Is B&Q owner in line for a private equity makeover?

AFTER the string of takeovers of British firms in recent months, who could be next to fall?

Kingfisher might not be a bad shout, according to veteran analyst James Grzinic at Jefferies.

He reckons the owner of B&Q and French DIY giant Castorama must be among ‘a number of UK stocks flashing up on private equity screens’ despite the uncertain political backdrop.

He says the group has strong positions in some markets including the UK and is relatively resistant to the digital onslaught facing the retail sector.

Screwfix is among the Kingfisher businesses ‘which could be easily sold off and are drastically undervalued’, he adds.

Meanwhile, Thierry Garnier has left his job as boss of Carrefour Asia to become chief executive on September 25 – a week after the swansong results of Véronique Laury on Wednesday.

The shares are languishing at £2.08 compared with Jefferies’ price target of £3.20.

Grzinic says Kingfisher should put the French turnaround plans on hold until the new boss can get to grips with its troubles and reverse the ‘tremendous’ market share losses at Castorama since 2017.

THINKING of dumping your British shares? Don’t be so hasty.

That’s the message from scribblers at Credit Suisse, who reckon that with a No Deal Brexit now looking less likely, it could even be time to buy.

The analysts at the Swiss bank estimate that the FTSE100 could be undervalued by as much as 15 per cent, which is great news as there’s been little to shout about of late.

But don’t get too excited. Most of the companies they say are worth buying make more than 80 per cent of their profits overseas, so it’s hardly one for Brexiteers to leap on.

DAVID SCHWIMMER, head of the London Stock Exchange, may have given its Hong Kong rival short shrift in rejecting its £32billion takeover bid, but that hasn’t put the suitor off. It responded by saying it ‘had hoped to enter into a constructive dialogue with the board’.

That chance may come sooner than imagined. Schwimmer will speak at the Sibos financial services conference in London later this month about data and technology (presumably related to its own Refinitiv deal).

On stage straight after Schwimmer is one Charles Li, head of... you guessed it, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing.