We begin proceedings with two takeover approaches, one successful, the other less so, for now at least.

First, Swiss bourse operator SIX agreed to buy UK junior marketplace Aquis Exchange (AQX:AIM) for 727p in cash, representing a 120% premium to the previous closing price of 330p.

SIX, which operates the Swiss and Spanish stock markets, called the deal ‘a compelling strategic opportunity which will complement its established growth strategy (and) strengthen its ability to serve customers in Switzerland, Spain and internationally with its reliable infrastructure services and seamless access to capital markets’.

Aquis, which was only launched in 2012, has grown from a start-up subscription-based exchange to a ‘challenger’ next-generation player with revenues growing nearly six-fold up to the end of last year and had just moved into profit.

Meanwhile, the proposed takeover of electronic connector maker TT Electronics (TTG) by industrial manufacturer Volex (VLX), in what Volex chair Lord Rothschild described as ‘a highly synergistic transaction which would create a scaled and diversified leader in the specialist electronics market’, failed to get off the ground.

The cash and shares offer valued TT shares at 135p each, a decent premium to their previous price but a far cry from their highs suggesting Volex’s bid was fairly opportunistic.

Unsurprisingly, TT rejected the offer, but if Volex believes in the two firms building ‘a platform for future organic and inorganic growth and significant value creation’, to quote Lord Rothschild again, investors can no doubt look forward to a revised offer in the coming weeks.

BEAR IN A CHINA SHOP

There was grim news from ceramic products specialist Churchill China (CHH:AIM), which blamed ‘subdued’ hospitality markets and the absence of a pre-Christmas ‘seasonal uplift’ for lowering its outlook.

Shares in the Stoke-on-Trent plate-maker crashed 20% on the news annual profits would be ‘materially below market expectations’, while future earnings were likely to be impacted by higher labour costs due to changes in the recent Budget.

Chair Robin Williams said the current macro-economic uncertainty combined with ‘significant’ increases in the firm’s cost base created near term challenges, but he confident that its core strategy would ‘continue to deliver growth as markets improve’.

Also ruing its fortunes was PC component-maker Solid State (SOLI:AIM), which warned mid-month its performance for the current financial year would be ‘materially below current consensus expectations’ due to contract delays.

The shares closed down over a third on the day, having dropped more than half at one point, as spending on a ‘prominent’ defence order programme was paused pending completion of the government’s strategic review.

The firm said it was confident the delay was temporary and the order would come in after the end of March 2025, but the timing of the strategic review meant it was ‘uncertain whether these delays will also affect orders and deliveries originally expected in 2025/26’.NEW FACES

There were a couple of new listings this month, the first being Selkirk (SELK:AIM), a special-purpose acquisition vehicle or SPAC, which placed shares at 2.4p each raising £7.5 million and giving the business a market value of £10 million.

Prior to listing, Selkirk was half-owned by UK investor Kelso (KLSO), whose stake has subsequently dropped to 18%, just ahead of Terry Leahy, the ex-boss of supermarket group Tesco (TESCO).

Selkirk’s mission, it seems, is to engineer a reverse takeover of a large company in the consumer, technology or media sector with an enterprise value of between £30 million and £1 billion.

Also joining the market this month is Singapore-based video game services company Winking Studios (WKS:AIM) after placing 52.7 million new shares at 15p each.

That raised a total of £7.9 million and gave the firm, which boasts the backing of Taiwanese computer hardware maker Acer (2353:TPE), a market cap of £66 million.

The company said it would use the cash raised to establish a stronger presence in Europe and North America, including through M&A (mergers             and acquisitions).

GOODBYE, OR WE’LL MEET GAIN?

As these doors opened, however, two others closed with Atrato Onsite Energy (ROOF) and Miton UK MicroCap Trust (MINI) announcing they were calling it a day.

Atrato’s decision to sell up stemmed from the trust being subscale and its shares having suffered ‘a significant de-rating over the last year exacerbated by the higher interest rate environment’.

The board announced earlier this month it had sold the entire portfolio of solar assets to a private equity consortium, which included a unit of US firm Brookfield Asset Management (BAM:NYSE), for just under £220 million, and would seek to distribute the proceeds to investors as soon as possible.

In the case of Miton MicroCap, considering the level of redemption requests received in October and a ‘challenging’ period of performance, the trust was ‘at a size which some investors consider to be too small from a liquidity perspective’ according to the board.

Combined with the ‘persistent, material discount to net asset value’ and limited options to grow, the board put forward proposals for a voluntary winding-up, but also left the door open for the trust to be rolled into another of Premier Miton’s open-ended funds, so this may not be the end of the road for investors.

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