Engage Xr Share Discussion Threads

[grgkecer] 17/4/2008 08:06

Not yet it doesn't:
As part of these discussions, a number of parties were given the same access to management and due diligence as the Consortium.
As at 17 April 2008, one of those parties continues to conduct due diligence on
Expro. There can be no certainty that a formal offer will ultimately be
forthcoming from this party. On this basis, the Independent Directors of Expro
have decided to unanimously recommend the Acquisition.

Besides, I see nothing in the announcement as to why Expro will do better under such new ownership, though no doubt it will make them a profit.

[nielsc] 17/4/2008 08:05

Well done to those that held. I sold at £12. Could have made another 19%, but at least I have made 10% on the APF that I have bought and they should have a lot further to run.

Cheers,
Niels

[thamestrader] 17/4/2008 07:32

Expro has new owners

1435p - excellent price!
So much for the 1350p everyone was predicting.

Well done to those who stuck it out (I left at 1280p - cos I'm chicken)

[thamestrader] 15/4/2008 14:05

Interesting - thanks for posting grgkecer.

[grgkecer] 13/4/2008 09:04

From The Sunday Times April 13, 2008

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Technip and Candover head for Expro clash
Ben Marlow

EXPRO, the oilfield-technology company, is to be the subject of a takeover battle after it received a number of bid approaches.

The company has received expressions of interest from the buyout giant Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and French rival Technip, following an earlier approach from Candover, the private-equity firm.

Although KKR and Technip have held talks with Expro's management, it is not known whether they have been given access to the company's books or how advanced their interest is.

KKR's approach is the first by the US firm in the energy sector, and a further sign that private-equity firms are looking into new areas for investments as the credit crunch makes opportunities harder to come by.

Candover, however, is still seen as the frontrunner after it made the initial approach to Expro in February, valuing the company at about £1.3 billion.

Last week the buyout group sold a £170m stake in oil and gas-pipeline maker Wellstream.

City sources said the move could be designed to bolster funds ahead of a bid for Expro, which is led by chairman Chris Fay, former head of Shell UK.

However, bankers believe that Candover is unlikely to bid for Expro alone as it would require the firm to put up too much of its fund.

Speculation has centred on First Reserve, the US energy-specialist private group that beat Candover to the £900m takeover of Abbot, the Aberdeen-based oil-services company.

A possible battle for Expro, which specialises in deep-sea oil and gas technology, underlines the huge interest in businesses that provide specialist services to the energy sector, which is booming on the back of record oil prices.

There has been a flurry of recent deals resulting in firms going for eyewatering prices.

Expro has been another beneficiary of the boom. In 2007 it made underlying profits of £72.5m on sales of £518.8m, and last week it said full-year profits would be at the top end of management expectations.

Demand for the company's services has soared as international oil companies increase exploration work worldwide and national oil firms become more able to finance their own exploration work.

Shares in Expro closed at £12.43 on Friday but earlier in the day reached a 52-week high of £13.02 as speculation intensfied that the company was being courted by several potential buyout suitors.

Analysts expect Expro to eventually be sold for as much as £15 a share, giving it a market value of £1.6 billion.

The company has signed an agreement with BP to develop a form of specialist underwater technology, which analysts believe could transform its value.

[grgkecer] 09/4/2008 17:09

Well, I go along with that . . . though I still can't see why there should be any mutual attraction between private equity companies and real companies like Expro.

[mirshahik] 09/4/2008 16:09

That is from ABN Amro.

[mirshahik] 09/4/2008 16:09

The FT market report comments on yesterdays market speculation that Candover could soon table a formal offer for Expro. This
follows the placing of Candover 13.7m share stake in Wellstream yesterday. We continue to believe that Candover is not the
only interested party and other private equity companies (and possibly some trade buyers) will be looking at Expro given its
impressive technology portfolio, its market leading positions with high barriers to entry, and exposure to fast growing deepwater
markets. Indeed, we think the potential bidding for Expro could get quite competitive. We think any deal will be done at the topend
of previous sector deals (9-12x EBITDA, 20-30x earnings) implying a £14-15 take-out value for Expro. We stay at Buy.

[macmoss] 09/4/2008 08:02

Daily Express

Share whisper - Expro International shares rose yesterday, on expectations
that private equity group Candover will announce a 1,350 pence a share bid.

