Small caps news round-up

Diversified mineral production and development company Strategic Minerals has exercised its remaining option to purchase further shares in Cornwall Resources Ltd. "The funding of the option payment now sets the framework in place for progressing the 2017 Redmoor tin/tungsten drilling programme near Kelly Bray, Cornwall," said MD John Peters.

Botswana Diamonds announced on Monday that it has entered into an option and earn-in agreement with Vutomi Mining and Razorbill Properties 12 - collectively known as Vutomi - a private diamond exploration and development firm in South Africa. The AIM-traded firm described it as “a new strategic development for Botswana Diamonds”, saying advanced projects in South Africa would be developed in tandem with the ongoing Botswana-based exploration programme.

Shares in Pebble Beach Systems Group, formerly Vislink, tanked on Monday as the software firm said that its results for 2016 will be “materially below” expectations, due to the “lengthy sales process” as it sold its hardware business. A fall in the company's performance was due to “uncertainty caused by the lengthy sale process” as it sold Vislink Communication Systems, its hardware division, for about $16m to XG Technology, which included “significant write offs” to recognise the final sale price.

AIM-listed pharma company Ergomed on Monday reported positive top-line results from a Phase II clinical trial of Lorediplon in patients with insomnia with its co-development partner Ferrer. The company said both 5 and 10mg Lorediplon met the primary endpoint with “high statistical significance”, indicating the drug has strong efficacy in sleep maintainance throughout the night when compared to the placebo.

Software solution company Eagle Eye has agreed a £1.5m extension to its existing three-year credit facility with Barclays Bank. As a result, it now has a £3m revolving loan facility available until 22 June 2019 to provide future support to the group's current strategic ambitions.

AIM-listed Ithaca Energy has entered into a definitive support agreement with Israel’s Delek Group on the terms of a cash takeover bid for all the shares of Ithaca it does not already own. The offer, which has been unanimously recommended by Ithaca’s board of directors, values the entire issued and to be issued share capital of the company at C$841m, or US$646m.