FTSE in-depth: Bid talk drives lookers' shares
Buyers were back in the driving seat at Manchester-based car dealer Lookers as dealers heard an agreed £365m or 95p a share cash bid is just around the corner.
Foster: The Footsie was dragged lowerby a 140 points decline on Wall Street.
The shares accelerated 3.5p or almost 6% to 67p on hot gossip that octogenerian investor Jack Petchey, who owns 17.3% of the equity, together with Sir Philip Green's stepson Brett Palos and Moor Park - the real estate private equity firm - is on the verge of tabling an offer before next Wednesday's 'put up or shut up' deadline.
Lookers, whose 90-plus dealerships sell everything from bog standard Fords to prestige Aston Martins and Ferraris, turns over more than £1bn annually.
It is deemed to be particularly attractive because of its extensive property portfolio which is valued at around £181m, which compares with the group's market capitalisation of £253m.
Dealers now reckon Petchey and 'friends' will gain control of the company and then split the property away from the operational side of the business and resell the operational bit to a third party.
The regurgitation of a US bid rumour last touted in January helped Tate&Lyle climb to 683p before closing 31p better at a 52-week high of 651.5p.
Bunge, which operates in the food and agriculture business worldwide and which has a market capitalisation of more than £6bn, is said to be lining up an £8-plus a share cash offer.
Tate recently announced a strong return to profitability with annual profits of £245m compared with the previous year's £116m loss. It plans to reopen its Splenda plant, just two years after mothballing the US facility, due to increased demand.
Chief executive Javed Ahmed joined in 2009 and then sold off its traditional sugars and syrups business to concentrate on sweeteners like Splenda and value-added food ingredients .
Deutsche Bank yesterday lifted its target price to 785p from 725p and said the stock is ideal for any investor considering an investment in the food ingredients industry.
Despite recent strength, Tate is very much still a sweet acorn.
Dragged lower by an opening 140 points decline on Wall Street, the Footsie closed 61.38 points off at 5,928.61p. The Street of Dreams fell out of bed when several economic reports confirmed the sluggishness of the world's largest economy.
They included weaker-than-expected private sector jobs growth which does not augur well for tomorrow's crucial non-farm payroll numbers.
Security firm G4S, often rumoured to be a private equity bid target, rose 5.1p to 291p on an Execution Noble recommendation and target price of 345p. The broker says 'emerging economy activity now accounts for a third of group profit and looks set to continue to expand at double-digit rates'.
Bullish comments from Canaccord Genuity after a meeting with its management helped temporary power group Aggreko rise 15p to 1882p. The broker raised its target price to £22 and says it has always believed the company has strong long-term growth prospects.
Among a number of blue chip companies trading without entitlement to their latest dividends, National Grid fell 30p to 596p and Vodafone shed 7.4p to 161.55p.
US broker Morgan Stanley remains extremely cautious about the UK housing market and believes that prices will be 10% below fourth-quarter 2010 levels by the end of 2012.
Among UK banks, Lloyds Banking Group, 1.99p cheaper at 50.01p, is most exposed. Lloyds' loan book is 58% mortgages and MS forecasts 27% of these mortgages to be in negative equity by December 2012.
Dixons Retail declined 1.2p to 18.45p after announcing the sale and leaseback of its Swedish distribution centre for £59m. The proceeds will be used to offset the group's revolving credit facilities and the repayment of the 6.125pc November 2012 bond.
Topps Tiles fell 3.75p to 63.75p after reporting an 8% fall in first-half profits to £7.2m and a 2.1% decline in current trading like-for-like sales. Seymour Pierce retained its sell recommendation and target price of 60p.
Seat of your pants Falklands oil stock Rockhopper Exploration gushed 24p to 255p. Buyers piled in on hearing that the Sea Lion 14/10-5 appraisal well has successfully encountered a thick, high quality reservoir and substantial oil column.
Bulls said the announcement clearly increases confidence in Sea Lion's chances of reaching commerciality. Canaccord Genuity's target price is 593p.
Ceres Power soared 10p or 42pc to 34p after the alternative energy company said it has found a solution to an ongoing problem with its fuel cell boiler, which is designed to generate home heating and hot water.
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