Equals Share Discussion Threads

[masurenguy] 09/11/2023 07:12

Declaration of Maiden Interim Dividend

Equals Group is pleased to announce that further to the announcements on 12 September 2023 and 1 November 2023 regarding the proposed reduction in share premium account, the Board is pleased to declare a maiden interim dividend of 0.5p per share. Furthermore, it expects that, subject to shareholder approval, the final dividend for the 2023 financial year will be 1.0p per share, giving a total dividend of 1.5p for 2023.

The Board is confident that the payment of a dividend will not compromise the Group's ability to execute on its strategic objectives. The Board will continue to prioritise the strong balance sheet that allows the Group to invest in Equals' technology platform, payments infrastructure, licences and connectivity whilst retaining an ability to pursue selective acquisitions in order to accelerate its strategic development. The dividend of 0.5p per share will be payable to shareholders on the register as at 17 November 2023, an ex-dividend date of 16 November 2023 and a payment date of 7 December 2023.

[earwacks] 08/11/2023 16:49

Quite modest target by Thompson standards. Think he may have undershot for a change

[qs99] 08/11/2023 15:11

should help!
DYOR

[eeza] 08/11/2023 13:33

Tipped by Simon Thompson again, today, for 50% upside.

[dharrogate53] 07/11/2023 15:40

I agree with Froggy, the LTIP awards are entirely normal. In any event, there is an alignment of interests so who cares?

[rizler] 07/11/2023 15:10

Some big buys flowing in now

[froggyranger] 06/11/2023 14:08

Not sure what the fuzz over the LTIP shares is for? These were put into place two years ago. Some of them vest now, more next year. It's common practice at a lot of companies to tie people in.

[boozey] 06/11/2023 13:18

ashley. I agree wholeheartedly! That was my immediate reaction too. It would count as part of the 'to be issued share captial'. As I mentioned the other day in my view in every RNS you need to read between the lines of the story as it unfolds. There are clear clues there.

[ashleyjv] 06/11/2023 13:12

Issuing now would make it seem as if takeover talks are more serious (In my opinion)

[fft] 06/11/2023 13:03

Looks like pure greed to issue these just before a possible takeover. Last year they were issued mid December !

[qs99] 06/11/2023 12:32

Really not a great look and at such a low price?

[redartbmud] 06/11/2023 12:27

Snouts in troughs again:

Grant of LTIP Awards and PDMR Dealings

Equals Group plc (AIM:EQLS), the fast-growing payments group focused on the SME marketplace, announces awards over 2,600,000 ordinary shares of £0.01 each were made under its Discretionary Long-Term Incentive Plan ('LTIP'). Equals also announces that further awards under its Share Incentive Plan ('SIP') will be made to eligible staff in respect of a maximum of 300,000 ordinary shares in total, and announced to staff on 6 November 2023, subject to a 25 day opt-out period giving a grant date of 4 December 2023.

red

[nfs] 06/11/2023 12:21

To know that we would need to know the process of the compilation of the list. Dearborn were named by EQLS so it might be just that they list that as it was named

[simso] 06/11/2023 12:18

On the Takeover Panel Disclosure table

We see all the offers we know of in the Market, ScS, Ergomed, Fire Angel etc etc.

Is it significant that under EQLS we see Maddison Dearborne described as "Offeror"?

[maddox] 06/11/2023 09:28

CAB has been in the market for a long long time so its IPO doesn't change the competitive landscape.

This is a large market that appears to be looking for the payment proposition EQLS are offering - and thus there may be a very long runway for growth both in UK and Europe. IMHO I think it unlikely that a bidder will be able to put a bid on the table that fully reflects the opportunity. I expect management know this and hopefully won't entertain a low-ball offer.

[masurenguy] 06/11/2023 02:14

CAB is focused on Africa and that is where their problems arose. Equal is focused in the UK and is just about to start in Europe next year. Furthermore, their business models and platforms are entirely different so there is hardly any read accross between these two.

[masurenguy] 04/11/2023 13:47

The BoD/major shareholders do not have to accept any offer unless they consider it to be exceptional.

[big7ime] 04/11/2023 11:02

I don’t want a bid either and I reckon neither do the directors, and as somebody else said, the US are pouncing on quality techs at silly prices. With the market possibility at a low, if a bid were to come in, they want to make sure others have had opportunity to compete and see the value and therefore hopefully value the business at a more decent price. So I think this is just getting the word out and preventing a takeover at a silly price. It should have boosted the share price but with the mkt still at very low sentiment that will take some time.
You are now starting to get some big % rises on no news in stocks at rock bottom which suggests we could be at bottom and as liquidity is very low.
Interesting times ahead, I think 2024 will be EQLS year, I can easily see 300p in not too distant future. Fwiw, dyor

[daveme] 04/11/2023 10:11

I'd rather the company is not bought out, unless an exceptionally generous bid is received of course. This company is going places with its expansion into Europe and I can easily see it at 300p in a couple of years.

Admittedly if no acceptable bid is received the share price will drop but unlikely to be by much since the share price hasn't risen much since the 'strategic review' announcement. In fact the share price had already fallen from its boost after the last trading statement. Any drop to 100p or less will be a great opportunity to buy hence I can't see it being at that level for long.

If Brummy is right and small caps are at their low point then the only way is up!

[qs99] 04/11/2023 08:46

yes think maybe its hand was forced by broker/nomad, but why name them? As you say above, maybe the "including" Fleetcor means they wanted to flush them out, but others are in the wings? Let's see....a really odd sale pattern though, but underlying business IMO is worth well north of £2, now we will have yield, so no dramas DYOR!

[masurenguy] 04/11/2023 08:16

Fair point Boozey. There can be various reasons behind the actual content of an RNS. In this particular case it may be that a predator has already set the ball rolling by making an approach and that IST has therefore decided to open up the situation by contacting other potential US based organizations who might have an interest if the company is already in play. However, I don't think that publicly naming them achieved anything positive since one has quickly responded by publicly rejecting any interest with the consequent negative sentiment that inevitably followed their announcement.

This is a strong, well managed business that has great prospects at hand with the imminent expansion into Europe. It is currently undervalued due to the broad market factors that have applied over the past 2 years as interest rates began rising. It's value will out when either broad market sentiment changes and/or a predator pounces with an attractive offer that reflects the robust forward prospects.

[buffetteer] 04/11/2023 07:22

When there are rumours circulating about a possible bid ( in this case on a tip sheet website ) a PLC is duty bound to inform the market & it has done so .

[earwacks] 04/11/2023 07:09

Fair assessment Boozey. Let’s not loose sight of the strategic review and the court approval announced on the same day. They now have a green light to decide how to use 25 million of ‘distributable reserves.’ The maiden dividend takes care of about 2.8 million. So just over 22 million for possible buybacks acquisition etc as previously stated. It needs careful consideration with the knowledge that quality small caps are under the microscope from predators particularly in the USA. Hence let’s flush them out. Not sure of the rules on takeovers, but presumably the current time limit for a bid applies to all parties? And then there has to be a period of no more bids? Not sure perhaps one of you good folks can advise on that point. I think the only black Swan is how the awful conflict in the Middle East unfolds. As far as the management of Eqls goes, they are proceeding in a sensible and methodical manner. The meerkat is feverish with takeover announcements. Don’t think you can lay that on the Directors