does anyone know why ramco has all of a sudden taken off today ....i cant find any news out but all of a sudden up nearly 11

Looks like the next ploy is too widen the spread to kill
the buying, remember 2 mm's have short positions, they
have sold a lot of stock at 32p and higher and not had
enough selling to get it back but have yet to give in and
raise their bids to get stock, this stock is ready soon for
a good day, any support should get it moving but "any support"
is hard to come by in this very poor small cap market.

I think we`ll get a nice christmas bonus from ROS

Buyout team set to clinch 15m Ramco deal

IAIN DEY
CITY EDITOR


RAMCO will sell its oil services business to a management buyout team within the next two weeks in a 15m deal that will bring the curtain down on the company's long-running financial problems.

The buyout team, led by Stewart Cumming, the division's managing director, is in the final stages of negotiations with the company, having edged ahead of an unknown trade buyer.


Once the management buyout is completed, Aberdeen-based Ramco will press ahead with the sale of the Seven Heads gas field in the Celtic Sea - the project which brought the company to the brink of administration after production levels fell far short of projections.

US oil giant Marathon, which operates the neighbouring field, is understood to be in exclusive talks with Ramco regarding the troubled project.

A further restructuring is then planned that will see an overhaul of the remaining exploration business - which has interests in Bulgaria, Montenegro and other Irish projects.

One industry source said: "The whole thing is edging slowly and surely towards conclusion. The sale of the service business should come through within the next couple of weeks, and Seven Heads after that."

Ramco, led by chairman Steve Remp and managing director Steven Bertram, was forced into what was effectively a fire sale of its assets following the production problems on Seven Heads and the collapse of a subsequent takeover offer.

The Seven Heads project attracted a lot of attention in the City in late 2003, causing a sharp spike in Ramco's share price. But the field's geology proved more complicated than Ramco had bargained for, placing the financing in jeopardy.

The Seven Heads project was backed by a near 70m loan facility from Bank of Scotland. Although most of the debt was secured against production from the field itself, 12m was borrowed against the service company.

Ramco announced over the summer that Ernst & Young had been appointed to find a solution to the long-term financing issues. The firm has subsequently confirmed that both the services business and Seven Heads are up for sale.

Once the firm's problems became apparent, a number of its non-executives - including former Scottish Secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind - resigned from the board.

The MBO of the services business is understood to be backed by a Scottish-based private finance vehicle. David Murray's Charlotte Ventures, Tom Hunter's West Coast Capital and John Boyle's Hamilton Portfolio are among those rumoured to have looked at the deal. The 15m price tag is said to have been too small for traditional venture capital companies such as 3i.

Marathon is believed to have been in exclusive talks with Ramco on Seven Heads since the summer, but the service business has to be sold first for tax reasons.

Once the two deals are complete, Ramco will restructure its remaining business. It is understood that the listed firm will become a holding company, with each of its exploration prospects operated as subsidiaries.

The structure would be a first for the oil industry and is believed to be a plan to help encourage outside investors to plough money into the business.

Investors who did not have faith in all of Ramco's exploration prospects could pick and choose which fields they wanted to invest in.

Oil analysts believe Ramco's remaining exploration portfolio has potential.

The only further threat to Ramco is a legal challenge in the US over an alleged breach of contract.

Ramco is currently appealing against the court judgment, which ordered it to pay $6.4m (3.7m).


Delivery

CHRISTMAS HAS COME EARLY THIS YEAR...THANK YOU SANTA RAMCO.

What great news, it was always a matter of when the deal would
be done not if and i bought some at 24.5p mid price on Friday when they
shook it on a couple of sells so a big slice of luck there to get back
in before this news but you need luck in the penny share market thesedays.

Anyone here care to explain the maths for ROS?
From what I read (post 118) it is valued at 15m and has a possible risk of having to pay out on a 3.7m court judgement.
So with 33.14m shares, shouldn't the SP be either 34p (taking into account the court order) or 45.25p based on market cap of 15m?
TIA Lynnzal

ros sold it`s serevice side for 14.1m today...we`re moving forward..