IT Outage
It is perhaps rather ironic, that with the stock market near its lowest in terms of investor engagement and esteem generally, the world IT outage on Friday reminded us of how much we need it. Or at least our daily fix of RNS releases, the London Stock Exchange’s newswire. This comes out at 7am, and for anyone interested in stocks, the surge of information at that time of the day is something of a drug. So on Friday when it did not appear our world was empty. The first thing to do when there are no RNSs is to curse your data provider/s and then of course the LSE. But for the first time ever neither were not to blame. That said you might have thought that any data provider would have a plan B, but obviously not.
My journey from derivatives broker in the 1990s, to financial journalist in the 2000s, stock market commentator and PR / IR in the 2010s, and listed company in the 2020s has been a long one. Although it was not planned, it has meant that I have as well rounded a skill set as perhaps anyone in the City of London could have. But perhaps best of all are the people I meet, so many at the top of their game, and so much to learn from them. Having interviewed and met as many CEOs as anyone in the country also means that one has a sixth sense as to how their companies may progress, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Georgina Energy
One of the companies I have met on several occasions has been Georgina Energy, a helium, hydrogen and natural gas company with assets in Western Australia and Northern Territory. This is finally coming to market on July 30, via a £5m reverse takeover with Mining Minerals & Metals (MMM). Apart from celebrating that Georgina is coming to market – we really need as many new listings as possible, one of the points to note is that in the recent past, many of the new listings have done very well indeed. Helix Exploration (HEX) another helium play, Golden Metal Resources (GMET), European Green Transition (EGT) are the obvious ones. I think there is a logical reason for this. In a bull market, which we have not had in small caps since H1 2021. In a bull market investors have plenty of cash, and are happy to throw it around in a cavalier fashion. However, to get them to part with their cash in a bear market CEOs have to come up with compelling offerings. Rome Resources (RMR), focused on high grade tin in DRC, is an imminent RTO example coming to market in the next few days. Georgina is also stacked up for investors.
This is not only because helium, hydrogen, and natural gas are currently hotter than July, but because since it was first mooted to list before the pandemic, the company has moved much further along its timelines. For those joining the party now, much more investment has been put into the company, and the balance now is that it more of a development company than just exploration with sizeable historic data and infrastructure. This means that there is a clear, and quick pathway to production, for a company that aims to be one of the top four global helium and hydrogen producers. Given that the initial market cap of Georgina will not be much more than £10m, the company is clearly leaving plenty of upside on the table when it comes to market, a critical factor in ensuring that its listing will be regarded as a success.
Mosman Oil & Gas
But there is arguably more sizzle than all of the above. One of the best small cap stock risers of the year, one that has obviously been highlighted here on ZaksTradersCafe from near the lows, is Mosman Oil & Gas (MSMN). One would suspect that some of the MSMN holders, who have enjoyed a 5x gain in 2024 might decide it is worth having a nibble in Georgina, if only on the basis that the two companies are connected by the Mount Winter project in Northern Territory. This is held by Oilco, a wholly owned subsidiary of MSMN and Westmarket Oil & Gas, a wholly owned subsidiary of Georgina, via a formal Farm-in agreement with rights to earn up to a 90% working interest. So it should be the case that if you like MSMN, you love Georgina. Ideally, Georgina’s trajectory over H2 2024 in terms of its share price, will echo what MSMN has achieved so far this year.
Author
