What value Hotel Chocolat? | EV winner | Another cheap acquisition
Premium chocolatier Hotel Chocolat continues to split opinion with yet another, albeit minor, profit warning pulling the shares back again. However, with plenty of bad news in the price, could now finally offer a decent buying opportunity? Elsewhere, another serial disappointer (and potential bargain) reassured with in-line results, while an online wine retailer continues to struggle. Yet another AIM company is also being acquired and while the immediate premium looks appealing, shareholders could surely do better in a few years time. (Free to read)
The week closed with news that yet another decent sized AIM company is being acquired. Deutsche Bank has agreed to buy corporate broker Numis Corp (AIM:NUM) for 350p per share or £410m in real money. Deutsche intends to combine its existing UK and Ireland corporate finance businesses with Numis, whose focus is the small and mid-cap space. The full 350p price includes dividends of 11p and is stated 72 per cent premium to Numis’s closing share price the day before. Before getting too excited, that should be considered in the context of Numis shares which hit highs of 442p in…