[mirshahik] 08/4/2008 14:16

Thanks macmoss. There are rumours that the takeover price is £ 13.50. Has anyone heard contrary to that?

[macmoss] 08/4/2008 13:15

I respect Jane Coffey's view that Expro is worth £17. I accepted her comments on face value. As a holder of Expro for more years than I can remember I would be very happy with £15. I am saying £15 based on completion of a potential chart pattern, but it is dangerous to buy in anticiaption of a breakout above resistance, which I see at around £13. IMO £15 should be the level the share price should attain based solely on the chart with no reference to the potential bid.

[mirshahik] 08/4/2008 12:26

|Do you mean whoever is/may buy the company would buy at over £15?

[macmoss] 08/4/2008 11:55

Chart looking interesting. Need to break the recent highs for a possible run to £15. Fund manager Jane Coffey said on Bloomberg, about 8 weeks ago, that this company was worth over £17 and that she was prepared to continue to hold the stock.

[grgkecer] 08/4/2008 11:14

Would Expro want to be taken over by Candover? I should think they would look for a saviour in the same business.

[grgkecer] 04/4/2008 14:00

thamestrader

thamestrader - 1 Mar'08 - 19:20 - 244 of 261


Which means my employer, once they eventually wake up, will need to pay £1.5b plus.

You couldn't get them interested, then?

[madmonkflin] 20/3/2008 11:49

heading back up....

[nielsc] 19/3/2008 21:25

I look in occasionally. I sold my other half at just below £12 as APF had dropped even further and I wanted to buy another chunk.

Looks like EXR has taken a bit of a hit. Might be tempted back in later, but the market is awash with bargains at the moment. Unfortunately I hold some of these bargains which I bought at higher prices :-(

The trick is to stick with shares you believe in and only sell when you can realise a profit or have stopped believing in the company.



Cheers,
Niels

[madmonkflin] 19/3/2008 16:24

is noone following this share?

[empsey] 07/3/2008 22:22

Nielsc,
think abbot were delisted today, so should make your choice easier!
E.

[nielsc] 07/3/2008 10:26

Well I sold just under half of my holding at £12.05. Typically it goes up a bit more just after I've done it. Doh!

I decided to sell as I saw APF, a share I hold, had taken a 5% dive due to the market being very wobbly today. So I topped up with a few more APF.

I will hold the remaining half to see if a takeover comes. It will also give me time to research some other, ISAable, oil services companies.

I have
Abbot
Wood
Hunting

on my list. Any other anybody can recommmend.

Cheers,
Niels

[thamestrader] 07/3/2008 07:09

I think it'll stay above £10, spirie.
Recent days have proved that the market thinks somebody somewhere might be willing to pay around twelve or thirteen quid. If there's no deal, it could be because the one of the parties thinks it's worth more than whatever the other was offering (which may or may not have been anywhere near the aforementioned twelve or thirteen quid). Nine and a half quid seems absurdly cheap in that context, so I reckon £10-11 will be the fall back zone.

[spirie] 06/3/2008 21:43

casual observer now, hit the deal button at what turned out to be the highest price today, thankfully. tidy profit on investment so can't cmplain too much (although not quite the 12.66 of Thamestrader). Market seems to have settled that the deal won't go or that offer will be mid-£12s so not going to hit the £13 peaks again until some sort of confirmation of talks announcement is made.

Given past history, my hunch is that another 1-2 weeks with no progress then announcement that talks have come to nothing, share price drops to just above where it was last week- £9.50???

Be interesting to watch now.

[spirie] 05/3/2008 13:14

Possibly right, but being new-ish to the share game, can see that it's all gambling and amazing how greed kicks in waiting for the next 0.02 rise!!!
Would like to think that your predition on positive end to the day are right, least the limit is higher so you have an immediate choice to sell online again.

Think I'll let my greed kick in and wait till mid-afternoon and see what it does. There was a figure of £14.60 byout price around last week which probably was higha nd forced the £12.99 high, but new figures I've seen suggest more like £12.60, so under £12 seems like a panic sell

[nielsc] 05/3/2008 12:47

spirie,

I can now sell half my holding if I want, but the fact that the 50 share limit has been lifted to 750 means somebody wants the shares. So I think I will hold on although perversely I could sell on-line now if I wanted.

It has picked up nicely from this morning and it wouldn't surprise me to see it end the day positive.

Cheers,
Niels