Rentokil Initial Shares Slip After US Deal

Rentokil Initial shares fall 3% after the pest-control and washroom-service group said it plans to buy Terminix Global Holdings Inc. in a deal valuing the U.S. company at $6.7 billion. Rentokil is paying a fairly big premium, though a significant part of that is accounted for by its own shares and the deal could boost the U.K. company's earnings, AJ Bell says. "The use of the word 'transformational' to describe the deal by Rentokil boss Andy Ransom may also be giving some investors pause for thought," AJ Bell's Investment Director Russ Mould says. "It's not hard to see the strategic rationale behind the move, but so-called transformational deals often transform the purchaser's prospects for worse rather than better. 


 
Companies News:

Altice UK Buys 585 Mln Further Shares in BT Group

Altice UK said Tuesday that it has acquired 585 million shares in BT Group PLC, increasing its stake to around 18% of the British telecommunications provider's issued share capital.

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Ocado 4Q Retail Revenue Fell on Changing Post-Lockdown Environment

Ocado Group PLC said Tuesday that it benefited from strong underlying demand in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021, but that its retail revenue declined for the fourth quarter on a changing post-lockdown environment in the U.K.

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Ocado Wins Patent Trial Against Autostore

Ocado Group PLC said Tuesday that a U.S. International Trade Commission trial has found in favor of the company, with a chief administrative law judge ruling that it hasn't infringed any valid patent of Autostore Holdings Ltd.

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Rentokil Initial to Buy Terminix Global Holdings in $6.7 Bln Stock and Cash Deal

Rentokil Initial PLC said on Tuesday that it will buy Terminix Global Holdings Inc. for $1.3 billion in cash and 643.3 million new Rentokil initial shares in a deal that values the U.S. company at $6.7 billion.

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RWS Holdings FY 2021 Pretax Profit Fell on Acquisition Costs

RWS Holdings PLC on Tuesday reported a lower pretax profit for fiscal 2021 on higher costs related to its merger with SDL and exceptional items.

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Cerillion Appoints Andrew Dickson as CFO

Cerillion PLC said Tuesday that it has appointed Andrew Dickson as chief financial officer after Oliver Gilchrist's decision to step down.

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Kibo Energy Chairman to Retire in Early 2022

Kibo Energy PLC said Tuesday that Nonexecutive Chairman Christian Schaffalitzky will retire from the board early in 2022, and that the board has started the search for his replacement.

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Thor Mining Raises GBP1.5 Mln via Placing; Shares Rise

Shares in Thor Mining PLC rose on Tuesday after the company said that it had raised 1.5 million pounds ($2 million) via a placing, and that it will use the proceeds to fund exploration of its project interests, particularly its Ragged Range gold and nickel prospects in Australia's Pilbara region.

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Zinnwald Raises GBP5.8 Mln in Share Placing; Shares Fall

Zinnwald Lithium PLC shares fell on Tuesday after it said that it has raised 5.8 million pounds ($7.7 million) through a placing and retail offer, to advance development of its Zinnwald lithium project in Germany.

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Network Rail 1H Pretax Profit Slipped, Revenue Rose

Network Rail said Tuesday that its pretax profit slipped despite a rise in revenue in the first half of fiscal 2022.

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Stagecoach Sells Three Assets to ComfortDelGro for GBP8.8 Mln

Stagecoach Group PLC said Tuesday that it has agreed to sell its 35% Scottish Citylink stake and the retail and customer service activities of Megabus UK and Falcon for total proceeds of 8.8 million pounds ($11.6 million).

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National Express, Stagecoach Agree to Merger

Stagecoach Group PLC and National Express Group PLC said Tuesday that they have agreed to an all-share merger, creating a company worth around 1.9 billion pounds ($2.51 billion) based on their current market capitalizations.

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Terminix Shares Rally Premarket on Takeover by Rentokil >TMX

Terminix Global Holdings Inc. shares jumped more than 25% in premarket trading Tuesday after the pest-control company agreed to be acquired by U.K. peer Rentokil Initial PLC in a cash-and-stock deal valued at around $6.7 billion.

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Greatland Gold Resolution Passes With Low Votes at AGM

Greatland Gold PLC said Tuesday that resolution two at its annual general meeting was passed with low votes in support. 


 
Market Talk:

HSBC Should Also Phase out Oil & Gas if It's Serious About Net Zero, Market Forces Says

1151 GMT - HSBC's move to phase out funding for coal isn't enough to show that it is serious about its net zero by 2050 target, Market Forces says. If HSBC really means business, it should also cut financing for new oil-and-gas production, the environmental finance group says. "HSBC needs to either revise its policy to explicitly rule out financing the expansion of the fossil fuel industry... or cancel its commitment to the goal of net zero by 2050. The International Energy Agency has made it clear you can't have both," Market Forces UK campaign lead Adam McGibbon says, citing the IEA's "Net Zero by 2050" road map for the energy sector.

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HSBC's New Coal Policy Misses the Mark, Market Forces Says

1046 GMT - HSBC's new coal phase-out policy "ignores the elephant in the room": the investments its asset-management arm has in companies engaged in new coal-power projects, Market Forces says. The environmental finance group says the policy--aimed at reducing the bank's exposure to thermal-coal financing by half by 2030--applies to HSBC Group Holdings and subsidiaries, but not to its asset-management business, leaving 15 billion tons of CO2, roughly equivalent to what the U.K. emits in 32 years, in play. It also gives companies up to two years to set decarbonization strategies, but it doesn't set clear consequences for failure, lets business as usual continue for many non-OECD coal clients, and exempts metallurgical coal mines and a long list of coal-industry services.

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Aberdeen Standard European Logistics Significantly Enhances Portfolio With Purchase

1015 GMT - Aberdeen Standard European Logistics Income's acquisition of a portfolio of newly built logistics properties in Madrid significantly enhances the scale of the company's portfolio to EUR730 million, Liberum says. The real-estate investment company's new Madrid portfolio offers scope for long-term rental growth from a high-quality tenant base, the brokerage says. Aberdeen has now deployed all of the proceeds from its GBP125 million equity raise in September, and the manager also has two additional assets under offer in the Netherlands and France, Liberum says. "Further equity issuance is likely in the near term, providing scope to achieve an investment grade rating and the opportunity to lower the cost of financing," the brokerage says. Shares are down 0.4% at 115.0 pence.

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BOE May Hold Rates But Pound Likely to Shrug Off Decision

1009 GMT - The Bank of England may leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday but this isn't likely to have much impact on sterling, Argentex says. "The Bank of England's 'wait and see' approach---previously deeply unpopular--is likely to be the preferred option ahead of Thursday's meeting, given the resurgence in Covid-19 cases since the previous meeting in November," Argentex forex analyst Joe Tuckey says. Expectations for a rate rise on Thursday have "largely dissipated" due to coronavirus with more aggressive policy tightening anticipated in 2022 to compensate for these pauses, he says. That means sterling could "hold" following a decision to keep rates steady, he says.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; Write to Sarka Halas at sarka.halas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-14-21 0738ET