Investors in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) hope a bidding war will erupt after its Hong Kong rival launched a £32 billion takeover bid. In a shock announcement, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) said it wanted to buy the 448-year-old British institution and create a ‘global market infrastructure leader’. But it is thought that the LSE will reject the offer and instead press ahead with its own £22 billion takeover of data firm Refinitiv, which is best known among City professionals for its trading terminal screens. The surprise offer from Hong Kong has set the City alight with the possibility of other bidders moving in. Analysts speculated that the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), which owns the New York Stock Exchange, and Chicago-based CME Group could be in the picture. HKEX is just the latest foreign predator to try to take control of the LSE, known as one of the three pillars of the City along with the Bank of England and Lloyd’s of London.
Serco Group (SRP) has been given a two-year extension to a contract with the Australian government to monitor and run its detention centres. The British firm will have completed 12 years as a contractor for the government when the deal ends in 2021. The deal covers the Christmas Island detention centre which has been fiercely criticised by campaigners over harsh treatment of asylum seekers, which has led to riots. Serco has also had success with new contracts in the UK, winning a £1.9bn deal to manage 5,000 properties occupied by asylum seekers waiting to hear if their refugee status has been approved.
The widow leading the campaign against the proposed takeover of Cobham (COB) is refusing to meet the US private equity firm behind the £4 billion bid. Lady Cobham, who was married to former boss Sir Michael Cobham, the son of founder Sir Alan Cobham, warned that Advent International ‘will never be a long-term strategic owner’ of the defence group. And the 76-year-old said meeting Advent bosses ‘is highly unlikely to change my view’. She has spurned an offer to talk, telling the Mail: ‘Advent will be looking to profit by selling the business on, either as a whole or in parts, which is why the UK Government needs to urgently review this transaction.’
Mike Ashley could be forced to ask the Government to find an auditor for his retail empire, in the latest setback for the billionaire. The retailer has been left without an auditor after Grant Thornton quit the post at its annual shareholder meeting yesterday. Under company law, if Ashley cannot find someone to sign off the Sports Direct books, it must tell Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom, who could then oversee an appointment. In a further blow, a third of independent shareholders voted against Ashley’s re-election as chief executive. Ashley, 55, survived the rebellion as he is Sports Direct’s largest shareholder with a near-63% stake. But he conceded that the past few months ‘can’t have been very comfortable’ for shareholders.
Gulf Marine Services (GMS) delayed publishing its half-year results while it continues talks with one of its lenders about a short-term loan – but pledged to release the figures by the end of September. The oilfield services contractor has a staggering debt pile – more than £300m at the end of 2018 – for a small-cap firm and is planning a longer-term restructuring of its finances. The Abu Dhabi-based firm operates support vessels that service deepwater oil and gas rigs and offshore wind farms. It was stung when it made investments to build a range of new boats before the oil price crash of 2014 and 2015, which then put customers off using expensive services such as those offered by Gulf Marine. In December it released a profit warning that hammered its share price and so far this year it suffered a bruising investor revolt against its 2018 executive pay in May, following which chief executive Duncan Anderson left last month.
Capital & Regional (CAL) soared after South African real estate firm Growthpoint Properties kicked off talks to buy a majority stake in the British shopping centre owner. Growthpoint has made its approach at a time when Britain’s malls have been hammered by struggles in the retail sector, which have led to mass shop closures and falling rents.
Galliford Try (GFRD) stock was seemingly immune to the news that the costs of a bypass in Aberdeen have taken a hefty chunk out of its profits. The construction giant’s profit dropped to £105m for the 12 months to the end of June, compared with £144m the year before – and revenues fell from £2.9 billion to £2.7 billion. But the news on Tuesday that it is planning to merge its housebuilding arm with Bovis’s equivalent division was still working its charm on Galliford’s shares.
