Economic and Market News for 5 December 2018

Bank of Georgia Group said it had introduced a new payment method to the local small business market in Georgia. The method had been designed as an alternative payment mechanism to the traditional...

Pharmaceutical group Shire said its shareholders had approved a £46bn takeover of the company by Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Company. Takeda shareholders had also approved the deal....

Block Energy said it was preparing to drill the first four of eight wells as part of a campaign to increase in production at its Norio oil field in Gerogia. A specialist micro drilling perforation...

Civitas Social Housing said it had completed the purchase of give regulated social housing properties comprising 27 tenancies for £4.0m. The properties were leased to Bespoke Supportive Tenancies,...

Enteq Upstream said it had filed a new UK patent application relating to a new technical tool for oil and gas drilling. The application related to a 'real- time' azimuth and inclination...

Petropavlovsk said it had started processing gold concentrate at its Pokrovskiy mine in Russia. The first autoclave at the mine's pressure oxidation hub had started processing ore one month ahead...

Petra Diamonds said it had completed the sale of diamond assets in South Africa to a joint venture between the company and Ekapa Mininig for around 300m rand (£17m). The assets included Petra and...

Mereo BioPharma Group said it had agreed to acquire oncology-focused clinical stage bio-pharmaceutical business OncoMed Pharmaceuticals for around $57.4m. OncoMed Pharmaceuticals would receive...

Premier African Minerals said it had successfully completed due diligence on assets it wished to acquire from KME Holdings for $4m. The companies had now 'agreed to proceed to a formal framework...

Shield Therapeutics said that European distribution partner Norgine had launched its iron deficiency treatment in the UK. Sheild in September licensed the so-called Feraccru treatment to Norgine...

Faron Pharmaceuticals said Wednesday its treatment to prevent vascular leakage and organ failures showed a 'substantial reduction' in death rates for patients suffering from acute respiratory...

Eco Atlantic, the oil and gas exploration company, said it would began drilling a well on the Orinduik Block, offshore Guyana, in late May or early June next year. The 'Jethro-Lobe' prospect was...

Raven Property Group said a subsidiary had agreed to acquire a completed warehouse in Russia for RUB 2.8 billion (£32.9m) from fund manager Amstar. The warehouse complex was located in Nizhny...

The UK services purchasing managers' index fell to 50.4 in November, the lowest reading since July 2016, according to IHS Markit The index had fallen from 52.2 in October and came in well below...

Shanta Gold said its Singida gold mining project in central Tanzania would require a pre-production capital expenditure investment of $16m, plus $3m for working capital. Average annual production...

Property investor Panther Securities said it planned to pay a special dividend for the current financial year. A payout of 15p per share would be received by shareholders on 17 January. 'As...

Advanced materials developer Versarien said it had signed an early-stage agreement with a subsidiary of China Railway Group. The non-binding memorandum of understanding would the see the pair...

Advertising technology group Taptica said chief executive Hagai Tal had resigned with immediate effect due to a court ruling. Tal, however, would remain with the company 'as long as necessary' to...

Oil and gas company Faroe Petroleum said the Cassidy exploration well in the Norwegian North Sea had been spudded. The total expected vertical depth of the well was approximately 3,056 metres, in...

Simec Atlantis Energy said it had won a €1m to support its tidal power turbine development programme. The company signed the grant agreement with the European Executive Agency for Small and...

Specialty polymers provider Itaconix said Wednesday it had signed a licence agreement to allow Canada-based New Wave to use the company's proprietary polymer formula to produce a new automatic...

Regal Petroleum said it had hooked up a new well at the Vasyschevskoye gas and condensate field in Ukraine to a gas-processing facility to allow for longer-term production testing following...

FIH group said Wednesday it had purchased the freehold of a 2.5 acre industrial estate in East London for £19.4m from H. Young & Co. The site consisted solely of five warehouses operated by...

E-procurement software provider EU Supply said Wednesday it had signed two contracts worth a combined total of €0.2m both with European nuclear research organisations to supply services related to...

Witan Investment Trust said chairman Harry Henderson would retire at its annual general meeting in 2020. A board committee would commence the search for a replacement, who would be appointed...

Oil services company Wood Group said it had won a $43m contract from a large-cap midstream company to construct 80 miles of steel pipeline in west Texas. The project would serve to transport...

Riverstone Holdings said it had agreed its interests in Mexico-focused Sierra Oil & Gas to Germany's DEA Deutsche Erdoel, for an undisclosed price. The transaction was expected to close during...