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From offshore Angola to orbit
Afentra gets Angola’s nod to grow its stake in two oil blocks, and Seraphim backs two big space-tech funding rounds
Companies that put the everyday investor first
Every company in this email has chosen to talk directly to everyday investors, not just the big funds. Here is what they have been up to this week.
Deep dive 01: Afentra (AIM: AET)
Afentra gets Angola’s nod to grow its stake in two offshore oil blocks
On Tuesday 6 October, Afentra said Angola’s oil ministry had published the decree approving its purchase of extra interests in Block 3/05. If the deal completes, Afentra’s stake will rise from 30% to 33.33% in Block 3/05 and from 21.33% to 24.99% in Block 3/05A. Approval for 3/05A is still awaited, and the formal transfer and completion come after that.
For shareholders, this means owning a bigger share of oil fields that are already producing and that Afentra already knows well. That should add production and cash flow without the cost and risk of starting a new project. Afentra is paying US$15.20m up front, but expects the cash it hands over at completion to be significantly less, because income earned on the stakes since the deal’s December 2023 start date counts towards the price. A further US$4.74m could be payable later, but only if production targets are hit and key discoveries are developed. The balance: the deal can’t complete until Angola approves the second block.
33.33% Block 3/05 after completion · 24.99% Block 3/05A after completion · US$15.20m net upfront consideration before adjustments
Deep dive 02: Seraphim Space Investment Trust (LSE: SSIT)
Seraphim backs two big space-tech funding rounds in one month
In its September sector newsletter, published on Wednesday 7 October, Seraphim said it had put US$25m into Pixxel’s US$100m Series C (co-led with Temasek) and US$30m into Hubble Network’s US$200m Series C, which values that company at US$1.6bn. It was Seraphim’s first investment in Hubble. The newsletter also notes defence-related contract wins at other holdings, and that the Seraphim New Space UCITS ETF launched on 2 September with the trust as its largest constituent.
The trust’s job is to give everyday investors a way into private space companies they could not otherwise buy. Follow-on money into winners and a first cheque into a new $1.6bn name show that model at work. The balance: these are private companies, so valuations come from funding rounds rather than a daily share price, and big cheques mean concentration in a handful of holdings.
US$25m into Pixxel · US$30m into Hubble Network · US$1.6bn Hubble valuation
Explore Seraphim Space Investment Trust
Also this week
Premier American Uranium: Drill results from Wyoming
On 7 October it reported a 10 ft intercept at 0.064% eU3O8 at the West Diane target of its Kaycee project, with six of eight West Diane holes at or above 0.02%. It has now drilled 80 holes (65,620 ft), about two-thirds of a 100,000 ft programme, and its land package has grown to 31,724 acres. The company notes the grades are gamma-log equivalents. More.
VEON: A 10-year AI deal and Starlink for Bangladesh
On 7 October VEON signed a 10-year strategic agreement with Amdocs for AI-powered digital services (no financial terms given), and on 9 October its Banglalink unit launched Starlink’s satellite-to-mobile service in Bangladesh. Third-quarter results are due on 6 November. More.
Marex: Chair to step down, ex-CME finance chief steps up
On 7 October Marex said Robert Pickering is stepping down as Chair and John Pietrowicz, a board member since April 2024 and former CME Group CFO, will succeed him. Marex also launched a cash-settled “Rolling Spot” crypto product for institutions earlier in the week. More.
Skyharbour Resources: Drilling starts at Getty East
On 7 October drilling began at the Getty East uranium joint venture with Denison Mines in Canada’s Athabasca region: about 3,600 m across 10 to 12 holes, funded by Denison under its earn-in. It is part of a 2026 Russell Lake campaign of more than 15,000 m. More.
Rainbow Rare Earths: A clearer timetable for its South African project
As reported on 5 October, the company is targeting first production at Phalaborwa in early 2029, with a pre-feasibility study due in Q4 2026, and has said the US DFC has committed US$50m. The timetable was reported from an investor presentation. More.
CoinShares: What affluent investors think of crypto
On 5 October CoinShares published a survey of 2,230 affluent investors across seven markets, finding that between 54% and 70% of respondents held digital assets. More.
Explainer: What does “net interest” in an oil block mean?
When oil companies team up on a field, each owns a percentage share of it. A “net interest” is simply the slice of the asset a company actually owns after the partners’ shares are accounted for, and it usually decides how much of the production, costs and profit come to that company. So when Afentra goes from, say, 29.67% to 33.33% of a block, it is entitled to a bigger slice of what that block produces. Two things matter: governments usually have to approve these transfers, which is why Afentra is waiting on a second decree, and deals often include “contingent” payments that only happen if something like the oil price or production hits a target, which is why the final price can differ from the headline.
Happening this week (Mon 12 – Fri 16 October)
Monday 12 Oct: Eden BioSolutions (formerly Eden Research) holds an investor presentation via Investor Meet Company at 2pm, with a free retail-investor webcast and Q&A.
Tuesday 13 Oct: Seraphim Space Investment Trust’s James Bruegger speaks at the Jefferies European Disruptive Tech Conference in London. Wider markets: JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are expected to open US bank earnings season.
Wednesday 14 Oct: US consumer price inflation (CPI) for September, due 13:30 UK time.
Thursday 15 Oct: UK monthly GDP estimate for August, due 7:00am. US producer prices and retail sales, due 13:30 UK time.
Friday 16 Oct: Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey speaks (early morning, UK time).
From the Collective
A UK wealth manager gets its EU passport, with the shares near their lows
This week’s Collective discussion turned to Rathbones, the UK wealth manager, which has won an Irish licence allowing it to serve clients across the EU. The Collective’s point was that the news arrives just as the shares sit close to their 52-week lows, and that wealth management is an industry ripe for disruption, so the case is finely balanced: a possibly cheap entry point against the risk of backing a slow-moving established name. It was raised as one to watch rather than a firm call. Rathbones is a Curation Connect client.
Best Content Shared This Week
🎧 The Future of Investor Relations: Retail Takes Centre Stage
Why Listen? Former Lansdowne Partners hedge fund manager Marc Rubinstein joins Curation CEO Nirav Karia to explore how investor relations is coming full circle, shifting from a finance and compliance function back towards communication, storytelling and retail engagement. Using SpaceX’s landmark IPO and its significant retail allocation as a case study, the discussion examines why companies can no longer afford to overlook individual shareholders, and how social media, AI and changing investor behaviour could reshape the future of IR. Listen here.
📚 The AI Boom: Right Future, Wrong Price?
Why Read? Amit Lodha explores why investors can be right about a transformative technology but still lose money backing it. Drawing parallels between today’s AI build-out and previous mining and telecom booms, the piece explains how soaring demand attracts capital, finances new capacity and eventually erodes the scarcity driving exceptional returns. The key question is not whether AI will change the world, but whether the returns on today’s enormous infrastructure investments can justify the prices investors are paying. Read more.
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