Market Report: Hammerson back in the takeover bid spotlight
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Related articles
There has been no shortage of takeover chatter around Hammerson lately. The possibility of the developer – whose portfolio includes the Brent Cross and Bullring shopping centres in north London and Birmingham – being snapped up has caused much excitement, and the bid spotlight was switched back on yesterday.
This time, vague rumours were suggesting the blue-chip group may be a possible target for an unnamed Middle East sovereign wealth fund, with market gossips claiming a potential bid might be worth up to 650p a pop. The chatter was accompanied by a late rally for Hammerson which was 3.2p better off at 420.5p by the bell.
Dealers were dismissive of the speculation, however, although a number of analysts have been talking up its attractiveness. In March, JP Morgan claimed that Hammerson was one of the sector's most likely targets, while earlier in the month, Hong Kong-based broker CLSA suggested Aussie rival Westfield may want to consider an approach.
The FTSE 100's recovery gathered pace, with the index flying up 98.8 points to 5,403.28 amid optimism over today's meeting between eurozone leaders, while there was mixed data from the States.
A lot of eyes were still on Wall Street and the aftermath of the Facebook IPO as traders, unsurprisingly, noted demand from punters trying to short Mark Zuckerberg's creation. At the same time, some in the Square Mile were wondering whether even the fund management side of Morgan Stanley – the float's lead underwriter – may have shorted the stock.
Back on these shores, encouraging noises from China over infrastructure investment cheered the heavyweight diggers. With tomorrow the one-year anniversary of Glencore's listing, there was talk the end of the lock-up period of a number of employees' shares will up the commodity trader's free-float. This will result – so goes the theory – in an increase in the group's Footsie weighting, prompting buying from index trackers.
Such a scenario would please investors in Xstrata, with whom Glencore (up 10.1p to 361.6p) has agreed an all-share merger. The miner ticked up 29.9p to 972.9p after the head of its copper division said he expected Chinese demand for the metal to jump later in the year.
Another beneficiary of big-wigs' confidence was Arm Holdings, which rose 11.8p to 489.8p. The chip designer's boss, Warren East, played down the idea it will be severely hit by the eurozone crisis.
Industry data was not helping Morrisons as the grocer slipped 2.4p to 268p. Meanwhile, Oriel's scribes warned that its decision to launch another petrol price campaign "could betray poor underlying trading".
Carnival sailed up 67p to 2,059p after Exane BNP Paribas' Matthias Desmarais raised his price target on the world's largest cruise company to 2,500p. The analyst argued that economic data, as well as updates from both its rivals and company executives, pointed to a faster-than-expected recovery in bookings following the recent problems suffered by its Concordia and Allegra cruise ships.
Bumi shot up 52p to 435p on the FTSE 250 after Barclays started coverage on the digger – co-founded by Bullingdon Club alumnus Nat Rothschild – with an "overweight" rating, calling it a "diamond in the rough".
Also pushing it higher was the appointment of Bumi chairman Samin Tan as president commissioner of major subsidiary PT Bumi Resources. This was seen by some as a step towards a possible merger between PT Bumi and PT Berau (another Bumi subsidiary), something for which Mr Tan has previously shown his support.
Asset manager Intermediate Capital rocketed up 37.8p to 265.1p following its full-year results, while HomeServe plummeted 66.5p to 160.9p on the news the FSA is investigating the emergency plumber over possible mis-selling.
Down on Aim, Bellzone Mining powered up 4p to 22.25p after getting the green light from the Guinea government to start commercial production.
Gold Oil closed 1.22p stronger at 5.3p amid optimism that its search for a farm-out partner for its drilling off the shore of Peru could be over soon.
Meanwhile, a successful first day of dealings for entrepreneur Algy Cluff's latest venture saw Cluff Natural Resources finish at 5.13p after shares were placed at 5p.
- 1 Massive stage collapse before Radiohead concert kills one
- 2 News in pictures
- 3 Leveson threatened to quit after public attack by Gove
- 4 In pictures: The bewildering face of China
- 5 Osborne: The people’s damning verdict
- 6 Ed Miliband: 'Cameron is the last gasp of the old guard'
- 7 Savers start a 'jog' on Europe's banks as Greece votes
- 8 For whom the bell tolls: £20m 'Memo' project takes shape on Dorset's Jurassic coast
- 9 Still standing: George Galloway reveals why his staunchly Leftist outlook is still invariably right
- 10 Aung San Suu Kyi: A lesson in the value of kindness
- 1 Massive stage collapse before Radiohead concert kills one
- 2 Patrick Cockburn: Greece's day of reckoning dawns in a climate of anger and uncertainty
- 3 The Blagger's Guide To: The best (and worst) fathers
- 4 We just click: How Lego keeps building on its success
- 5 Revealed: Harry Potter is the Antichrist!
- 6 The Leveson Inquiry: We're in this together!
- 7 Osborne: The people’s damning verdict
- 8 David Flatman: Over and out
- 9 Frank Zimmerman and me: The truth about the troll who tormented Louise Mensch
- 10 Aung San Suu Kyi: A lesson in the value of kindness

Experience the Heineken Hub
Get free wi-fi and exclusive i content while you enjoy a tasty pint of Heineken at participating pubs.

Win a sumptuous three-night stay in Austria
Get away from it all in the fresh mountain air at the four-star Hotel Edelweiss & Gurgl.

Win a five-star foodie weekend to Liège
Spend two nights in gourmet heaven at a top hotel in the capital of French-speaking Belgium.

A home to be proud of with Halifax
Download the Halifax's brilliant, free new Home Finder app, and take all the pain out of finding your dream home

Playing a game-changing role during the Games
Cisco is providing the solutions for London 2012's complex IT needs.

Enter the latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.

Business videos from commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page

Still standing: George Galloway

Daniel Radcliffe as drug-taking Beatnik poet

Objets czar: David Usborne’s collection of myriad objects

World's richest woman: Gina Rinehart

Comments