>>> Alliance board 'out of touch' with shareholders - Elliott

Alliance board 'out of touch' with shareholders - Elliott

Elliott notes today's announcement by Alliance Trust plc ("Alliance Trust", or the "Company") that it does not intend to appoint or recommend the three new independent non-executive directors which were nominated by us on 16 March 2015.

We are long-term shareholders and are surprised and disappointed that the Company does not think it would benefit from the experience, integrity and independent thinking of Anthony Brooke, Peter Chambers, and Rory Macnamara. We believe that this decision is indicative of a Board that is out of touch with the concerns of its shareholders, and which needs fresh perspectives.

We are puzzled as to how the Board could have reached their conclusion without meeting or speaking with the candidates. The day before the requisition was made, Elliott notified the Company that we would make an announcement to that effect and stated our availability and interest in discussions. We have not received any response to our private invitation, and therefore publicly reiterate this invitation today.

This follows a pattern of non-engagement from the Company, starting with a number of letters to the Chairman from 22 December 2014 onwards which informed the Company that Elliott had begun to evaluate possible new candidates for the Board and that we stood ready to bring proposals directly to shareholders. In none of the Chairman's responses were these proposals addressed, and no interest was shown by the Company in participating in our efforts to strengthen the Board for the benefit of all shareholders.

Elliott notes with regret that the Company has resorted to questioning the independence of three individuals with impeccable credentials and integrity, when the candidates have been identified by a leading external search firm and are wholly independent of Elliott, who had never met any of the candidates previously, and of Alliance Trust. We note that of the six independent non-executive directors appointed by the Company since we became shareholders, three have resigned from the Company ahead of serving a full three-year term, which makes us question the effectiveness of the Board's own nomination process.

The Company's statement also includes factually incorrect assertions about proposals which it claims Elliott has made, including mechanisms to reduce Alliance Trust's persistent discount, and speculative assertions as to Elliott's intentions. Elliott's correspondence with the Board demonstrates their statement to be erroneous and misleading. The proposed directors will, if elected, form their own view as to what is in the best interests of shareholders in a manner wholly independent of Elliott.

We urge all shareholders who agree with Elliott's view that Alliance Trust requires fresh impetus at the Board level to make their views known to the Company. In the unfortunate event that the Company does not reconsider, we urge all shareholders to vote FOR the resolutions electing Messrs Brooke, Chambers, and Macnamara to the Board of our Alliance Trust.

>>> Phenix Groupe eyes outdoor media and mobile technology targets in France

(MergerMarket)
Phenix Groupe eyes outdoor media and mobile technology targets in France -chairman

Phenix Groupe, the French privately-owned outdoor advertising company, is eyeing outdoor media and mobile technology targets in France, Chairman and owner Sebastien Romelot said.

Romelot is looking himself for targets, and favours three types - outdoor advertising, outdoor marketing services and mobile technologies. He will look at targets of all sizes, and could make an acquisition in 2015. The group does not plan to mandate any financial advisor for these acquisitions, as Romelot has nine years of experience in mergers and acquisitions at Lazard. It will mandate its usual lawyers Linklaters or STC Partners.

The group was formed in 2014 from the merger of Insert SA and Kawet, a platform dedicated to mobile apps. It has made seven acquisitions since the creation of Insert SA in 2011, including Mediatables, an outdoor media company, and Promap, a historical French press bill boarding player, in 2013.

The EUR 24m revenues group will finance potential external growth with the funds received from its current shareholders in 2013 and 2014, and does not rule out another capital raise from its shareholders if an acquisition opportunity requires it, Romelot said.

Phenix Groupe is still majority owned by Romelot, who bought Insert SA in 2011. Audacia and Saint Mihiel, a private holding managed by Francois Dumez , invested respectively EUR 2m and 2.7m in 2013 and 2014 for a minority stake in the group.

The French outdoor media market is heavily concentrated and dominated by large groups such as JC Decaux SA (DEC:EN Paris), Exterion Media and Clear Channel France, according to Romelot. Phenix Groupe has posted 10% internal growth yearly and is one of the leaders in outdoor advertising addressing pedestrians, especially in Paris and other French city centres, and has a strongly growing market share in France, Romelot said.

The group plans to remain independent and reach EUR 26.4m revenues in 2015. Seventy percent of revenues are generated from its Insert outdoor media activity unit, and the remained from outdoor marketing services and mobile applications via its Kawet and StoreQuest subsidiaries. Kawet has its own engineering team dedicated to improving its technology. Its clients include SNCF, Procter & Gamble and Disney.

