Takeover talks add £550m to shopping centre giant Intu Properties (INTU) boosting confidence in UK retail sector. The firm, which owns some of the UK’s biggest shopping centres such as Lakeside in Essex and the Trafford Centre in Manchester, is in John Whittaker’s cross hairs. The 76-year-old – who is deputy chairman of Intu and has a stake of around 27% through his company Peel Group – has joined forces with Brookfield Property Group of Canada and Saudi Arabia’s Olayan Group to plot a takeover.
Advisers set for a £57m fees bonanza as big game hunter plots merger with Randgold Resources. Bankers, lawyers and other advisers are set to rake in up to £57.5m in fees from Barrick’s takeover of Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS). Canadian gold miner Barrick and London-listed Randgold have outlined plans to join forces to create the world’s largest gold mining business, worth £14billion. The deal will unite two of the biggest players in gold mining – former Goldman Sachs banker John Thornton, who has run Barrick since 2014, and Mark Bristow, who founded Randgold in 1995.
Micro Focus International (MCRO) was on a downward slide after activist investor Elliott Management sold its stake in the company. The New York-based hedge fund, run by billionaire Paul Singer, revealed it had built a 5.1% position in April. Rumours emerged that Elliott wanted Micro Focus to sell itself to a private equity firm, and the activist also suggested that it flog-off its Suse Linux arm, which creates computer operating systems for businesses. Private equity house EQT bought Suse in July for £1.9billion. The unit had been one of the profitable parts of Micro Focus, and a particularly bright spot when the group revealed disappointing results in January and March.
Aukett Swanke Group (AUK), a firm of architects, interior designers and engineers, said it was expecting to make a loss for the year ending in September, as it had warned in June. Trading had been slow and progress with new projects it had begun working on was ‘intermittent’, it said.
Centamin (DI) (CEY) led a slide in the London-listed miners, after cutting its production forecast for the second time this year. The company said it had produced 117,720 oz of gold in the third quarter, 27% more than in the previous quarter but 25% less than the same time last year. Operational improvements ‘have taken longer than planned to materialise’, Centamin added. ‘It expects to produce just 480,000 oz of the precious metal in total this year, down from an original estimate of 580,000 oz. Centamin’s mining peers also found their shares in the red, as the prices of industrial metals dipped. Copper specialist Kaz Minerals (KAZ) dropped 25.2p, to 526p. On the FTSE 100, Antofagasta (ANTO) was the index’s biggest faller losing 5.4%, or 47.6p, to end at 827p. Anglo American (AAL), Rio Tinto (RIO) and followed close behind shedding 4.3% (74p down, to 1669.2p), 4% (157p down to 3744.5p) and 3.9% (66.4p down to 1635.6p) respectively.
Motorpoint Group (MOTR) revved up expectations as it said revenues should rise by around 9 per cent over the year. Though the company said it would ‘closely monitor customer confidence in light of the ongoing economic and political uncertainty’, its performance showed no signs of slowing.
First Derivatives (FDP) had a disappointing end to a generally lacklustre week, falling 8%, or 280p, to 3220p on top of a 15% drop the day before. It was under pressure as short sellers – who make a profit by betting that a company’s share price will fall – raised concerns around the company’s growth, profits and accounting. However, analysts at Liberum still recommended a ‘buy’ rating on First Derivatives’ stock.
expressed some alarm in a trading update over how quickly public opinion had turned against plastic waste, to the point where it is considering changing its name. Shares in the company ticked up 2.7%, or 3p, to 114p.
