November 18th, 2025 | 07:10 CET
Takeover fever! LAURION Mineral Exploration, Evotec, and Mutares are tempting investors to get on board!
M&A – mergers and acquisitions - remain powerful performance drivers for shareholders of potential takeover targets. But companies that acquire others also benefit from increased growth, access to new markets and technologies, and cost synergies. According to a recent study by Bain & Company, the majority of M&A activity in the current year, amounting to around USD 265 billion, has taken place in the energy and commodities sectors. In healthcare and life sciences, deals with a volume of USD 107 billion were recorded. So who could the next takeover candidates be?
time to read: 3 minutes
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Author:
Carsten Mainitz
ISIN:
LAURION MINERAL EXPLORATION INC | CA5193221010 , EVOTEC SE INH O.N. | DE0005664809 , MUTARES KGAA NA O.N. | DE000A2NB650
Table of contents:
"[...] China's dominance is one of the reasons why we are so heavily involved in the tungsten market. Here, around 85% of production is in Chinese hands. [...]" Dr. Thomas Gutschlag, CEO, Deutsche Rohstoff AG
Author
Carsten Mainitz
The native Rhineland-Palatinate has been a passionate market participant for more than 25 years. After studying business administration in Mannheim, he worked as a journalist, in equity sales and many years in equity research.
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LAURION Mineral Exploration – A guarantee for shareholder value
Gold prices of over USD 4,000 per ounce, a sustained long-term upward trend in the precious metal, and the coffers of the major players bulging with cash for acquisitions already provide an excellent backdrop for LAURION Mineral Exploration. The Company is advancing the Ishkōday Gold and Base Metal Project in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The 57.43 sq km project is located 220 km northeast of Thunder Bay in the resource-rich Beardmore-Geraldton Greenstone Belt. Ishkōday hosts gold, silver, zinc, and copper mineralization along a 6 x 2.5 km corridor. To date, nearly 100,000 meters in 462 holes have been drilled, including multiple very high-grade intercepts. Outstanding results were achieved as part of the 7,000-meter 2025 summer drill program. In the Cyril Knight Showing Zone, a whopping 32.47 g/t gold was detected over 1.90 m, including 0.90 m grading 67.80 g/t gold.
Recent drill results indicate the mineralized zone of the historical Brenbar Mine Area may extend further to the north and northeast. The evaluation confirms that mineralization continues both in the targeted areas and at depth.
The Company will continue to explore the Ishkōday Project in the coming year and plans to drill 7,000 to 10,000 meters. With further progress and new data confirming the high-grade mineralization, expanding or better defining it, the stock is gradually moving up the list of potential takeover candidates - a scenario that management openly keeps in view. The fact that "family and friends" hold nearly three-quarters of the shares guarantees that only measures that increase shareholder value will be taken. Despite its progress, the stock remains under the radar for many investors. A first step to broaden visibility was the recent Frankfurt listing at the end of October. Based on a share price of CAD 0.30, LAURION currently carries a valuation of around CAD 80 million.
Evotec – Insiders buying again
Evotec is a recognized heavyweight in the biotech sector. The Company's core strength lies in the systematic discovery and early development of new active ingredients based on a technology-driven, scalable platform. This model makes its services highly attractive to major pharmaceutical companies – Evotec collaborates with all leading global players – as well as to more than 800 biotech firms and numerous academic institutions.
Disappointing operating developments due to weak demand in the market for early-stage drug research have been putting pressure on the share price for months. Management is attempting to counter the negative trend with strategic adjustments and cost savings, but these measures have not yet borne fruit. The share price has successfully tested the support level of EUR 5 for the second time this year.
Most recently, both the Management Board and Supervisory Board purchased treasury shares. With its current service portfolio and a market capitalization of around EUR 900 million, Evotec is definitely a takeover candidate. Analysts place the average price target at just over EUR 9, giving the share a price potential of over 70% over a 12-month horizon.
Mutares – Upside of over 50% and generous dividends
Mutares makes its money from buying and selling corporate investments. The private equity holding company, with 15 regional offices worldwide, buys companies in transition that show significant potential for operational improvement and sells them again after stabilization and repositioning. A few days ago, the Company delighted market participants with positive quarterly figures.
The fact that Mutares expects further transactions before the end of the year certainly also had a positive effect. It can therefore be safely assumed that the Company will achieve its annual targets. Next summer, shareholders can once again look forward to a generous dividend. Last year, this stood at EUR 2, which is also likely to be the new minimum target. The share price is expected to quickly recover from the current dip caused by the profit warning from Steyr Motors. Analysts estimate the share price potential at over 50%! The dividend yield is over 7%.
There are many ways for shareholders to benefit from the M&A merry-go-round. At Mutares, buying and selling companies is part of everyday business. With potential takeover targets such as LAURION Mineral Exploration and Evotec, investors can acquire attractively valued companies and simply wait for a strategic buyer to make a move. LAURION Mineral Exploration controls a high-quality asset whose value should continue to grow through ongoing drilling programs and further development.
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Pursuant to §85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), we point out that Apaton Finance GmbH as well as partners, authors or employees of Apaton Finance GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "Relevant Persons") may hold shares or other financial instruments of the aforementioned companies in the future or may bet on rising or falling prices and thus a conflict of interest may arise in the future. The Relevant Persons reserve the right to buy or sell shares or other financial instruments of the Company at any time (hereinafter each a "Transaction"). Transactions may, under certain circumstances, influence the respective price of the shares or other financial instruments of the Company.
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