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Small cap highlights: Investors ride the Gulf Keystone rollercoaster

Last updated: 17:43 16 Apr 2016 AEST, First published: 18:43 16 Apr 2016 AEST

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Any small cap round-up of this week must start with a trip on the rollercoaster that is Gulf Keystone Petroleum Limited (LON:GKP).

Like all good rides, shares were on the up initially, as the company confirmed it had been paid US$15mln for exports in March from the Shaikan field in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq.

Gulf Keystone said the payment meant it would avoid a “worst case scenario” after warning it was facing a potential debt crisis.

But, as my seven year old sister is learning in school, what goes up must come down and in the case of Gulf Keystone, shares came down hard.

The oil producer saw its shares in free fall after it revealed it would need to spend US$71mln to maintain its 40,000 barrels of oil per day production output.

To grow production to 55,000 boepd, as it had previously targeted, an investment of US$88mln is likely needed.

Shares were around 5% higher for the week on Wednesday, before crashing back down to earth to sit 31% lower by Friday.

On a similar trajectory was Bisto and Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods PLC (LON:PFD), after US firm McCormick & Co dropped its plan to make a takeover bid.

There were no trademark sighs of relief for investors, as shares dropped 28% to 42.17p.

The valuation Premier had on itself was too rich for the US firm, which was bad news for the share price, whichever way you slice it.

Going in the opposite direction was Peppa Pig majority stake owner Entertainment One Ltd (LON:ETO), which, after a slow start, shot higher on speculation it could be approached by television giant ITV.

The company moved to dispel the rumours, suggesting the whole thing was just one big porky.

Investors, though, are clearly hoping a deal could still bring home the bacon, with shares more than 14% higher for the week.

One deal that did take place, however, was Keywords Studio PLC’s (LON:KWS) takeover of the Synthesis Group of companies, the largest in its highly acquisitive history.

The AIM-listed outsourcing group for the video games industry will pay up to €18mln for Synthesis, with an upfront payment of €10.2mln in cash. Shares rose more than 18p to 255p.

Another big winner this week was Iofina PLC (LON:IOF), after its chief executive told Proactive Investors that iodine production in the first quarter was bang on expectations.

Sticking with the rollercoaster theme, the firm is “right on track” with its production targets. Shares doubled, ending at 11.1p on Friday.

And it was the winners that dominated the AIM-All Share, with the index climbing every day, ending 1.9% ahead of its open on Monday.

With a number of high flyers, software provider iEnergizer Limited (LON:IBPO) won the biggest gainer of the week award, after forecasting better-than-expected annual profits.

Shares, which have been relatively flat so far this year, rocketed almost 200% by Friday to 26.75p.

It wasn’t all plain sailing for investors though, as shares in oil explorer RusPetro PLC (LON:RPO), tanked around 80% after it announced plans to go private barely more than four years after it came to the market.

Finally, Tower Resources PLC (LON:TRP) raised £5.2mln in a share placing to fund its new project offshore Cameroon, in the Niger Delta, sending its price down by almost 30% to 9.27p.

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