Investors were captivated by the takeover activity that took place across the Channel, which prompted a rally of British gambling stocks.
This takeover was confirmed by Sweden’s Kindred Group. The company confirmed that La Francaise des Jeux (which operates the French lottery) had offered a €2.6-billion takeover. It would have created one of Europe’s largest online gambling outfits.
The deal is a win for activist investors who have been pressing Kindred to sell. Corvex Capital and Eminence Capital are two of the activist investors who have been putting pressure on Entain , the FTSE100 operator of Coral and Ladbrokes. They were concerned about the share price of Entain and its acquisition strategy, which was led by its former chief executive Jette Ngaard-Andersen.
Entain has bowed down to the pressure this month and named Ricky Sandler as its new board. Sandler suggested in an open letter in June to the board that the company explore selling some or all its stake in BetMGM – the American betting joint enterprise it owns with MGM Resorts International.
Entain shares, which have fallen by over a third since last year’s time, rose 43 1/4p or 4.7 percent to 960p. Playtech the FTSE250 gaming technology platform added 10p or 2.4 percent to 434 1/2p. William Hill’s 888 which was reported last year to have turned down a £700-million takeover offer from Playtech, gained 2 3/4p or 3.3 percent to 83 1/2p.
Investors bet on a stellar session in Wall Street. The FTSE 100 finished up 25.78, or 0.4 percent, at 7,487.71, and the FTSE250 gained 204.23, or 1.1 percent, at 19,075.64.
NatWest climbed 5 1/2p or 2.7 percent to 213 1/2p after the government reduced its stake by 1 percent to 35.9percent.
The improved economic outlook, and the persistent hope that the Bank of England will start reducing interest rates in this year, provided a boost for housebuilders, including Barratt Developments which rose 15 1/2p or 2.9 percent to 539 1/2p; and Persimmon which gained 47p or 3.3 percent to £14.85.
The day was disappointing for the miners due to renewed concerns over China’s demand, which is the largest consumer of raw material in the world. Glencore, and Rio Tinto, were the two biggest losers in the FTSE 100. They lost 14 1/2p or 3.5 percent to 398p, and 91p or 1.7 percent to £52.88, respectively.
Bodycote was lifted by news that it would launch a £60 million share buyback “in light of lower-than-anticipated acquisition spend”. The FTSE250 company, which provides heat treatment, metal joining, and coatings to the aerospace, motor, and automotive industries, informed investors that they had decided to not acquire Stack Metallurgical Group because the closing conditions of the agreement were not met. Bodycote confirmed that it has completed the $66.5 million purchase of Lake City HT, a US-based company. The shares ended 40p or 6.7% higher at 636p.
The Canadian chip designer’s shares rose 13p or 11 percent to 129p after a positive update by Alphawave IP. This company reported new bookings of $128.7 millions in the fourth quarter.
Sign In Solutions, an equity-backed company, made a preliminary takeover offer to On Aim. This was followed by a jump of 17 1/2p or 26.9% to a high of nearly 82 1/2p. SmartSpace stated that if a potential suitor were to proceed with their 90p per share offer, it would be willing to recommend shareholders accept.
Eden Research also gained half a cent or 4,9% to 6p, after the biopesticide company said that it expects to see an “increase” in commercial activity during this year.
Trifast’s full-year earnings will be “significantly lower” than what the industrial fastener manufacturer had hoped. Yesterday, its shares lost about a fifth their value on the stock market.
The nuts and bolts company suffered its worst day as a publicly listed company, after admitting that the market conditions in its third quarter had been affected by low visibility and unstable demand across several geographic and end-market segments.
The company said that its performance in the last month was affected due to lower than expected volumes both in its Asia operations as well as its global distribution sales channel.
The bosses have said that these challenging conditions will continue until the end of this financial year. They expect to report revenues of around £230 million. This is almost 10% below the consensus estimate, with an adjusted operating margin at about 5%.
The company will review its global footprint in order to identify additional cost-savings measures. It will also cut around 10% of its non-operational employees worldwide. The restructuring will result in an extra £3 million per year.
Trifast shares fell 20p or 21.5 percent to 73p.