The latest ups and downs on the stock market
Some felt Brit’s first-half results, though good, were a sideshow to the continuing saga with suitor Apollo. After weeks of silence, during which some speculated that the deal had gone sour, Brit revealed last Wednesday that it had opened its books to Apollo for due diligence after an indicative offer of £10.75 a share.
Although this announcement is no guarantee a deal will go through, it has clearly cheered investors. After a few weeks of hovering around the £9 mark, Brit’s shares surged to £10.05 on Wednesday from £9.14. The stock had settled back to £10 by Monday this week.
Broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson’s solid first-half performance had a more muted impact on its stock price initially. It rose 5p on the day of the announcement to £5.91. On mulling it over during the weekend, however, shareholders seem to decide the company deserved a better reward for its performance, and the stock closed at £5.98 on Monday.
Prices
Market indices Movers price 7-day Currency
FTSE 100 5,397.11 JLT 567.5p -0.08% Dollar 1.57
FTSE 250 10,161.17 Beazley 121p -1.06% Euro 1.20
FTSE All-share 2,784.19 Aon Corp $38.13 +3.59% Yen 135.56
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