Wood Group appears to be playing hard to get. The engineering company says it’s leaning towards rejecting a fourth proposal from Apollo because the proposal is still too low. Time will tell whether Apollo comes back a fifth time, but given the spate of companies eyeing US exchanges for listings, a takeover of the FTSE 250 company would mark yet another loss for London’s markets.
(Bloomberg) — Wood Group appears to be playing hard to get. The engineering company says it’s leaning towards rejecting a fourth proposal from Apollo because the proposal is still too low. Time will tell whether Apollo comes back a fifth time, but given the spate of companies eyeing US exchanges for listings, a takeover of the FTSE 250 company would mark yet another loss for London’s markets.
Here’s the key business news from London this morning:
In The City
John Wood Group Plc: The engineering company is leaning towards rejecting a fourth proposed offer from Apollo Global Management, saying it undervalue the company.
- The offer at 237 pence a share implies a premium of 22% to Wood’s closing price yesterday
- The company said it will continue to engage with shareholders and Apollo, albeit on a limited basis
Ashtead Group Plc: The equipment rental company now expects full year results ahead of expectations as a result of what it calls “drivers of structural change,” including supply chain constraints, inflation and labour scarcity.
- The company is also benefiting from an increased number of mega projects and recent legislative acts in the US
Bank of Ireland Group Plc: The Irish bank is boosting it distributions to shareholders by about 250%, including a share buyback of €125 million.
- That’s after its customer base grew over 11% and full year profits beat estimates
Vodafone Group Plc: Abu Dhabi’s Emirates Telecommunications Group has regulatory approval to raise stake in Vodafone to 15%, CEO Hatem Dowidar told Bloomberg TV.
- The group didn’t consider nor apply for approval to raise stake beyond 15%, adding that it wants to “diversify exposure to markets and currencies by going into a company that is predominately European-based with currencies mostly in euro and British pounds”
Halifax Data: UK house prices rose at the quickest monthly pace since June, according to the latest data from Halifax, suggesting strength in the property market that may prevent a deep decline.
- Prices rose 1.1% last month, the second increase this year, and by 2.1% from a year ago
In Westminster
Rishi Sunak is building a reputation as a leader who “mastered the detail of complex policy areas and displays a knack for finding technocratic fixes,” writes Bloomberg Opinion’s Therese Raphael. “It would be some feat if he could bring those qualities to bear to solve a problem that has eluded even more governments than Brexit.”
The Labour Party said it would review Britain’s business tax regime to boost investment, insisting that the government’s approach is hampering growth.
In Case You Missed It
The UK grid operator issued a warning that the margin between electricity supply and demand will be tight on Tuesday amid a cold snap that’s threatening to deliver snow and ice across parts of England. That’s as the grid is set to give more households the option to earn money by adjusting their power demand from next winter as it seeks to develop the system’s flexibility.
Looking Ahead
Cybersecurity firm Darktrace Plc is among the companies set to report results tomorrow. Darktrace has been the target of short-seller reports and last month said it hired accounting firm EY to review “key financial processes.” Investors will watch closely for any update on this matter.
For a more considered take on the UK’s economic and financial news, sign up to Money Distilled with John Stepek.
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