Aura Renewable Acquisiti... Share Discussion Threads

[hedgehog 100] 09/1/2023 15:43

Medcaw Investments (MCI), another small shell, floated just before Christmas, and highlights ARA's value.

MCI raised £0.45M. net in its float, at 10p/share, and its current market cap. is over three times the level of ARA's: market cap. £1.8M. at 10.5p/share.

On Admission, the Company had a cash balance of £702,393, according to its prospectus on its website.


21/12/2022 08:00 UK Regulatory (RNS & others) Medcaw Investments Plc First Day of Dealings on the London Stock Exchange LSE:MCI Medcaw Investments Plc

"Medcaw Investments plc, a company formed for the purpose of undertaking an
acquisition or acquisitions in the life sciences sector life sciences sector,
focusing on companies developing medical or wellness technologies and
therapies, is pleased to announce that, following the publication of its
Prospectus on 16 December 2022, a total of 17,132,095 ordinary shares of £0.01
each in the share capital of the Company will today be admitted to the standard
segment of the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to trading
on the main market for listed securities of the London Stock Exchange plc.

Dealings will commence at 8:00 a.m. today under the TIDM 'MCI' with ISIN number
GB00BM8SQP62 and SEDOL BM8SQP6."




10.50 -% (-)
MCI ORD GBP0.01

[hedgehog 100] 07/1/2023 17:15

An RTO is simply an alternative way to float on the stock market, and some of the world's largest companies have come to market via this route.

Including WPP, current market cap. over £9 billion:-

" ... WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It was the world's largest advertising company, as of 2019.[4] WPP plc owns many companies, which includes advertising, public relations, media, and market research networks such as AKQA, BCW, CMI Media Group, Essence Global, Finsbury, Grey, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Mindshare, Ogilvy, Wavemaker, Wunderman Thompson, and VMLY&R. It is one of the "Big Four" agency companies, alongside Publicis, Interpublic Group of Companies, and Omnicom.[5] WPP has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.[6]

The company was founded as Wire and Plastic Products plc to manufacture wire shopping baskets in 1971. In 1985 Martin Sorrell and Preston Rabl,[9] searching for a listed company through which to build a worldwide marketing services company, bought a controlling stake. ..."

[hedgehog 100] 05/1/2023 18:45

Chinahere,

It's fairly common for shells to target a particular sector etc., although this can be flexible when appropriate/necessary.
The focus can relate to the particular expertise-contacts-interests of the directors-investors, &/or what they think may be attractive from an investment viewpoint.
Focussing can also reduce the search to a more manageable level.

For any business wishing to potentially reverse into ARA, the logical first port of call would be to contact the shell company directly, and to then take it from there: i.e. initial assessment, potentially progressing to due diligence etc.

Obviously any overpriced new issue, be it RTO or IPO, is likely to underperform compared to a good value new issue, other things being equal.
But a key determinant of performance is how the company performs on a business level. Some of the best performing shares of all time have looked far from cheap at their floatation prices; whereas some shares that have looked cheap at float have failed to deliver.

[chinahere] 05/1/2023 16:56

It's very strange stuff but interesting too thanks.

Why did the management here tie themselves to the area of renewable energy? I realise it is probably the hottest sector, but why not be open to anything?

Say I was an owner of a renewable energy private company. What would be the stages gone through if I wanted to main-list into Aura via an RTO?

A 'deemed' price without a placing would surely be questionable at best? I guess the market would quickly revalue it on listing anyway?

If a share placing was involved then the valuation would have to be at least partially justified via a prospectus wouldn't it.

I guess this is the sort of thing that really can gain value from a recent fad isn't it (probably answering my question above). Like a few years ago - add 'blockchain' to your company name and treble the price!

[hedgehog 100] 05/1/2023 16:14

Chinahere,

The premium paid to a shell's cash for a RTO can vary enormously, and the waters can also be muddied if there is no RTO placing, because any RTO price is then in effect a 'deemed' price: a shell can RTO a target for a given share of the equity, and then 'deem' a value for the shell and the target.

