UK graphics chip designer Imagination Technologies (IMG) has officially put itself up for sale just days after a major shareholder sold part of its stake. The company, which has lost about 70% of its value following a dispute with its biggest customer Apple, saw Chinese fund Tsinghua Unigroup sell down its stake in the business to below 3% on 19 June. Investors are hoping for the best, bidding the shares 19% higher in early trade on Thursday to 146.75p, although a potentially long-running dispute with Apple could act as a poison pill for some would-be buyers.
Britain's competition watchdog has cleared Standard Life's (SL.) £11bn deal to buy asset management peer Aberdeen Asset Management (ADN). The regulatory OK paves the way for the tie-up, which will create the country's biggest listed asset management company. Investors were expecting as much, accounting for the modest share price movement in both stocks - both marginally off at 388.7p and 292.3p respectively.
Drinks giant Diageo (DGE) has agreed to buy George Clooney's high-end tequila brand Casamigos in a deal valuing it at up to $1bn. The announcement came after the market close on Thursday and is part of the world's largest spirits maker’s plans to boost its presence in a high-growth markets. Diageo drifts 18p, or about 0.8%, lower to £23.565.
A US jury has ordered Teva Pharmaceutical Industries to pay GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) more than $235m for infringing a patent covering its blood pressure drug Coreg, according to reports. The UK drugs giant’s share price nudges 0.5% up at £16.92.
British independent oil exploration company Cairn Energy's (CNE) 9.8% stake in Cairn India, may be put up for sale as part of tax recovery proceedings started late last week. The unconfirmed report comes from India's Business Standard newspaper and it is interesting that the compay’s shares fall on Friday, down more than 4% to 165.4p.
Britain's tourism industry is proving resilient despite recent militant attacks and is set for higher bookings this year, outperforming the European average, travel data analysis company ForwardKeys said on Thursday. Shares in holiday firm Thomas Cook (TCG) remain in decline in spite of the apparent boost, off 1% at 91.45p, while budget flyers EasyJet (EZJ) is flat at 106.5p and Ryanair (RYA) marginally ahead at €18.69.
As typical for a Thursday, several companies see their stock go ex-dividend, where investors lose the right to upcoming payouts. These include credit checker Experian (EXPN), property company Land Securities (LAND) and water supply group United Utilities (UU.), trimming 1.88 points off the FTSE 100, according to Reuters calculations.
Gigs and events digital broadcast start-up EVR (EVR:AIM) sees its share price spike 20% up to 10.38p after the company unveiled a global partnership with tech titan Microsoft. The deal will see the US giant market EVR’s MelodyVR application across its Windows Mixed Reality Store. The app remains in beta testing and has yet to actually launch on any app store.
Do-gooder mobile start-up The People’s Operator (TPOP:AIM) again misses full year expectations, sparking another collapse in the share price. The firm, co-founded by Wikipedia brainbox Jimmy Wales that gives part of its income to customer charities, saw revenues of £32.4m below the £3.6m forecast, with £8.6m of pre-tax losses and a £7.9m cash out flow all painting a dismal picture for the company, despite its previously high hopes of breaking into the large US market. The share price has dived 47% in early trade to 3.12p, valuing the business at just £4.3m, a far cry from its £100m December 2014 IPO.
