Trades of Note for the week ending July 6, 2025
A Singaporean VC makes a surprising wager on chess, while a formidable activist doubles down on education. We also spy a pure arbitrage play and a US fund's debut UK gambit.
| Notable Shareholder Disclosures |
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Pinewood Technologies Group PLC (MC £456.6m)
Sellaronda Global Management
Smart Money
from nd* to 3.0%
|
| *Not disclosed |
| Notable Insider (PDMR) Disclosures |
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Ao World (MC £552.1m)
Mark Higgins
Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer
Sold £141,206
Sally Roberts
PCA with John Roberts (PDMR, Director and CEO)
Sold £1,932,200
The Jolly Foundation
PCA with John Roberts (PDMR, Director and CEO)
Sold £483,029
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One rarely sees a serious technology investor wade into the genteel world of organized chess. Yet Prytek Investment Holdings, a Singaporean venture capital firm with over $350 million deployed in AI and FinTech infrastructure, has taken a 10.96% stake in World Chess PLC. The move suggests a belief that World Chess’s official FIDE online platform is an undervalued technology asset. This conviction appears to be shared internally; CEO Ilya Merenzon increased his own majority holding just days prior, and at a higher price, creating a notable alignment of insider and sophisticated external capital.
Cevian Capital, the formidable €13 billion activist fund known for its constructive agitation, has deepened its commitment to Pearson PLC, lifting its stake to over 13%. Having been involved since 2020, this is no new dalliance. Cevian’s continued accumulation, at prices far above its initial entry, signals a belief that the education giant’s digital transformation is far from complete. For an investor of Christer Gardell’s calibre, whose stated aim is unlocking value, buying more suggests they believe significant upside remains on the table and their work in the boardroom is not yet done.
In the world of M&A, conviction is everything. Helikon Investments, a fund with a long history of accumulating shares in Adriatic Metals PLC, has increased its holding to over 27%. This is not a vote on mining prospects, but on a deal’s certainty. Adriatic is subject to a takeover by Dundee Precious Metals, an offer Helikon has publicly committed to accept. Buying more shares now is a clear arbitrage signal. This view was echoed by Adriatic’s own CEO, Laura Tyler, who purchased a significant tranche of shares on the very same day.
A debut is always worth watching. New York’s Sellaronda Global Management, a small TMT-focused fund run by a Cadian Capital alumnus, has made its first disclosed UK investment, taking a 3% stake in Pinewood Technologies Group PLC. Pinewood is the new, pure-play software business that emerged from the shell of car dealer Pendragon after it sold its showrooms. For a specialist US tech investor to cross the Atlantic for this name suggests a classic re-rating thesis: a high-margin SaaS company that the market may still be pricing as a low-margin legacy retailer.
N.B. This publication is a work of commentary and journalism, not a financial advisory service. I am a narrator of capital flows, not your personal portfolio manager. No fiduciary relationship is implied or intended, and this is not investment advice.
The information presented here is a starting point for your own research, not a substitute for it. Due diligence is your burden, and yours alone. As an active participant in these markets, my interests and positions may well intersect with the topics discussed. Prudence dictates you assume I am talking my own book.
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