£6.9bn merger sparks sell-off

SHARES in Britain’s biggest listed tech company dipped after it announced revenues were flat.

Micro Focus, which is buying US rival Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) for £6.9bn, said it expected total revenues of £1.1bn.

Bosses said it was in line with expectations and the firm was still on track to deliver promised returns to shareholders.

Analysts said its drop in share price – the biggest on the FTSE 100 yesterday – was down to lingering jitters about its takeover of HPE.

The deal, which will complete in September, caused a fire sale of shares in May, when the company revealed a slump in sales at HPE.

Shares in Micro Focus yesterday were down 8.1pc, or 178p, to 2020p – more than 17pc lower than their price in May.