Generally though, the RTO will also take account of cash spent by the shell, at least relatively recently, in pursuit of a RTO, and give a value of at least £250K. or so for the listing - though it can be multiples of that in some cases.

Remember that if the company floating is valued at hundreds of millions, then a shell value of a few £millions may be just 1% of the expanded equity, which is comparatively insignificant.

ARA's value is a combination of:-
• Its cash.
• Its listing.
• Its work and spending to date in pursuing a RTO.
• The additional value that its 'shellmeisters' can bring to the floating company.

Note that due to recent changes in listing rules, 'new' main-listed shells can only float with a £30M.+ market cap. (previous minimum only £0.7M.) ... unless they completed their FCA submission by 2.12.21, in which case they can float at the old minimum up until 2.6.23.

So the supply of very small main-listed shells like ARA will gradually dry up, increasing their scarcity value.

[chinahere] 05/1/2023 14:18

Thanks. A concise reply. You are right that I am pretty much ignorant about these.

So the listed vehicle can have value as an entity in itself. Interesting if the RTO has benefits to IPO too. Can you put a £ price on the value of a listed company regardless of assets?

So where do you think the main value is here then?

The 'shellmeisters' business acumen? Or the listed vehicle?

[hedgehog 100] 04/1/2023 22:02

Chinahere,

You may not have come here to be vindictive, but you are clearly being ignorant.

With virtually all cash shells, the cash is deplenishing from the day they list, because they have no business to generate funds.
So to criticise a cash shell for that is a bit like criticising an opera because there are people singing in it.


Note that even in current challenged markets, some shells are still successfully completing RTOs.
Here are a couple of recent examples:-

22/09/2022 06:01 UK Regulatory (RNS & others) Sivota PLC Readmission and Publication of Prospectus LSE:SIV Sivota Plc


31/10/2022 07:00 UK Regulatory (RNS & others) Vox Valor Capital Limited Admission to Main Market and First Day of Dealings LSE:VOX Vox Valor Capital Limited



And if you are disciplined in only buying shells with good cash underpinning, &/or near term deal likelihood, then good results at a RTO are very possible.

Here are three current examples:-

1. CRES.
Suspended at 3p: intended RTO 4.625p:-


2. TMOR.
Suspended at 0.95p: intended RTO 2.25p:-


3. ROC.
Suspended at 4.7p: intended RTO 7.86p:-


Those three, if they complete, would represent an average uplift of 90% during suspension (based on suspension price to RTO price).


Note that the RTO route may have attractions to the IPO route that may give it additional 'value' to a company wishing to float:-

• A requirement to give away less equity than in an IPO.

• Potentially more speed and certainty - an aborted IPO due to market conditions could be very expensive, and time is money.

• The 'shellmeisters' may also have attractive business acumen, contacts, and 'clout', that may be attractive to the floating company.

[chinahere] 04/1/2023 20:09

Yes, I don't know much about cash shells, but I can see that the cash is running out.

It's hard enough understanding companies that exist. Why do you believe that they can purchase something here that will be worth more per share than 5.5p?

By the way I didn't come here to be vindictive. It just looked interesting.

[hedgehog 100] 04/1/2023 19:42

Chinahere,

I wasn't aware that any shares, especially penny shares - shells or otherwise, had any "guarantees".

If you want "guarantees", then perhaps you should put your money in a building society, rather than wasting your time reading share prospectuses.

I also get the impression that you're new to shells, and know next to nothing about them. If ARA signs an intended RTO deal - which could be at any time - the shares will be suspended until the RTO deal is either finalised or aborted. So the shares wouldn't be "drifting along" as they wouldn't even be traded.

[chinahere] 04/1/2023 16:07

Thanks.

I think it prudent to assume the cash is spent then, or at least it will be later this year.

Then we are really hoping that they can make a purchase and also that is liked by the market. There are no guarantees there, especially in the current market where it is very difficult to raise cash. I sadly can see this drifting along until the money is gone - but I may be completely wrong.

