Tuesday 17 November 2009

Bid for Minerva plc

One of my main trading shares this year has been Minerva plc. A UK property developer whose share price got mauled in the collapse of last year and this. However, Minerva was and is building top quality office space in the City of London which will always attract premium pricing.

I had Minerva from last year in a small way, figuring it was very oversold and that Kifin, a South African stake builder, might bid. I held in April through the stock market collapse and topped up. Over the summer through the boom it became my largest investment. Then I sold and re-bought as the price started to move on the refinane news.

Today a bid has finally come in from Kifin for 50p a share, my average is now 22p, up from a low of 10p. Still not bad. There is a strong chance this bid won't be accepted as it is really still a cheeky offer for a company with reasonable prospects.

In many ways it will be a shame to book the money on the deal, for as much as there is satisfaction in having made a good choice, it is always fun to run with a share where you know what is going to happen next and how to buy and sell the peaks/dips. Still with an increased bid I will be most satisfied.
Hope some of you have followed this story closely, as most of the time I tipped it the shareprice was under 15 - so should be 300%+ gain in 6 months.

15 comments:

roym said...

well, i would like to take this opportunity to say thanks very much. bought at 22 after reading what you had to say, not got a huge amount by any means but im pleased that with the return i can get a couple of boring dividend paying etfs.

getting back to minerva, just wondering if this bid is pre-empting positive news from others in the sector? but surely the board have to say no?!

CityUnslicker said...

well done Roy.

The board rejected the bid already, happy days. Total optimism says this could go over £1, but will get taken out before then sadly.

Monevator said...

Commercial property was a steal earlier this year.

Unfortunately I've mainly played it through ETFs (and a bit of Boot, which I got out of too soon) rather than picking up an multi-baggers but it's still proved a good investment.

What are your thoughts on the sector from here?

Budgie said...

Thank you, CU. I put in under £300 for fun, but as you say, 3x is great. Now all I'm waiting for is Max :o

Old BE said...

I borrowed £5m and shorted the stock. Will someone bail me out?

Nick Drew said...

I note that a well-known *ahem* blogger-punter got burned shorting gold last week ...

CityUnslicker said...

Monevator - welcome. Love your site by the way.

I see us as nearing the top of the bear market rally. I hope there is no crash this year but he first half of next year is set to be brutal.

overall there are still some CRE plays out there, like CAL or IERE which are at huge discounts to NAV. Not sure now is the time to buy though as there is much more downside risk than upside in the short-term.

CityUnslicker said...

BE - poor you, luckily if you pop down the bank of engladn they have minted some new notes that they are giving away for free.

ND - I have noted that, saving it for a year end post. currently said blogger up 30% this year, CU up 300% - no contest.

Anonymous said...

I wonder how the pensioners from Allders Department Stores (which Minerva bought for its property portfolio) feel about all of this?

Weren't the Chairman and CEO big Labour supporters?

CityUnslicker said...

Minerva sold that portfolio a long time ago. Is now a pure development company and has been for 5 years +

Monevator said...

Thanks for that CityUnslicker.

New here, but relishing exploring a UK focussed investing site!

Steven_L said...

Bought £250 quid's worth in my ISA at 37p.

How does this takeover stuff work then CU, I was intending to hold onto this stock for a few years?

Does someone write to me about any offer or do they only write to shareholders when they want more cash?

CityUnslicker said...

SL - the broker writes to you when the board accept an offer and recommend it to the shareholders. Hopefully, that maybe some weeks away here.

Anonymous said...

I have one share I got for 22 pence! Cheaper than a Mars bar

Edindie said...

"Monevator - welcome. Love your site by the way."

I agree, your RSS feed is now on my homepage. Great stuff.