US group doubles stake in gambling giant Entain
ShareS in Entain rose after an american fund doubled its stake in the gambling giant.
Dodge & Cox, which also invests in pharma giant GSK (up 0.7pc, or 9.4p, to 1405p), France’s Sanofi and Google owner alphabet, increased its holding in the Ladbrokes and Coral owner from 5.01pc to 10.33pc.
having first bought into entain in September last year, the San Francisco-based investment firm is the second-largest shareholder behind The Capital Group Companies. Shares added 1.6pc, or 14.8p, to 934.4p.
Dodge & Cox’s fresh investment came after the blue-chip firm last week reported its online gaming revenues fell 6pc in the three months to the end of September.
entain also took a £45m hit from punter-friendly football results in October.
The FTSE 100 remained virtually flat at 7,417.76 but the FTSE 250 fell 1.3pc, or 236.37 points, to 17747.47. european stock markets were a mixed bag as recession fears lingered around the eurozone and investment bank JP Morgan warned that equities will come under pressure amid a cocktail of economic woes.
Back in London, Prudential flagged a recovery in hong Kong’s economy. The insurance group, which focuses on asia and africa, said sales shot up 40pc to £3.55bn in the nine months to the end of September while profit increased 37pc to £1.69bn. Shares inched up 0.02pc, or 0.2p, to 899.6p.
Melrose was on the march after the firm, which spun off its automotive business in april into a standalone company called Dowlais (up 0.7pc, or 0.8p, to 108.95p), signed a £4bn agreement with the aircraft engine supplier Ge aerospace. The deal will expand the pair’s longterm partnership and see Melrose become more involved in the after- market support of Ge’s Genx engine. Shares surged 3.5pc, or 17.2p, to 507p.
Ocado’s retail and Technology Solutions divisions are benefiting from a recovery in ecommerce shopping and inflation easing, according to the Bank of america.
as a result, the broker reinstated its coverage with a ‘ buy’ rating and target price of 850p.
Shares, however, slipped 2.3pc, or 12.2p, to 530p.
another firm flying high was Easyjet after the data regulator dropped its investigation into a hack in 2020 that affected millions of the budget airliner’s customers.
It was also lifted, along with the rest of the industry, by strong results from ryanair. Shares gained 1.2pc, or 4.8p, to 396p.
Harland & Wolff – the Belfast shipyard that built the Titanic – won a contract worth £8.5m from the recycling firm Cory to build ten barges that will be used to transport waste. This is in addition to the deal the pair signed last year to construct 23 barges for £18.1m. Shares rose 3.5pc, or 0.5p, to 14.75p.
Kitwave, the wholesale business which sells and delivers everything from fresh food to alcohol and tobacco to convenience stores, restaurants and leisure centres, said its annual results should meet market forecasts following a strong financial year.
and its boss Paul Young, who co-founded the group in 1987, will step down following the next annual general meeting in March.
he will be replaced by the chief operating officer Ben Maxted.
Shares dropped 5.7pc, or 15p, to 250p.
Oil tanker maintenance firm Gulf Marine Services raised its profit forecasts for this year and 2024 to reflect increased business opportunities. That lifted shares 4.2pc, or 0.53p, to 13.1p.
But there was little cheer for Aptamer after the biotech firm warned first-half revenues will be lower than the year before. Shares slid 11.1pc, or 0.15p, to 1.2p.