[hedgehog 100] 04/1/2023 11:38

Thanks for your input, Chinahere.

The important thing is that ARA should have enough cash to arrange an RTO this year, subject of course to identifying a suitable target, and agreeing terms, etc.
If it does, then from the current level (5.5p mid) you would expect a decent share price uplift.
If it fails this year, thereby prolonging its life as a shell, then in 2024+ it may seek to top up its coffers, but I wouldn't regard that as an immediate concern.

From the Aura Renewable Acquisitions plc prospectus, dated 5 April 2022, page 37:-

"The Directors believe that the Company’s cash at bank at Admission will enable the Company to undertake preliminary due diligence on a number of potential targets and to execute its first Acquisition. It is likely that some due diligence fees will be payable on completion of the relevant Acquisition, and the Board would expect the target in each case to carry part of this risk, but there may be certain due diligence fees which have to be incurred upfront, and whilst the Company will seek to agree abort arrangements with providers of legal, financial and technical due diligence services, these may be significant. The Board considers that the Net Proceeds should be sufficient to undertake preliminary due diligence on a number of potential transactions and to carry out substantive due diligence on at least two preferred targets. If significant costs have been incurred without an Acquisition being completed in the longer term, the Board may need to seek additional finance to carry out further due diligence or complete a transaction, but this is considered unlikely. Follow on acquisitions would be financed either from cash flow generated at the time, the issue of new Ordinary Shares or debt financing, or a combination of two or more of those.

The Directors may, at the time an Acquisition is completed, seek to raise further funds by way of equity and/or debt in order to support the then enlarged group’s increased working capital requirements."

[chinahere] 03/1/2023 17:07

This looks interesting but Page 45 on the Admission Document makes me worry that there won't be much left soon:

"The Net Proceeds of the Subscription and Placing of £828,000 are expected to be utilised as follows:

General and administrative costs: approximately £350,000

Cash held for use in making an Acquisition: approximately £478,000"

[hedgehog 100] 11/12/2022 13:09

AR,

ARA is a cash shell, so as is to be expected doesn't currently have any non-cash assets.

That's been a positive this year, considering the way that the value of many renewable energy businesses has been rerated downwards, whereas 'cash is king'.

And of course this means that ARA will get more for its money when it invests.

If you read this thread in full, then that should give you a good idea of ARA's strategy, and the opportunity here.

As far as I'm aware, ARA is the cheapest and best value shell relative to its cash that's currently trading on the London Stock Exchange.

[acceptablereply] 11/12/2022 12:30

Is there any documentation that we can refer to for insight on ARA's current acquisitions/investments? I'm keen to know more about the current technologies supported by the company, e.g. Unique recycling technology from Ocean Polymers etc

[hedgehog 100] 11/12/2022 12:03

From TradingView.com:-

"AURA RENEWABLE ACQUISITIONS PLC ORD GBP0.01"

"ARA technical analysis"

"Oscillators Summary Moving Averages"

"Buy Buy Buy"

[hedgehog 100] 09/12/2022 18:22

Date Time Trade Prc Volume Buy/Sell Bid Ask Value
09-Dec-22 16:15:33 5.90 60,700 Buy* 5.50 6.00 3,581 O
09-Dec-22 12:58:59 5.50 20,000 Unknown* 5.00 6.00 1,100 O
09-Dec-22 10:08:35 5.50 50,000 Buy* 5.00 5.50 2,750 O

Nice to see ARA rising 9.52% today, closing up 0.5p to 5.75p.
It was overdue, and the share price looks well placed for further recovery.

