FTSE 250 movers: Ophir Energy and Kier Group surge on acquisitions

Oil and gas explorer Ophir Energy was making gains after reaching an agreement to acquire four production sharing contracts in Indonesia from Niko Resources. The group said the deals cover the West Papua IV, Aru, Kofiau and Halmahera-Kofiau deepwater sites in Indonesia, adding it was in the process to secure two further contracts from Niko, covering the North Makassar Strait and North Ganal area.

Strong momentum continued to carry Tullow Oil after the weekend's news that the International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas ruled in its favour, allowing the outfit to continue with its exploration activities offshore Ivory Coast. The company is also seen as a takeover target.

Lonmin rebounded from Monday's losses, which were a result of analysts at Exane BNP Paribas dramatically cutting their price target for the stock from 260p to 133p.

Property and construction services company Kier Group was trading higher after agreeing to acquire acquire infrastructure repair and maintenance services group Mouchel for £265m. The shares lost some momentum as the day drew on, with Investec of those to have expressed some some reservations. "This is another big deal, following on from May Gurney (July 2013) and we wonder whether the business would be better focusing on its core, rather than risk spreading itself too thinly across a myriad of verticals."

Allied Minds was in the red after the US-focused technology developer reported a net loss of $45.5m for 2014, up from a $34.5m loss a year earlier. The company's founder and chairman, Mark Pritchard, stepped down, leading to speculation that he would sell a large chunk of the 21m shares he owns. Former chief executive officer of Bristol-Myers Squibb, Peter R Dolan, was appointed as the new chairman.

Risers
Tullow Oil (TLW) 426.80p +4.02%
Centamin (DI) (CEY) 63.00p +3.96%
Lonmin (LMI) 149.30p +3.25%
Domino's Pizza Group (DOM) 837.50p +2.51%
AL Noor Hospitals Group (ANH) 913.00p +2.30%
Evraz (EVR) 193.90p +2.27%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 169.90p +1.98%
PayPoint (PAY) 889.00p +1.89%
Drax Group (DRX) 404.50p +1.84%
Acacia Mining (ACA) 291.50p +1.75%

Fallers
Berkeley Group Holdings (The) (BKG) 2,517.00p -4.11%
Pace (PIC) 413.90p -3.47%
Allied Minds (ALM) 677.50p -2.94%
Spectris (SXS) 2,183.00p -2.76%
Stagecoach Group (SGC) 366.00p -2.61%
Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,830.00p -2.61%
Home Retail Group (HOME) 168.50p -2.60%
NMC Health (NMC) 658.50p -2.59%
Victrex plc (VCT) 1,978.00p -2.56%
Ladbrokes (LAD) 102.30p -2.48%