It’s a good time to sell your shares in Pace. The set top box maker hit a seven-year high in London last week after upping its 2009 forecast. So electronics maker Philips is now selling the 17 percent stake it acquired when it sold its own box business to Pace 12 months ago.
The sale gives Philips a cash boost (Pace is trading about 56 percent up from last April) but reduced influence at the pay-TV table – Pace makes boxes for BSkyB (NYSE: BSY), Canal+ and comCast. Reuters: “Pace … agreed to waive the lock-up period given by Philips, which was due to expire on April 21, 2009, (the banker) JP Morgan Cazenove said.”
Altium Securities last week raised its own forecast on Pace and now expects it to make profits of £76 million on revenues of £1.1 billion