight!

To state the obvious, holding increases risks and potential rewards. Selling some now as zho has is a good option but can never be the 'best' option. The problem is that you can't know for sure the best option until it's too late!

Above all, it depends on your attitude to risk. Do whatever suits you at the time and don't feel bad after the event if you could have done better. A profit is still a profit as they say.

To offer some kind of meaningful (?!) advice....the share price over the next few trading days might (or might not!) reflect how the bid talks are going. The price surged before the announcement so presumably someone is in the know.....that kind of insider knowledge may provide some direction to the share price although it still isn't conclusive.

sorry not to be more helpful.

J.

[fse] 12/7/2007 21:42

I would just hold these at these levels as they are well underpinned takeover or not. They would have to get well above 220p before I would be tempted to sell.
What they do is a win win for them and their clients with the benfits of their services being almost instataneous !
If they have the contracts , which they do , then they are in a very nice position ;-)
The share price has lagged the market for ages so this rise is simply an attempt to get them to FMV. Multiples are undemanding.

[tole] 12/7/2007 17:53

Excellent news to come back home to :) Agree worth 200p+

Revenue Assurance in takeover talks
Thu 12 Jul 2007

RAS - Revenue Assurances Services

LONDON (SHARECAST) - Revenue Assurance Services rallied to a new all-time high today as the firm, which works for utilities checking on bills for anomalies, said it was in bid talks.

"The board of Revenue Assurance Services notes the recent share price movement and confirms it is in preliminary talks which may or may not lead to an offer being made for the company," it said.

"There can be no certainty that an offer will be made for the Company or the terms on which such an offer may be made," it added.

Last month, the firm said it had more than doubled full-year pre-tax profits and announced it had won a new contract for consultancy and imbalance services with Scottish Power.

Adjusted pre-tax profit rose to £6.2m compared to £2.9m last year on turnover up 26% to £14.6m, helped by a number of new contracts.

[apppp] 12/7/2007 17:52

Anyone want to divulge their strategy for this one in the near future, given todays news or is the sensible option to hold till the news comes out with a stop loss waiting for safety??