2nd Jan 2026 07:59
(Alliance News) - John Wood Group completes a USD151 million divestment, Tap Global narrows losses and reshapes its finance team, and M&P exits Seplat Energy in a USD496 million deal.
Here is what you need to know before the London market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: called up 0.2% at 9,949.18
GBP: lower at USD1.3458 (USD1.3463 at previous London equities close)
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OTHER COMPANIES
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John Wood Group completes sale of its 50% stake in RWG (Repair & Overhauls) Ltd to Siemens Energy for USD151 million, finalising the divestment first announced in July. The Aberdeen, Scotland-based oilfield services and engineering consulting firm says its subsidiary, JWG Investments, closed the deal on December 31. The cash consideration remains subject to customary adjustments and transaction costs. In December, Wood gained access to USD250 million in Sidara interim funding and a USD200 million new money facility after the A&E effective date was triggered. It also completed the sale of its UK Transmission & Distribution engineering business for GBP57.5 million on December 30.
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Boku launches a share buyback of up to 5% of its stock, saying the company's board believes the current valuation undervalues the business. The San Francisco, California-based mobile payment service provider says its board has authorised the repurchase of up to 4 million shares, with the programme running until April 30 unless completed earlier. Shares bought will be held in treasury, and Boku has appointed Investec to conduct the buyback.
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Tap Global reports narrower annual losses, rising revenue and user growth, while announcing the resignation of its chief financial officer. The London-based operator of cryptocurrency payment and settlements app says pretax loss for the year to June 30 narrowed to GBP5.7 million from GBP18.2 million, helped by a reduced goodwill impairment of GBP4.7 million versus GBP15.9 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 31% to GBP3.5 million from GBP2.6 million, with registered users increasing to 391,000, up from 368,844. Tap says it now has a "clear pathway to monetising the infrastructure" it has built and will focus in financial 2026 on converting platform capabilities into long-term recurring value. CEO Arsen Torosian says: "With payment integration complete and our AIM listing providing enhanced visibility and access to capital, we will prioritise the commercial scaling of our B2B vertical and accelerate initiatives aimed at increasing 'Primary Account' adoption across our 390,000 [plus] registered users. These programmes are expected to support sustained revenue growth, improved operating leverage and deeper engagement across both retail and institutional segments." CFO Steven Borg will step down on January 9, with Andrew Milmine appointed as head of finance. He brings 15 years' gaming and fintech experience, including senior finance roles at Ladbrokes, Coral, BetClic Everest and BV Group, where he oversaw multi-jurisdictional reporting, tax strategy and financial control implementation.
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Designer of vehicle operator monitoring systems Seeing Machines establishes a new Future Mobility Group to deepen its engagement with autonomous vehicle programmes as the industry shifts from development to commercial deployment. The firm says autonomous vehicle customers are entering a new phase that requires production-ready, scalable human-centred safety systems. Seeing Machines' Guardian-based solution is already installed in over 1,000 self-driving development vehicles. The newly formed Future Mobility Group will work with global partners to embed next-generation driver and occupant monitoring systems into commercial autonomy platforms, supporting development, deployment and fleet-scale rollout. CEO Paul McGlone says: "The establishment of our Future Mobility Group, which leverages existing Seeing Machines resources and platform technology, reflects our long-term strategy to embed human understanding at the centre of next-generation vehicle platforms as our customers in Automotive, Aftermarket and Aviation move towards this."
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Maurel & Prom, also known as M&P, agrees to sell its entire 20.07% stake in Seplat Energy to Heirs Energies for USD496 million, with a further USD10 million potentially payable based on share-price performance. The deal covers 120.4 million shares at 305 pence each, with an initial USD248 million payable immediately and the remainder due within 30 days under an irrevocable letter of credit. M&P, a founding investor and Seplat's largest shareholder since 2010, says the exit allows it to refocus on direct oil and gas investments as it accelerates its growth strategy. M&P CEO Olivier de Langavant says the investment has delivered "very strong returns" and expresses confidence that Seplat will "continue to thrive" under Heirs Energies, part of Heirs Holdings.
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By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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Related Shares:
Wood Group (J)BokuTap GlobalSeeing MachinesSeplat Energy