MARKET REPORT: Buyers lining up for Sinclair sale as shares rise 12% to three-year high 

No less than ten interested parties are believed to have shown an interest in Sinclair IS Pharma, which has put itself up for sale.

Shares of the aesthetics and skincare company rose 4p or 12 per cent to a three-year high of 36.5p after it was revealed it has appointed Rothschild to explore means of realising shareholder value. In other words, find a buyer.

Private equity players and Swiss food giant Nestle, which earlier this year set up a specialised medical skin care division after acquiring the rights to sell certain products in the US and Canada from Valeant Pharmaceuticals for £840million cash, are rumoured to be heading the queue of buyers willing to pay up to about £300million or 60p-plus a share for the company, which owns an anti-ageing treatment that could turn out to be better than Botox. 

Promising: No less than ten interested parties are believed to have shown an interest in Sinclair IS Pharma, which has put itself up for sale 

Promising: No less than ten interested parties are believed to have shown an interest in Sinclair IS Pharma, which has put itself up for sale 

It was on the cards that Sinclair would be re-rated following the recent stonking £42billion bid for Botox giant Allergan.

Sinclair owns Silhouette, a company which manufactures Silhouette Soft, a £1,200 anti-ageing treatment that uses dissolvable thread to beat wrinkles. Broker N+1 Singer is bullish and says the company’s exciting product portfolio could bring substantial value to a potential acquirer.

Major Sinclair shareholders include heavyweights Toscafund, Lansdowne and George Soros. He lifted his stake above 5 per cent in June by acquiring more stock at 32p a pop.

JD Sports Fashion jumped 19.6p to 468.9p after announcing the sale of Bank, its loss-making fashion division to restructuring specialist Hilco Capital. The division posted a £8.2million operating loss for the six months to August 2. Broker Investec upgraded its 2015 and 2016 pre-tax profit forecasts by 7 per cent and increased its target price to 540p.

Having one infamous bear raider (Evil Knievel) on your case is bad enough, but to have another (Lucian Miers) spells mega trouble. Shares of AIM-listed Fitbug, already plagued by rumours of an imminent share placing at a discount to the prevailing market price, lost 2p or 14 per cent to 12.38p. Miers proclaimed the shares are ‘a sell for anyone lucky enough to own them before the recent heady rise and a short sell for those who are not’.

Fitbug soared from less than a penny to 26.5p in a flash after it announced that its app, called Kiqplan, will be available (for free) on Samsung’s Digital Health Platform.

But Miers points out that Fitbug has negative shareholders’ funds and survives on handouts from two non-executive directors: David Turner, who founded LA Fitness, and Allan Fisher, who founded Holmes Place. Its debts total around £7million and most was due for repayment in July this year, but this has been extended until mid-2015.

Messrs Turner and Fisher have indicated they might convert some debt into equity in the event of a placing, but any raise would surely have to be done well short of 17p.

The Footsie edged up 1.35 points to 6731.14 in thin trading with satellite TV group Sky a top performer at 918p, up 23p. A squeeze on short positions helped sentiment, as did a perception that BT’s possible £10billion move to buy either O2 or EE could take the telecoms giant’s focus away from pay TV.

Also, media content is now being revalued in the marketplace and there have been suggestions that cash-rich Vodafone (0.5p off at 224.55p) could take a fancy to Sky.

Sinclair IS Pharma: Shares of the aesthetics and skincare company rose 4p or 12 per cent to a three-year high of 36.5p

Sinclair IS Pharma: Shares of the aesthetics and skincare company rose 4p or 12 per cent to a three-year high of 36.5p

Mining dealmaker Ian Hannam is reported to have told a group of hedge funds that a marriage between Glencore and Rio Tinto ‘will happen sometime in the near future’. Remember, Rio last month revealed it had rejected a bid from the commodities giant. His comments helped Rio put on 9.5p to 2986p but left Glencore 1.2p cheaper at 331.3p.

Infrastructure company Balfour Beatty jumped 13.7p to 176.8p on a Bank of America/Merrill Lynch upgrade to buy from neutral. It sees a 33pc rise from current levels over the next 12 months. Down over 40 per cent since March following three profit warnings, dealers believe another bid could be on the cards.

In-line results and news of a £50m share buyback programme lifted consumer finance group Paragon 29p to 406.9p.

Advanced Computer Software soared 18.25p or 15pc to 138p after agreeing to a £725million or 140p a share cash offer from US private equity group Vista. Directors, who own 15.1 per cent of the equity, together with major shareholders holding a further 20 per cent, have all agreed to vote in favour of the bid.

Reflecting acute disappointment with a trading update, Thalassa Holdings slumped 19p or 26 per cent to 55p. The marine geophysical services firm warned that revenues will be ‘materially below market expectations, possibly leading to a loss’. The company said that none of the current backlog, other than multi-client data sales, will be converted by the end of this year.