Market News:
Morrisons Bid Boosts UK Supermarket Shares
Shares in the U.K.'s fourth-largest grocer by market share, Wm. Morrison Supermarkets, surged in early trading after rejecting a $7.65 billion proposal from Clayton Dubilier & Rice. The supermarket says it rejected the 230 pence a share offer as undervaluing the company. Morrison's share price performance bucked a wider trend in morning trading, which saw the FTSE 100 opening lower, mirroring falls in Asian stocks. The bid has helped give the rest of the supermarket sector a boost, with the likes of Tesco and Sainsbury also posting small rises despite the FTSE's lower opening. Shares in Morrisons are up 31.5% at 234.6 pence, Tesco is up 2.5% at 227.35 pence and Sainsbury is up 4.6% at 272.4 pence.
Companies News:
Wm. Morrison Supermarkets Rejects $7.65 Bln Clayton Dubilier & Rice Offer Proposal
Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC said Saturday that it has rejected a 5.54 billion-pound ($7.65 billion) possible cash offer by Clayton Dubilier & Rice LLC as it "significantly undervalued" the company and its future prospects.
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Dev Clever Holdings PLC Proposed acquisition
TIDMDEV
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UK CMA Serves Enforcement Order on Bristol Water Takeover by Pennon
The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority said Monday that it has served an initial enforcement order in relation to the acquisition of Bristol Water Holdings UK Ltd. by Pennon Group plc.
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Capita Sells 51% Stake in AXELOS JV for Net Cash of GBP183.6 Mln
Capita PLC said Monday that it has sold its 51% stake in its AXELOS Ltd. joint venture to PeopleCert International Ltd. for a net cash receipt of 183.6 million pounds ($253.4 million).
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Capita on Track to Deliver Revenue Growth in 2021
Capita PLC said Monday that performance has improved in the first half of this year and that it remains on track to deliver full-year revenue growth--its first in six years.
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Kerry Group to Acquire Niacet for $1.01 Bln
Kerry Group PLC said Monday that it has agreed to acquire to acquire Hare Topco Inc., trading as Niacet Corp., for 853 million euros ($1.01 billion), as it seeks to strengthen its food protection and preservation strategy.
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nmcn Secures GBP24 Mln Fundraising, Agrees Debt Renegotiation
nmcn PLC said Monday that it has agreed a renegotiation of its debt after securing a 14 million pound ($19.3 million) equity subscription and a GBP10.0 million convertible bridging loan with new investors.
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Georgia Capital Says 2Q Performance Has Been Ahead of Views
Georgia Capital PLC said Monday that its operational performance in the second quarter onward has been very strong and significantly ahead of management expectations, partly due to the Georgian economy's strength.
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Ilika Sees Lower FY 2021 Revenue, Widened Loss in Line With Expectations
Ilika PLC said Monday that performance in fiscal 2021 met its views, and that it expects to report slightly lower revenue and a widened earnings loss.
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Remote Monitored Signs Hydroponics Supply Agreement With PIC Consultants
Remote Monitored Systems PLC said Monday that it has signed an agreement with PIC Consultants Ltd. to supply high-grade retail hydroponics nutrients for distribution in the U.K. market.
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Russia's LSR Group to Delist From London Stock Exchange
LSR Group said Monday that it will delist from the London Stock Exchange and that it has applied with the U.K.'s Financial Conduct Authority for trading in its global depository receipts to be canceled from Aug. 2.
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88 Energy to Sell Tax Credits for $18.7 Mln; To Repay All Debt
88 Energy Ltd. said Monday that has agreed to sell all of its Alaskan oil-and-gas tax credits for $18.7 million and that it will use the proceeds to repay all of its debt.
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Amino Technologies Chairman Karen Bach to Step Down; Plans Change of Name
Amino Technologies PLC said Monday that Nonexecutive Chairman Karen Bach is stepping down, and that the company plans to change its name.
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Providence Resources Chairman to Step Down in July
Providence Resources PLC said Monday that Nonexecutive Chairman Pat Plunkett is stepping down.
Market Talk:
Gilts to Underperform if BOE Warns of Possible Rate Rises, QE Taper
0744 GMT - The Bank of England is likely to bring a more hawkish tone at Thursday's policy decision by warning of possible future interest rate rises and asset purchases being scaled back, which should cause U.K. sovereign debt to underperform, says Mizuho. "The BoE is the main event this week, with the likelihood being for a hawkish shift, raising the risk of another quantitative easing taper and an earlier-than-expected first rate hike," analysts at the Japanese bank say. This should "drive further weakness in gilts, particularly in the long-end, with considerable room for U.K. curves to underperform U.S. and EUR [yield curves]," they say.
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UK Labor Market Recovery Is Expected to Be Challenging Despite Rapid Economic Growth
0736 GMT - Unemployment in the U.K. is likely to fall in the next few months as the economic recovery accelerates, but a complete return to a pre-pandemic labor market is still far, economists at Citi say. The short-term improvement of the labor market will likely reverse as government support winds down later this year, and the reabsorption of furloughed workers could prove challenging, they say. "We think there is now a risk employment market lags in the aftermath of Covid," Citi says.
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Capita's Restructuring Progresses But Challenges Remain
0716 GMT - Capita's long restructure process is proceeding positively but it still has some way to go, highlighting the difficult position it has come from, Shore Capital says. The outsourcing company's progress is becoming more visible, but the fruits from the severe pruning of the business aren't likely to be delivered by fiscal 2022, instead hopefully gathering pace in fiscal 2023, the investment group says. Challenges remain for Capita, as disposals must be completed to secure the balance sheet, and there is potential cost inflation among core IT staff--a possible challenge to margin recovery, Shore says. "Noting that progress is being made, we retain a hold stance for the present," it says. Shares are up 0.7% at 37.91 pence.
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The Time Has Come to Sell Iron-Ore-Heavy Rio Tinto
0349 GMT - Expectations of a coming dive in iron-ore prices leads UBS to slap a sell rating on Rio Tinto. The bank, which had earlier been neutral on the stock, reckons iron ore is approaching an inflection point because of China's efforts to cool commodity prices at a time when Brazilian supply is rising and Chinese port stockpiles sit higher than the recent average levels. While Rio Tinto--whose earnings are heavily reliant on iron ore--is generating plenty of cash at today's prices, "current free cash flow and dividends are not sustainable as we expect the iron-ore price to fall by more than 50% (from over US$200 a ton to circa US$90) over 12-18 months," UBS says. The bank keeps its target price at A$104 a share. Shares are down 2.6% at A$120.25.
Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; +44-20-7842-931
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-21-21 0407ET
