Among the biggest insider purchases of the last week, executive director of computer chip technology firm Alphawave IP (AWE) Sehat Sutardja bought 387,668 shares at 139.52p worth £540,874 taking the Sutardja Family’s shareholding to 12.96%.
Over the course of the last two months the family has increased its shareholding from 12.3% to just under 13% making the Sutardja family the second largest shareholder after Project AuroraIP which owns 39.6%.
Toronto-based Alphawave designs high-speed data transmission technology and then licences it to semiconductor designers and manufacturers, who then pay a royalty fee for every microchip produced.
FLYING THE COOP
Among the largest sales, Christian Kappelhoff-Wulff, non-executive director at airport services group John Menzies (MNZS), cashed in 500,000 shares at 592.3p worth around £3 million.
John Menzies finally succumbed to an offer from larger rival Kuwaiti aviation ground services firm NAS after the two parties reached an agreement on 21 February.
The company had previously rejected offers of 460p, 510p and 605p per share. Menzies indicated it would recommend to shareholders NAS’s final offer of 608p per share, valuing the company at more than £550 million.
CONTOURGLOBAL TAKEN PRIVATE
Chief executive of International power generation firm ContourGlobal (GLO) Joseph Brandt sold 293,727 shares at 250.75p worth £736,520 last week.
The transaction follows a board recommended £1.75 billion all-cash takeover approach (17 May) from US private equity company KKR at 263.3p.
Contour floated in London at 250p in November 2017 but struggled to make much impact and the KKR takeout offer is only slightly above its valuation when it first listed, despite Contour’s chair describing it as ‘an attractive price’.
The deal was pitched at a 36% premium to the prior closing price and Brandt’s last selling last week implies the deal will go ahead.
TOP-UP TRANSACTIONS
Chief executive and chairman of cloud computing company Wandisco (WAND) David Richards purchased 29,603 shares at 280.7p, worth £83,095.
The purchase takes his shareholding to almost 1.9 million shares representing 3.1% of the company’s shares.
Chief financial officer Erik Miller and fellow board member Bob Corey also added to their holdings, purchasing 7,993 shares and 29,603 shares respectively. Both own less than 1% of the company’s share capital.
Wandisco has undergone a major restructuring over the last year and successfully transitioned into a cloud-centric business.