(Sharecast News) - London stocks were just a touch higher by midday on Friday, with Vodafone pacing the gains on the top-flight index on news that French billionaire Xavier Niel will buy a 4.4bn stake in the company, while easyJet surged as a bidding war emerged for the budget airline.
The FTSE 100 was 0.1% firmer at 10,482.19, paring earlier gains, while Brent crude was up 0.1% at $76.38 a barrel and West Texas Intermediate was also 0.1% higher, at $72.13.
Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said: "Markets were in a calmer frame of mind at the end of the trading week, with gains across much of Asia and Europe, and oil prices easing back."
In equity markets, Vodafone was the standout performer on the FTSE 100 on news that Emirates Telecommunications Group will sell its entire stake in the company to French billionaire Xavier Niel for 4.4bn. Under the terms of the deal, E&'s 16.21% stake has been priced at 112.5p per share, a premium to Thursday's closing price of 97.76p.
Vodafone confirmed that the relationship with E& had been terminated, and that its nominee director, Hatem Dowidar, had resigned from the board with immediate effect.
EasyJet surged as a bidding war emerged after the budget airline said it has agreed to be taken over by private equity firm Apollo in a 5.7bn deal which trumps an earlier offer by Castlelake.
The company announced on Monday that it was ready to accept a sweetened 5.5bn takeover offer from Castlelake after the private equity group tabled a fifth offer at 690p a share. However, it has now agreed in principle on the terms of a possible cash offer by Apollo at 715p per share.
EasyJet said the offer from Apollo offers "an attractive combination of value, strategic alignment and long-term stewardship of the business".
"Accordingly, the easyJet board is no longer minded to recommend the Castlelake proposal," it said.
Coatsworth said: "The bidding war now comes down to price. Castlelake has already shown determination to get what it wants, hence multiple bids in quick succession. The spotlight now turns back to the original suitor to see if it will dig even deeper to beat Apollo. Shareholders will be putting their feet up and enjoying the ride.
"EasyJet founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou remains tight-lipped on the matter. At some point he's going to have to comment on the takeover activity given his position as the airline's largest shareholder. Apollo's offer is much more enticing than Castlelake's most recent proposal and more reasonable in valuation-terms based on forward earnings expectations. All along, certain shareholders have been concerned that EasyJet was being taken out on the cheap. They might now be happy with the new offer on the table."
Recruiter Hays shot up after saying it expects full-year earnings to be at the top end of the consensus range as the pace of decline in fee income slowed in the fourth quarter.
On the downside, St James's Place tumbled following a Financial News report that one of its largest partner firms, Sovereign Wealth, is the latest set to leave as the wealth manager faces retention challenges.
Market Movers
FTSE 100 (UKX) 10,482.19 0.09%
FTSE 250 (MCX) 23,291.38 0.22%
techMARK (TASX) 5,907.28 0.61%
FTSE 100 - Risers
Vodafone Group (VOD) 110.25p 12.73%
Entain (ENT) 541.80p 3.19%
Flutter Entertainment (DI) (FLTR) 8,330.00p 2.21%
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,892.00p 1.94%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 3,772.00p 1.72%
Prudential (PRU) 1,043.00p 1.65%
BT Group (BT.A) 189.85p 1.61%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 472.40p 1.54%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 6,776.00p 1.51%
Airtel Africa (AAF) 326.20p 1.43%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
St James's Place (STJ) 1,152.50p -8.82%
Imperial Brands (IMB) 2,695.00p -1.68%
AstraZeneca (AZN) 13,138.00p -1.47%
IG Group Holdings (IGG) 1,790.00p -1.27%
British American Tobacco (BATS) 4,445.00p -1.00%
Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,421.80p -0.99%
Hiscox Limited (DI) (HSX) 1,880.00p -0.95%
Coca-Cola HBC AG (CDI) (CCH) 4,858.00p -0.70%
Centrica (CNA) 170.75p -0.49%
Persimmon (PSN) 1,031.50p -0.48%
FTSE 250 - Risers
easyJet (EZJ) 674.00p 14.76%
Hays (HAS) 40.84p 14.23%
AEP Plantations (AEP) 169.00p 4.32%
Playtech (PTEC) 382.00p 3.47%
Workspace Group (WKP) 343.00p 3.44%
Victrex plc (VCT) 684.00p 2.55%
WPP (WPP) 264.00p 2.09%
Baltic Classifieds Group (BCG) 182.20p 1.90%
CMC Markets (CMCX) 744.00p 1.78%
International Workplace Group (IWG) 192.40p 1.75%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Johnson Service Group (JSG) 141.60p -14.62%
Watches of Switzerland Group (WOSG) 707.00p -3.15%
Avon Technologies (AVON) 1,664.00p -2.92%
Chemring Group (CHG) 527.50p -2.76%
Morgan Sindall Group (MGNS) 4,784.00p -2.45%
QinetiQ Group (QQ.) 455.20p -2.32%
Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 169.20p -2.31%
SDCL Efficiency Income Trust (SEIT) 37.10p -1.98%
Quilter (QLT) 197.20p -1.85%
Premier Foods (PFD) 197.90p -1.84%
31.86 (0.30%)
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