RTR- Bayer weighing options for consumer house and garden products

Bayer weighing options for consumer house and garden products


(Reuters) - Germany's largest drugmaker Bayer said it was considering strategic options for the consumer products part of its Environmental Science business, which makes about 220 million euros ($236 million) in sales from pesticides, pest control products and fertilisers.

"A number of strategic alternatives are under consideration," a company spokesman said on Friday.

People familiar with the matter told Reuters that Bayer was preparing to sell the business and was gauging the interest of prospective buyers, which could be private-equity or industry players.

>>> US Gapping down

Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: AKS -8.6%, YOKU -4.8%, TIF -3.3%, ZFGN -0.9%, CERU -0.6%, SBLK -0.6%, CHL -0.5%

M&A news: MAC -8.6% (following final offer from SPG for $95.50 per MAC share, up from prior $91 offer; move in stock suggests expectations that offer likely to be rejected)

Other news: BIOD -8.7% (filed for $30 mln offering of common stock), THRX -7.3% (FDA Advisory Committee votes against safety and efficacy of BREO ELLIPTA (fluticasone furoate/vilanterol) for the treatment of asthma in children 12-17 years of age), ACUR -3.4% (disclosed that it was afforded an additional 180 calendar day period to regain compliance with the minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share), CRMD -2.6% (announces that the registration statements for the shares of its common stock underlying its publicly traded warrants have both been declared effective by the SEC), MTGE -2.3% (cuts dividend; also downgraded at Wunderlick)

Analyst comments: ERIC -1% (downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley), DATA -1% (downgraded to Neutral at Mizuho), VNCE -0.8% (downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at Piper Jaffray)

>>> US Gapping up

Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: ENVI +33.1%, CTRP +17.9%, RALY +10.9%, GMAN +7.6%, MFRM +5.6%, DRI +4.8%, KBH +4.8%, NKE +4.7%, CMCM +4.7%, MBLX +3.7%, NWY +3.1%, ISNS +2.9%, SAP +2.6%, AGRO +2.3%

M&A news: VGGL +36.6% (announces its executive chairman and CEO has proposed to acquire, either individually or through his affiliates, 25% of the company's Wetpaint business for $10 mln in cash)

Select EU financial related names showing strength: NBG +3.3%, SAN +3.1%, DB +2.6%, RBS +1%

Other news: PRTA +42% (announces positive results from a Phase 1 single ascending dose study of PRX002, a monoclonal antibody for the potential treatment of Parkinson's disease and other related synucleinopathies ), SPEX +31.1% (provides update regarding Spherix v. VTech, Case and Spherix v. Uniden Case), VBLT +18.1% (cont strength), ICPT +12.1% (announces new subgroup analyses from the Phase 2b FLINT trial of obeticholic acid in patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis), BIIB +6.9% (announces data from a pre-specified interim analysis of PRIME ), CRH +5.8% (expected to benefit from Lafarge/Holcim merger), TKMR +3.4% (prices its upsized 7.5 mln share secondary offering at $20.25 per share), ESPR +3% (positive commentary on Thursday's Mad Money), OXGN +3% (announces $10 million at-the-market registered direct offering, shares offered at $1.7125/share), EXA +2.5% (Soros Fund discloses 9.15% passive stake in 13G filing), JKS +2.1% (announces agreement to supply 75 MWdc of its PV solar modules for the Red Horse 2 Wind and Solar project; also and Dupont (DD) sign collaboration agreement), AVEO +2% (regained compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid listing rule) SAND +1.9% (announces agreement to restructure gold stream and loan agreement with Luna Gold), AAL +1% (positive commentary on Thursday's Mad Money), SONC +1% (positive commentary on Thursday's Mad Money), SNY +0.9% (co and and Evotec sign definitive agreement for major multi-component strategic alliance)

Analyst comments: PIR +5.1% (upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer), STM +2.9% (upgraded to Equal-Weight from Underweight at Morgan Stanley), OC +2.6% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays), CELG +2.1% (target raised to $144 from $135 at Piper Jaffray), HON +1.7% (added to Americas Conviction Buy List at Goldman), AUY +1.6% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at HSBC Securities), HW +1.1% (initiated with a Buy at Sun Trust Rbsn Humphrey), ABAX +1% (target raised to $72 from $66 at Canaccord Genuity), BKU +0.9% (initiated with a Buy at UBS), SHPG +0.8% (upgraded to Outperform at Bernstein), MMS +0.7% (initiated with a Outperform at Wells Fargo)