Small caps news roundup

Lombard Risk revealed a hiring coup on Friday, having appointed Tina Wilkinson as its Global Head of Product. Wilkinson has more than 30 years of experience in capital markets, investment management and asset servicing, Lombard Risk said, and was joining the company from FIS/SunGard where he was Director of Major Accounts.

Tejoori Investments was positive about the future of its conservative investment portfolio on Friday, despite a downturn in its fortunes in the six months to 31 December 2015. The AIM-traded Shari'a compliant investment company, based in Dubai, said it had $3.51m (£2.43m) available for investment at the end of the period, $2.8m of which was placed on short term wakala deposits, which carried a profit rate of 5% per annum.

Asian Growth Properties signalled an increase in net profit on Friday, ahead of its annual results for the 2015 year. The AIM-traded company said that, based on information currently available, the group was likely to record an increase in net profit for the year ended 31 December 2015.

Regenersis announced a major step in its transition towards being an entirely software-based business on Friday, with the proposed sale of its Repair Services Business. The AIM-traded firm said the deal was worth €103.5 million (£80.1m) in cash, to be paid at completion, which was set down for the second quarter of 2016.

Beowulf Mining took an unusual step on Friday, publishing an open letter to the chairmen of the Jåhkågasska and Sirges Sami villages. The villages are situated in the vicinity of the AIM-traded company's Kallak project, in the Norrbotten county in northern Sweden.

The 'blockbuster' potential of a drug in development saw ImmuPharma proposing a £7.5m fund raise on Friday. The AIM-traded specialist drug discovery and development company said the deal included a proposed conditional non-preemptive placing of no less than 11,824,877 Placing Shares at a price of 26p each, to raise around £3.1m.

Pennant International finalised a deal with significant potential value on Friday, signing a contract with an unnamed aerospace and defence contractor. The AIM-traded logistical support company said the contract has a value of £0.1m. It also includes further options which, if exercised by the customer, will increase its aggregate value to in excess of £2.2m over 18 months, the company explained.

One of CentralNic's original directors announced his retirement on Friday, with the company's board assuring the market his replacement would bring with him a wealth of valuable knowledge. The AIM-traded internet business, which derives revenue from the sale of domain names, said Robert Pooke would continue as a consultant with the company for the time being. He was one of the founders of CentralNic, and has been involved with the domain name industry since 1998, the board commented.

One of Velocys' more exciting projects made great strides on Friday, with the release of further funding to complete its ENVIA Energy gas-to-liquids plant at a US landfill site. The AIM-traded firm operating in the smaller scale gas-to-liquids (GTL) industry said the contract covered the installation of process modules, related piping and ancillary equipment for ENVIA's Oklahoma City plant, located next to Waste Management's East Oak landfill site.

Faroe Petroleum experienced a good year of production in 2015, though it was looking at a muted year ahead in its operational update on Friday. The AIM-traded independent oil and gas firm with operations focused in the UK and Norway said its total average economic production for the full year was at the upper end of guidance , at approximately 10,530 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Wishbone Gold transitioned into a new phase of development on Friday, announcing the purchase of Precious Metals International Group (PMI), including its wholly-owned subsidiary Black Sand FZE, in an all-share transaction.

Porta Communications announced the completion of a nearly-two year old acquisition deal on Friday. The AIM-traded firm initially announced on 23 April 2014 that it had acquired 51% of Redleaf Communications for a consideration of both cash, and the issue of 6,998,050 ordinary shares in Porta.

AIM-listed oil and gas company Bahamas Petroleum announced on Friday that the Bahamian senate has approved a new petroleum bill that will provide an upgraded and modernised framework for explorations in the Bahamas. The company said the Governor General will now receive the bills for signature, after which they will be passed into law.

Greka Drilling's activities were on the up in 2015, with the company publishing its operations update for the calendar year on Friday. The AIM-traded firm - the largest independent and specialised unconventional oil and gas driller in Asia, according to its board - drilled a total of 62 wells in 2015, a 38% increase year-on-year.

Teathers Financial said it is in talks with two parties over a possible reverse takeover. In an update on Friday, the AIM-listed company said the two companies have synergies with Teathers Financial Software Limited - the Teathers investee company that owns the Teathers app.