Thought there were just three ARA trades today (all buys - the second trade caused the share price rise), this was enough to trigger two price monitoring extensions, which shows how little stock must be available:-

09/12/2022 16:35 UK Regulatory (RNS & others) Aura Renewable Acquisitions PLC Price Monitoring Extension LSE:ARA Aura Renewable


09/12/2022 16:40 UK Regulatory (RNS & others) Aura Renewable Acquisitions PLC Second Price Monitoring Extn LSE:ARA Aura Renewable Acquisitions Plc

[hedgehog 100] 16/11/2022 20:36

The cash shell ROC (a similar shell to ARA) yesterday announced a proposed RTO at 7.86p: a 67.23% premium to its 4.7p suspension price:-

15/11/2022 15:56 UKREG Rockpool Acquisitions PLC Potential Reverse Takeover & Suspension of Listing
"Rockpool Acquisitions Plc, the Special Purpose Acquisition Company ("SPAC") formed to undertake the acquisition of a company or business headquartered or materially based in Northern Ireland or alternative transactions with suitable targets, including those that may not have a direct connection with Northern Ireland , has entered into heads of terms ("Heads") relating to the proposed acquisition (the "Acquisition") of the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Amcomri Group Limited ("Amcomri"), the holding company of a fast-growing, acquisitive group of quality UK Engineering and Manufacturing businesses. ..."

[hedgehog 100] 13/11/2022 14:56

13.4.22:-
"Withana describes Aura as a blank slate, one that makes one or several targets to become a substantial company. He says we’re talking “about 300, half a billion or higher in terms of size and market cap” and “our ambitions are to have a well traded, well covered and liquid stock.”"


At a market cap. of just £577.5K. at 5.5p, ARA's targeted market cap. could actually be a thousand times higher than its current level.

Even allowing for dilution, the scope for mega-multibagging here looks strong, whereas the current downside looks slight, trading at well below cash and with low cash-burn.

[hedgehog 100] 12/11/2022 21:04

"COP27: Joe Biden issues climate rallying cry to world leaders

1 day ago

By Georgina Rannard
Climate and science reporter, BBC News

It is the duty and responsibility of every nation to act on climate, US President Joe Biden has said at the UN summit COP27.

Mr Biden spoke in Egypt after US mid-term elections delivered better-than-expected results for the president.

He claimed the US is a global leader on climate after it passed sweeping laws to tackle global warming.

About 35,000 people are in Sharm el-Sheikh for the two-week meeting.

"The climate crisis is about human security, economic security, environmental security, national security and the very life of the planet," said Mr Biden.

He echoed UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's comments on Monday that Russia's war in Ukraine is a reason to act faster on climate.

Noting that the past eight years have been the warmest on record, he described the impacts of climate change on Africa nations, including a four-year drought in the Horn of Africa.

Mr Biden promised to tighten US rules on methane emissions from oil and gas companies. Methane is the most potent greenhouse gas and significantly contributes to the warming of Earth's atmosphere.

"Today, thanks to the actions we have taken, I can stand here as president of the United States of America and say with confidence the US will meet our emissions targets by 2030," he said.

He also pledged more money for poorer nations suffering from climate disasters, including drought and flooding. But the sums remain far short of what the US, along with other developed nations, have promised.

"Joe Biden comes to COP27 and makes new promises but his old promises have not even been fulfilled. I'd rather have one apple in my hand than the promise of five that never come," said Mohamed Adow, Power Shift Africa director.

"The inconvenient truth is that the United States is grossly underperforming on its international climate finance commitments," said president of World Resources Institute Ani Dasgupta.

in August the US passed legislation to tackle climate change that experts have called "radical" and "historic". The Inflation Reduction Act could reduce US greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.

Mr Biden's Democrat party feared that it would lose crucial seats in the mid-term elections on Tuesday, which could have weakened their climate agenda. But it performed better than expected.

"While control of Congress is still being determined, one thing is certain: the massive climate-friendly investments in the Inflation Reduction Act are here to stay," says Dan Lashof, director of World Resources Institute United States.

Mr Biden also held talks with Egyptian President Abdul Fattah al-Sisi amid heightened concern over the fate of jailed British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.

There's been no independent confirmation about Mr Abdel Fattah's condition since he is said to have received "medical intervention" on Thursday, days after he began refusing water as part of a long hunger strike.

It is the sixth day of the COP summit, which is focussed on implementing ambitious promises made at COP26 in Glasgow last year.

Vulnerable nations have called on richer countries to pay for the irreversible damage climate change wrecks on their homes.

