Gambling giant’s shares jump on talk of sell-off
SHARES in takeover target Entain rose yesterday following reports private equity predators are poised to swoop in on the Ladbrokes and Coral owner.
The gambling giant could sell some of its overseas brands to buyout firms such as CVC Capital or apollo, which last year bought the Wagamama owner The restaurant Group (TRG).
The group has hired the investment bank Moelis to lead a review of its business, according to reports over the weekend.
Shares gained 5.2pc, or 41p, to 825p yesterday valuing the business at around £5.3bn.
The departure of entain’s chairman has fuelled speculation that the company could become vulnerable to further swoops.
Barry Gibson, who announced plans to leave last week, has fended off two takeover attempts since he took on the job in February 2020. entain rejected an £8bn swoop – worth 1383p a share – in January 2021 from MGM.
At the end of October 2021 Draft Kings walked away from an £16bn takeover offer for the London-listed firm.
Entain also remains on the hunt for a chief executive, who could be announced within days or weeks, after Jette Nygaard-Andersen left in December.
Russ Mould, investment director at broker aJ Bell, said: ‘expect a few twists and turns if the starting gun is fired again on any bid action as there will no doubt be multiple parties interested in picking apart entain.’
The FTSE 100 rose 0.4pc, or 32.31 points, to 7943.47 and the FTSE 250 added 0.7pc, or 128.64 points, to 19854.58.
Bitcoin’s rollercoaster ride continued as it rose back above $70,000. Last month the digital coin hit a record high of nearly $74,000 before falling back sharply.
Oil was also on the slide, on signs of easing tensions in the Middle east. Brent crude dropped 1.3pc to $90 a barrel.
The dip in price lifted airline stocks including Easyjet, which was also pushed higher by an upgrade from analysts at investment bank UBS. Shares rose 3.3pc, or 18.6p, to 577.8p.
and holiday firm Tui rose 3.5pc, or 22.5p, to 675p on the first day of trading after it moved its main listing from London to main Frankfurt. Mining giant Rio Tinto has appointed a chief commercial officer. Bold Baatar, who joined the company in 2013 and has been the chief executive of copper since 2021, will replace alf Barrios in September. Shares added 4.2pc, or 209.5p, to 5184p.
The US paper giant stalking one of Britain’s biggest packaging firms is closing in on making a formal bid worth more than £5bn. International Paper hopes to agree a deal with DS Smith by the end of this week, Sky News reported.
Last week the US group confirmed the Mail’s revelation that it will establish a european headquarters in London and list shares in the City to get its proposal over the line. DS Smith is also weighing up another takeover offer, albeit at a lower price, from its blue-chip rival Mondi (up 1.3pc, or 18p, to 1416.5p). Shares slid 0.2pc, or 0.6p, to 409.4p.