| FTSE 100 movers: Boots rockets as bids mount up
LONDON (SHARECAST) - An auction for Alliance Boots between Terra Firma and KKR/Pessina has sent the chemist chain shooting to the top of the FTSE 100 leaderboard. Terra Firma fired the last shot by upping its offer to 1,126p and topping an agreed bid of 1,090p announced by KKR/Pessina this morning. As yet, the AB board has not responded to the Terra Firma bid. Standard Chartered has recovered along with Asian markets as concern over the runaway growth of the Chinese economy eases. There were early losses for WPP as the advertising giant reported "slightly disappointing" first quarter revenue figures, although Goldman Sachs kept the shares as a "buy". The broker said the 0.7% drop in reportable revenues to 1.37bn was 2.6% below its estimate of 1.40bn, mainly due to an underestimation of the exchange rate impact.
Warehouse shares likely to jump if bids cleared - analyst
Shares in The Warehouse are likely to jump after the competition regulator clears the way for two potential takeover bids, brokers First NZ Capital said today. First NZ analyst Sandra Urlich said both of Warehouse's suitors, Australia's biggest retailer Woolworths and grocery co-operative Foodstuffs, were expected to get clearance from The Commerce Commission to launch bids. "Assuming the Commerce Commission clears the respective parties we would expect some further price strength from here," Ms Urlich said in a research note. The regulator is due to make a decision by April 27. She said the market view is that 50 per cent owner Stephen Tindall will accept an offer for his stake from Woolworths, leading to a full takeover bid. Shares in The Warehouse last traded down one cent at $7.05, having traded between $3.60 and $7.31 over the past year.
Federer swats Spain's Carlos
MONTE CARLO, April 22: Roger Federer ignored the distracting clatter of cutlery and a chattering lunchtime crowd on Saturday as he set up a second straight finals clash at the Monte Carlo Masters with Rafael Nadal. The Swiss applied the power to escape an early 1-3 deficit against two-time winner Juan Carlos Ferrero, defeating the Spaniard 6-3, 6-4. Holder Nadal, bidding to lift a third consecutive crown at the VIP venue, thrashed Czech tenth seed Tomas Berdych 6-0, 7-5. Federer got into trouble in the early going of his semi-final against Ferrero, a past master of the clay. While not blaming his mis-step on noise, the top seed did express quiet disgust with the celebrity suppers perched above the court on a terrace. "There were more than 7,000 people watching the match so I just think it would be nice if they (the diners) showed some more respect to the other fans that are watching the match and also the players," said the ten-time Grand Slam winner.
Bidding war brews for Alliance Boots
A bidding war broke out for Alliance Boots PLC on Friday as a second private equity consortium came forward with an improved proposal after the pharmacy company accepted a 10.6 billion pound ($21.3 billion) bid from a group comprising its deputy chairman and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. Boots shares soared 7.2 percent to 1,125 pence ($22.55) after the rival consortium including private equity group Terra Firma Investments, medical charity the Wellcome Trust and banking group HBOS PLC made an "indicative offer" worth 10.8 billion pounds ($21.6 billion). Boots made no immediate comment on the approach from the Terra consortium. Earlier Friday, the company recommended that its shareholders vote in favor of the sweetened bid from its deputy Chairman Stefano Pessina and KKR valued at 1,090 pence ($21.87) a share.
OnlineAuction.com Unveils NEW eStore FREE for 12 Months!
GRANTS PASS, Ore., April 11 /PRNewswire/ -- OnlineAuction.com (OLA.com) announced today the doors are open to its members to showcase their listings and boost their sales by using their own customizable online auction house, at no charge for the first year. My OLA House, powered by OnlineAuction.com, is the latest feature added to the already extensive list of features included with all current and new Founding Memberships. My OLA House, OnlineAuction.com's version of an eStore, offers many great features in addition to creating a personalized web presence, building brand awareness, and personalized telephone support from OnlineAuction.com. "I just opened My OLA House. HATS OFF TO DESIGNERS, this was a lot easier to setup than my eBay store was back when I had one," said James B.
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