Yesterday's trading: An eye on ICI
Keep an eye on ICI. That was the hot tip as shares of the former bellwether fizzed up to 477p before closing 9¾p up at a year's peak of 470p.
The rise was sparked by rumours that Dutch chemicals giant Akzo Nobel has lined up a private equity buyer of its Organon BioSciences drugs unit and is already planning a £7bn tilt at the Dulux paint-maker.
Turnover more than doubled to 25.5m as punters, remembering a recent Collins Stewart note which said that the chances of a bid for ICI would greatly increase once Akzo sells its drugs business, were all over the stock like a rash.
Analyst James Knight said that Akzo could bid up to £6 cash a share. The regulatory issues would be relatively minor, the cultural fit should be good, and ICI's management has strong incentivisation - chief executive Jim Mcadam has 3.2m options in the money at an average price of 232p - amongst other incentives.
ICI made itself an attractive takeover target last year with the £1.2bn sale of its fragrance business Quest which enabled it to cut pension liabilities and debts.
Following overnight weakness in far-eastern markets, the Footsie made a dull start and never really recovered. It was 54 points down at 9.30am and closed 35.4 points off at 6.160.7. Wall Street didn't help the cause, falling 61 points in early trading after Chevron's profit warning.
Mobile phone giant Vodafone lost 3¾p to 145¾p and accounted for more than ten points of the Footsie's fall after saying it has begun due diligence in preparation for a potential £9bn bid for Hutchison Essar.
British Telecom fell 4p to 316½p after Investec downgraded to hold from buy.
Analyst Christian Maher sees limited upside given the recent rally. Although the gearing story can still excite and consensus earnings per share forecasts appear too low, much of this is now in the price. Profit-taking dragged Cable & Wireless 4¾p lower to 156¾p.
Pubs owner Enterprise Inns dipped 28p to 1299p after chief executive Ted Tuppen criticised analysts for wrongly speculating that new Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) legislation could lead to massive windfalls this year for shareholders.
Nervous selling ahead of today's trading update left hedge fun Man Group 9¼p off at 512p. After Dresdner Kleinwort advised clients to buy up to £16, tobacco group British American Tobacco jumped 32p to 1491p.
Scottish bus company First Group reversed 13p to 569p amid rumours of an imminent US acquisition.
Speculation its silicon chips are used in Apple's new all-singing, all dancing iPhone helped Wolfson Microelectronics touch 328p before closing 2p better at 315p.
Wolfson's chips are used in the hugely successful iPod and broker Bridgewell says it is highly likely that the iPhone uses them aswell. Based on an estimated 10m unit sales this year, it could contribute £5m-plus to the group's top line in
Supported up to a record 368p on the back of an upbeat trading statement, social housing leader Mears succumbed to profit-taking and closed 1p off at 359p. 2006 profits will be at the upper end of market expectations.
The order book stands at £1bn-plus and contracts secured since August 2006 are £100m - of which £75m is new news. The bid pipeline is a robust £2.6bn. Broker Numis says Mears has the potential to deliver 30% earnings per share growth in 2007 and 25% in 2008. Bolt-on acquisitions are on the cards.
Property website Rightmove advanced 28p to 460p after UBS upgraded to buy from sell in the wake of Tuesday's upbeat trading statement. The broker is now confident of the group's ability to recognise its brand and to drive growth in the business for longer than it had previously expected.
Mano River edged up ⅜p to 9⅝p following a positive feasibility study for the open pit phase of the New Liberty Gold project in western Liberia. PetroLatina advanced 3p to 27p following a bullish operations update of its oil and gas exploration activities in Latin America.
Pantheon Resources crashed 36p to 70p after announcing the Kindee ST 212 sidetrack well on the Plum Deep structure has been plugged and abandoned after the testing programme determined that the three deepest zones are noncommercial.
• Ubiquitous broker Merrill Lynch easily placed 5m shares in Shanks at 234½p with institutional investors and at the close was ½p dearer at 237¼p.
Fund managers happily took stock because the European waste treatment and disposal group has always been considered a takeover target for either a cash-rich private equity group, or Germany's RWE. There's also a good chance it will win lucrative cleaning contracts for the 2012 London Olympics.
Most watched Money videos
- BMW's Vision Neue Klasse X unveils its sports activity vehicle future
- Alfa Romeo reveals first electric sporty SUV Milano for Alfisti fans
- Mail Online takes a tour of Gatwick's modern EV charging station
- 2025 Aston Martin DBX707: More luxury but comes with a higher price
- Land Rover unveil newest all-electric Range Rover SUV
- 'Now even better': Nissan Qashqai gets a facelift for 2024 version
- BMW meets Swarovski and releases BMW i7 Crystal Headlights Iconic Glow
- Mercedes has finally unveiled its new electric G-Class
- Mini celebrates the release of brand new all-electric car Mini Aceman
- Mini Cooper SE: The British icon gets an all-electric makeover
- Blue Whale fund manager on the best of the Magnificent 7
- Tesla unveils new Model 3 Performance - it's the fastest ever!
- Anglo American to restructure operations as it rejects...
- Vodafone boss says 'more needs to be done' in...
- Currys shares surge after profit guidance upgrade as...
- Anglo strikes out alone - but can it survive a bid...
- Anglo American rejects rival BHP's £34bn second takeover bid
- Police not interested in shoplifting, says M&S as thefts...
- London estate agent known as Mr Super Prime to star in...
- Digital marketing firm Mission Group snubs takeover offer...
- Will Nationwide pay out a £100 loyalty bonus again this...
- Taxpayer stake in NatWest falls below 27% as Treasury...
- US owner of Boots steps up efforts to find a buyer for...
- Investors ramp up bets against BT as new boss prepares to...
- Gamestop shares double as 'meme stock' social media...
- MARKET REPORT: FTSE falters despite UBS call to buy...
- Heathrow takes fresh swipe at the tourist tax as it...
- Cheaper energy deals could be back by winter as Ofgem...
- Car salespeople reveal their insider tips to buy and sell...
- Virgin Money UK warns of pressure on profits ahead of...