Oxford Nanopore Technolo... Takeover Rumours (ONT)

Anti-takeover shares expiring tomorrow means that from next Monday ONT becomes a potential target for acquisition. ONT spans the space between the tech and medicine so there are numerous possible suitors around the world, many with huge amounts of cash at their disposal. There have been some large blocks of stock sold over the past few years and in many cases we have no idea on the identity of the buyer. Shorters have had three years to make hay free from concerns about possible corporate activity. From Monday the stock becomes legible for inclusion in the indices, so will start to find it's way into trackers, and funds that previously excluded this type of share. The anti-takeover shares were an attempt to prevent ONT tech going the same way as the SBS [Solexa] tech that powers Illumina sequencing. Hopefully we will now see the brakes come off the price.

Thanks Brucie for sharing your thoughts. I hope everything aligns for the expected sp growth and everyone is rewarded for their patience. Is there a SP limit ONT should hit after next week for FTSE 250 inclusion? Or does it have the market cap already for it to be considered next week after the takeover protection ends?

No change in guidance and continued confidence to meet 2024 outlook. This will be taken as good news and share price will continue to rise over coming months. This is a sitting duck for a takeover once anti takeover shares expire in October.Good luck all

By my reckoning there are only two more trading days until the LAT shares expire. Shorts can no longer rely on the fact that there is little chance of corporate activity. We may eventually see ONT included in FTSE 100/250, and passive trackers, and funds that precluded anti-takeover co's could become buyers.