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Angola-focused oil company Afentra (AET) has announced it is on the hunt for a buyer, five years after management took over a cash shell with a plan to build up a portfolio of mature assets.

The company said on Thursday it had “appointed Jefferies to engage a small number of financial and strategic investors to explore how they could assist the company with its future capital needs”, which could include a sale.

“Given the significant potential within the Afentra portfolio and the position and reputation that Afentra has established in Angola, positioning the company for further inorganic growth in the country, the board has taken the decision to initiate a wider review of the company’s strategic options,” the company said.

The shares climbed 7 per cent in response, to 72p, taking this month’s rise to almost a third. The ąű¶ł´«Ă˝ published a buy idea on Afentra last month highlighting the relatively cheap growth on offer.

The company said it may remain listed following the process.

At the onset of its attack on Iran, the Israeli government ordered a shutdown at Energean’s (ENOG) Karish offshore gas field. Given that it sits on the maritime border with Lebanon and has been a target for Hezbollah in the past, this is no surprise. The question now is how long Energean’s major earner remains out of commission.

Energean chief executive Mathios Rigas said the company can hold on for quite a while, given the operating costs of $10mn (ÂŁ7.5mn) a month (and further financing costs of $15mn a month).

“It’s not a good position to be in having the major asset in shutdown mode, but I think we are very well prepared,” Rigas said, adding that last year’s refinancings removed 2026 debt maturities and the company had liquidity of $300mn. A 12-day shutdown in June last year served as a test run.

Israel attacking Iran’s South Pars field and triggering retaliation from Tehran could prolong the high risks for the Karish field and its workers.

The company reported an operating profit of $268mn for 2025, down 40 per cent on 2024. This was due to the higher cost of sales and a $286mn impairment on Energean’s Italian assets. Net debt climbed 10 per cent to $3.26bn.

BAE Systems (BA.) has offloaded the final chunk of shares it owned in Air Astana (AIRA).

The company sold global depository receipts (GDRs) equating to its remaining 6.86 per cent in the company to institutional investors at a placing priced at $5.10 (£3.84) per share – a 15 per cent discount to yesterday’s closing price of $6.02.

BAE Systems helped launch Air Astana in 2001 and was a 49 per cent shareholder in the airline alongside Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund until its float two years ago. It has been selling down its holding since, offloading a 10 per cent stake in December.

Air Astana recognised it was “no longer a core holding” for BAE Systems and said the placing allowed it to welcome new shareholders, as well as expand its free float.

Air Astana’s London-listed GDRs have fallen by about 40 per cent since making their debut in February 2024. Earlier this month, the airline reported an 11 per cent increase in revenue for 2025 but a 32 per cent slide in operating profit as several of its planes were taken out of service due to Pratt & Whitney’s ongoing engine problems.

Grafton (GFTU) will acquire Mercaluz, a Spanish air conditioning company, for up to €175mn (£151mn).

This equates to around eight times Mercaluz’s 2025 adjusted operating profit of €22mn. Its revenue of €150mn equates to around 5 per cent of Grafton’s group revenues over the same period.

Grafton previously acquired Mercaluz’s Spanish peer Salvador Escoda in late 2024, which was one of its fastest-growing business lines last year, offering like-for-like revenue growth of 6 per cent. Grafton said it also expects to benefit from cost savings.

Grafton chief executive Eric Born said: “Mercaluz has all the characteristics we are seeking in an acquisition, from the growth segment and markets it serves to its scalability and reputation in the trade.”

Shares were flat in early trading.

Trading platform IG Group (IGG) will ascend to the FTSE 100 at the end of March, but a strategic review announced alongside its full-year results means it could say farewell to the London market.

IG, which specialises in spread betting and contracts for difference (CFD), said the review would consider mergers and acquisitions and the group’s “domicile and listing venues”. It will update the market in the autumn. 

For the year to 31 December, total revenue was up 7 per cent to ÂŁ1.12bn and Ebitda ticked up 1 per cent to ÂŁ531mn. IG has changed its financial year end from 31 May to 31 December, which it announced in November. The group also launched a new ÂŁ125mn share buyback. 

Management guided for 2026 Ebitda to be in line with the group-compiled consensus of ÂŁ538mn. It also expects medium-term organic total revenue growth at the top end of its mid-to-high single digits range.  

The shares rose 5 per cent in early trading.

Picton Property Income (PCTN) has this morning disclosed that it has received multiple bids for its ÂŁ700mn property portfolio.

The diversified Reit, which announced a formal sale process in January, said it has received proposals “from a wide range of interested parties and with a variety of structures”.

While Picton has previously disclosed interest from LondonMetric (LMP), no other potential suitors have publicly declared an interest. Shares fell 1 per cent in early trading, in line with the wider sector.

Separately, LondonMetric has refinanced ÂŁ1.5bn of debt, more than half of its existing ÂŁ2.8bn pile. The refinancing increases its weighted average debt maturity by 0.2 years to 4.4 years, and is at a 0.5 percentage point lower margin to Sonia, the risk-free rate. Shares fell 2 per cent in early trading.