Whatman Share Discussion Threads

[sweeneytodd] 12/11/2004 14:49

"Terms of Option
The option will be granted on the basis that exercise will be subject to the satisfaction of performance targets,50% of the option will be exercisable if there is an increase in the Ordinary Share price of 15% over the option price.The increase in the Ordinary Share price will be an average measured over 60 concecutive trading days.The remaining 50% exercise of the option will require an average increase in the price over 60 consecutive trading days of 30%.If the performance targets have not been met by the third anniversary of the grant the option will lapse.The exercise of the option will also be subject to the completion of the acquisition."

Should take the price well over £3 eventually all being well.

Baird have an outperform rating on WHM. Investors Chronicle also think their good value.
ST.

[go with the flow] 12/11/2004 11:53

Mashie
Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to have read that WHM has only a small proportion of retail investors. With the price still creeping up fund managers must be privvy to some information we don't have. Additionally, the current price takes us back to the rising trend line from the beginning of '03.
Both these factors lead me to conclude that technically (not neccessarily fundamentally) the risk to the downside is limited.

Flow

[mashman] 12/11/2004 09:18

Some good buying this morning. 260000 buys v 75 sells.

Once through 2.70 we should move on towards 3.70.

[mashman] 11/11/2004 17:54

We could do with a chart in the header. Is Polyman still around, perhaps he could put one in.

[go with the flow] 11/11/2004 16:13

Teather says buy Whatman (LSE: WHM.L - news).



Flow

[sweeneytodd] 09/11/2004 16:37

Have read that Cazenove have also upgraded Whatman to outperform but not sure of their target price.
ST

[go with the flow] 09/11/2004 13:50

Thanks Sweeney, here's the link to the non-subscriber FT.com report:



Flow

[sweeneytodd] 09/11/2004 12:15

Good article in the FT.com saying that Bob Thian thinks WHM will "consolidate or be bought" Interesting times ahead.
ST.

[go with the flow] 09/11/2004 09:39

Seems to be holding yesterday's rise.

Flow

[premierpompey] 08/11/2004 14:17

Been a long time coming. I suspected there might be resistance at 255 to 260. As this gets noticed that resistance should be broken IMHO.

[sweeneytodd] 08/11/2004 13:37

Has made my day!

[boothbym] 08/11/2004 12:09

ouch just refreshed the screen £2.50 blown away already! Stop! I'm getting a nosebleed.

[boothbym] 08/11/2004 12:07

Anyone have any thoughts on where we will finnish the day? £2.50?

[go with the flow] 08/11/2004 11:51

News from FT.com........

Whatman rose 16.3 per cent after it announced the acquisition of Schleicher & Schuell, a German separations company, for £34.6m. Whatman supplies separations and filtration technology to the life science industry and the deal provides a significant boost to its position in European markets.

The acquisition will be funded by debt and with £8m of potential cost savings identified, is expected to be significantly earnings enhancing. Whatman estimate 2005 earnings will be bosted by 17 per cent, 2006 earnings by 39 per cent and 2007 earnings by 48 per cent.

Sebastien Jantet of Investec said: "The fit is good, from a geographic point of view, with Whatman strong in the US separations market and S&S in the European separations market and also from a product point of view, with S&S enhancing Whatman's bioscience offering with products aimed at the proteomics market and the US newborn baby screening market."

The market likes it!
Flow

[zinco] 08/11/2004 09:51

Cheers GG good call sir....;-))

[go with the flow] 08/11/2004 09:22

Latest update.....

LONDON (AFX) - Separations group Whatman PLC (LSE: WHM.L - news) announced it is to acquire German peer Schleicher & Schuell for 34.6 mln stg.
The acquisition, which will be fully financed by debt, is expected by the company to deliver significant value for its shareholders through cost and revenue synergies beginning in 2005.
It will also offer Whatman a significant presence in Europe's largest economy and complements its presence in the UK and elsewhere in the EU.
S&S is a leading separations company headquartered in Dassel, Germany; the company also has facilities in the Florida and New Hampshire and additional sales offices in Europe. The enlarged group will benefit from S&S's presence in the US BioScience and MedTech sectors and that of Whatman in LabSciences, strengthening its overall presence in the US economy.
The enlarged group will be the third biggest company in the global LabSciences sector, Whatman said.
The integration of S&S into Whatman is expected to give rise to cost synergies of 8 mln stg by 2007 and the estimated cash cost of restructuring is 10 mln stg.
Whatman expects the acquisition to be 17 pct accretive to earnings in 2005, 39 pct accretive in 2006 and 48 pct accretive in 2007, however these figures do not include assumptions for potential sales gains.
A resolution to approve the acquisition will be proposed at an extraordinary general meeting of Whatman to be held on Nov 30.
'This transaction has a compelling strategic logic,' commented Bob Thian, Chairman of Whatman.
There is an excellent commercial and geographic fit between the two companies and S&S brings some very interesting new technologies with potential for rapid growth.'
Whatman said it has entered into heads of terms for a new bank facility of 65.5 mln stg to finance the acquisition, replace existing credit facilities and refinance the existing borrowings of Whatman and S&S.
S&S, which is comprised of two divisions, MicroScience and BioScience, has developed an advanced portfolio of separations technologies which hold strong positions in key segments.
The German group has a particularly well-developed position for separations products in Europe, which accounted for 56 pct of its sales in 2003, of which just under half was in Germany. The other major territory for S&S is North America, which contributed 34 pct to sales in 2003.
Whatman said that since Dec 2002, it has concentrated on implementing an internal restructuring programme; as the benefits yield improvements, the company said it is now well-positioned to grow its business through a value-enhancing transaction.
At the same time, the group said it proposes to seek shareholder approval to grant an option to Bob Thian of up to 1 mln shares as an incentive to complete the restructuring and integration of S&S. The exercise of the option will be subject to the completion of the acquisition of S&S and the satisfaction of certain performance targets.
[e-mail]

Good news at last!

Flow

[mashman] 08/11/2004 09:04

Great volume for WHM.

[mashman] 08/11/2004 08:07

Sounds like a good acquisition.

"All our stakeholders will benefit. Customers will have a broader range of
products and services, shareholders will enjoy very significant value accretion,
and staff will gain from the career opportunities afforded by the more global
scale of the enterprise."

Should help us on our way.

[boothbym] 15/10/2004 14:19

Lots of buys and sells including a 2m sell on 24 sept but the price is staying quite steady.

[sweeneytodd] 13/10/2004 16:11

Nice to see Whm moving up against the market today.
ST

[mashman] 12/10/2004 19:59

Yes it's now on hold, waiting for the next surge north.

[boothbym] 23/9/2004 08:44

From The Daily Express

THE INVESTMENT COLUMN: WHATMAN (hold)