The focus today was on the debut listing of auto dealership company, Peter Warren Automotive (ASX:PWR). The company made a strong start on the ASX, with its share price jumping by 19 per cent to close at $3.46.

PWR raised $260 million at an issue price of $2.90, for a market cap of around $480 million based on the latest price. The business itself is not new, having been founded in 1958. Today, it sells 27 car brands across its showrooms in NSW and Queensland.

The ASX200 itself finished 0.19 per cent lower, after a day of seesawing that saw the index trading between positive and negative territory.

Small caps were in negative territory, with the Small Ordinaries Index falling by 0.15 per cent, and the micro-caps Emerging Companies Index down by 0.16 per cent.

Nine out of the eleven ASX sectors dropped, with the IT index falling the hardest by over 2 per cent despite NASDAQ closing at an all time high overnight.

Afterpay (ASX:APT) was the biggest casualty in the sector, falling by 5 per cent on no news.

Of the large caps, Tabcorp (ASX:TAH) was the standout, rising by 4 per cent, after announcing that it has received a revised acquisition proposal from Entain for its Wagering & Media business for $3.5 billion.

Entain is the parent owner of wagering company, Ladbrokes, and its original $3 billion offer had been rejected by Tabcorp earlier.

ANNOUNCEMENTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

Octanex (ASX:OXX) was the best performer of the small caps today on the back of encouraging results from early exploration at its 2,587sqkm ‘Sefton’ gold project in WA. Octanex believes there could be a big gold resource just waiting to be discovered at Sefton, which is effectively unexplored, after a recent ‘lag sampling’ program identified multiple gold anomalies.

Hubify (ASX:HFY) announced a strategic stake in Australian and US-based defence-grade cyber company, Internet 2.0. The agreement, which is worth $0.5 million, will enable Hubify to diversify its revenue base, by providing defence-grade cyber security solutions to its 7,000 SME customers as part of its cyber security offering to be known as CyberHub.

MSL Solutions (ASX:MSL) delivered its third successive quarter of positive operational cashflow, generating $1.3 million from operating activities on $7.2 million in customer receipts (+20% quarter-on- quarter)

San Francisco-based mobile app tech company Life 360 (ASX:360) reached a non-binding agreement to acquire Jiobit – a provider of wearable location devices for young children, pets, and seniors. The upfront consideration would amount to US$37 million, with the possibility of increasing to US$54.5 million if certain performance targets are achieved in the next two full calendar years.

Universal Store (ASX:UNI) said its sales have consistently grown for the past six years, with the latest half delivering a 23 per cent increase to $118 million. Looking forward, the company expects sales to increase more, as customers resume aspects of their social lives, along with a return of domestic tourism.

archTIS (ASX:AR9) announced that its total revenue for the quarter increased by 84 per cent on the previous corresponding period to $1.25 million. This generated a $0.8 million gross profit, which was 57 per cent higher.

 

Trading Halts

Wednesday:

Security Matters (ASX:SMX) – capital raising
Fin Resources (ASX:FIN) – acquisition
Rumble Resources (ASX:RTR) – capital raising
TZ (ASX:TZL) – capital raising
AnteoTech (ASX:ADO) – capital raising

Thursday 

McPhersons (ASX:MCP) – trading outlook
Mainstream (ASX:MAI) – takeover update
Danakali (ASX:DNK) – capital raising
Celsius Resources (ASX:CLA) – capital raising
Baliador (ASX:BTI) – capital raising

 

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