A clear stand out to start the week was electrical retailer Currys, whose share price rallied by more than 33% in response to news of an unsolicited takeover bid. The news first broke in the weekend press before being confirmed in a regulatory filing this morning. Management say the offer undervalues the business but the Takeover Code now means that the suitor – Elliott Advisors – have a month to either make the offer formal or walk away, The real question is whether this will flush out other potential bidders.
Owners of London Southend Airport Esken have been locked in a refinancing battle with Carlyle Global Infrastructure (CGI) Fund for some time. A further update on this process today which could see Esken obliged to accept what appear to be unfavourable terms from CGI as soon as early next month has clearly rattled investor confidence in Esken yet again. Around two hours into the day, the share price was off by almost 70%, extending the sell-off which has been ongoing for years and leaving the company worth less than £2m.
Pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca issued a series of updates this morning relating to drug trials and regulatory approvals in the US, which were evidently sufficient to cheer the stock. Granted gains are a relatively modest 3.2%, but that’s added a further £5 billion to the company’s market cap, leaving it within a whisker of toppling Shell to become the UK’s largest company by market capitalisation.
Headlines we expect on Tuesday:
Intercontinental
Hotels final results
This time last year Total revenue $3892m, Group operating profit $828m, Dividend 138.4c
Barclays
final results
This
time last year Net profit £5bn, Return on Tangible Equity 10.4%, Impairment
charges £1.2bn
