Small caps news round-up

Keywords Studios expanded once again through an acquisition on Wednesday, swallowing upSynthesis for a maximum consideration of €18m. The AIM-traded international technical services provider to the videogames industry said Synthesis Group posted pro forma revenues of €16.9m and profit before tax of €2m for the year to 31 December.

Volga Gas announced a management and directorate change on Wednesday, with the departure of Tony Alves as chief financial officer. The AIM-traded oil and gas exploration and production company, operating in Russia’s Volga region, said the position will be assumed on Alves’s departure by Vadim Son, who had been working with the group in Saratov as finance director of its operating subsidiaries since September 2015.

Galileo Resources talked up its Concordia concession in South Africa’s Northern Cape on Wednesday, having received results from independent ore-body modelling on the area’s West Whyte’s prospect. The results followed the initial modelling results on the Wheel Julia and Koeelkop prospects announced on 29 March.

Accommodation investor and developer PPHE Hotel Group confirmed it had completed the acquisition of its Arenaturist joint venture in Croatia. On 1 March, the AIM-traded firm announced it had entered into a conditional contract to acquire the outstanding 80% interest in its Croatian joint venture which it did not already own, for an aggregate cash consideration of €51m.

Specialist Investment Properties (SIPP) announced another property acquisition on Wednesday - the third such purchase since the board implemented its new investment policy. The AIM-traded firm said its subsidiary, Secta Properties, exchanged on a property in Birmingham which will be leased to Meadow Care as a children’s home, on a 25-year inflation linked FRI lease.

Mobile payments group Mi-Pay managed to narrow full year pre-tax losses to £1.4m from £4.3m on the back of a small jump in revenues and hefty cut in admin expenses. Revenues rose to £3m from £2.7m while administrative expenses fell to £3.1m from £5.4m.

MirLand Development's bondholders have proposed a debt restructuring that could converting $180m of the Russian property developer's debt into new equity. Following a meeting to which MirLand's directors were not invited, the bondholders' debt-to-equity proposal would leave $45m of outstanding bonds, which would then themselves be restructured with payment not required until at least 2021.

Alecto Minerals has agreed a financing deal for the construction of its Matala gold project in Zambia. AIM-listed Alecto has agreed partnerships with Chinese mining engineer Yantai Xinhai Machinery and South Africa's PenMin to cover the development and operations of the project.

Providence was on shaky ground on Wednesday, having lost an appeal brought against it in a long-running legal battle with Transocean. The AIM-traded company said the case relates to certain costs claimed by Transocean against Providence, over the use of the ‘Arctic III’ semi-submersible drilling unit in 2011 and 2012 on Providence’s Barryroe oilfield, offshore Ireland.