"We will not give up... the alternative consigns us to a watery grave," Bahamas Prime Minister Philip Davis said on Tuesday, urging nations to "get real".

They say developed nations owe this money because they became rich off decades of using fossil fuels.

By contrast many less developed countries, particularly the small island nations most at risk, have contributed virtually nothing to total emissions.

Richer nations have historically avoided the question of compensation or reparations, but the issue - referred to as "loss and damage" - was put on the COP agenda this year for the first time since the summits began 30 years ago.

In a reminder of the danger the world faces, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told the summit "we are on a highway to climate hell with our foot on the accelerator".

On Friday a report warned that emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) are rising so quickly that there is a 50% chance the world will soon cross the crucial temperature threshold of 1.5C."

[hedgehog 100] 09/11/2022 21:02

Looks like a 'distressed seller' has dumped their stock at/near an all-time low.

There's been quite a lot of this 'stupid selling' this year, and the likelihood is that the seller will be even more 'distressed' soon, when ARA rebounds.

At a market cap. of just £577.5K. at 5.5p, which unlike virtually all traded shells is a discount to cash, this looks to be quite extraordinary value.

[hedgehog 100] 09/11/2022 20:08

"Oral statement to Parliament
PM statement to the House of Commons on COP27: 9 November 2022
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a statement to the House of Commons on his attendance to COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh.

From:
Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street and The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP
Published
9 November 2022

With permission, Mr Speaker, I will make a statement on COP27 which I attended in Sharm El Sheikh on Monday.

When the UK took on the UK Presidency of COP just one third of the global economy was committed to net zero.

Today that figure is 90 percent.

And the reduction in global emissions pledged during our Presidency is now equivalent to the entire annual emissions of America.

There is still a long way to go to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees.

But the historic Glasgow Climate Pact kept that goal within reach.

And the whole House, I know, will want to join me in paying tribute to My Rt Hon Friend the Member for Reading West for his inspirational leadership as COP President.

The question at this Summit, Mr Speaker, was whether countries would deliver on their promises.

I’m pleased to say that our nation will.

We have already cut our carbon emissions faster than anyone else in the G7.

And we will fulfil our ambitious commitment to reduce emissions by at least 68 per cent by the end of the decade.

Now, I know that some have feared Putin’s abhorrent war in Ukraine could distract from global efforts from tackling climate change.

But I believe it should catalyse them.

Climate security and energy security go hand in hand.

Putin’s contemptible manipulation of energy prices has only reinforced the importance of ending our dependence on fossil fuels.

So we will make this country a clean energy superpower.

We will accelerate our transition to renewables which have already grown four-fold as a proportion of our electricity supply over the last decade.

We will invest in building new nuclear power stations for the first time since the 1990s.

And by committing £30 billion to support our green industrial revolution we will leverage up to £100 billion of private investment to support almost half a million high wage, high skilled green jobs.

Mr Speaker, there is also no solution to climate change without protecting and restoring nature.

So at COP27, the UK committed £90 million to the Congo Basin as part of £1.5 billion we are investing in protecting the world’s forests.

And I co-hosted the first meeting of our Forests and Climate Leaders’ partnership which will deliver on the historic commitment to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030.

Now, central to all our efforts, is keeping our promises on climate finance.

So the UK is delivering on our commitment of £11.6 billion.

And to support the most vulnerable who are experiencing the worst impacts of climate change we will triple our funding on adaptation to reach £1.5 billion a year in 2025.

In Glasgow, the UK pioneered a new global approach using aid funding to unlock billions of pounds of private finance for new green infrastructure.

So I was delighted to join President Ramaphosa to mark the publication of his investment plan which delivers on this new model.

South Africa will benefit from cheaper, cleaner power cutting emissions while simultaneously creating new green jobs for his people.

And we will look to support other international partners in taking a similar approach.

We also made further commitments to support clean power in developing countries.

This included investing a further £65 million in commercialising innovative clean technologies and working with the private sector to deliver a raft of green investment projects in Kenya. ..."