IMI to acquire CorSolutions, Bodycote names Ben Fidler as CFO

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was called to open just 4.2 points higher ahead of the bell on Monday after closing 0.37% lower in the previous session at 7,047.67.

Stocks to watch

Engineering company IMI said on Monday that it had agreed to acquire New York-based micro-fluid flow control business CorSolutions in order to provide it with "unique microfluidic capabilities" within the "attractive" analytical instrument market.

IMI said it will make an initial cash consideration of $10.0m for CorSolutions, which will become part of its Precision Fluid OEM business unit.

Bodycote said on Monday that it had appointed Ben Fidler as chief financial officer, succeeding Dominique Yates who announced his intention to retire earlier in the year.

Fidler, currently the deputy CFO of Rolls-Royce, has been with the aircraft engine maker for five years and will take up his new role on 1 May 2023.

Newspaper round-up

Nearly 2.0m public sector workers could be close to quitting over poor pay, their representatives have warned, leaving the UK's public services facing a looming crisis. The Trades Union Congress said the efforts of millions of key workers got the UK through the worst of the Covid pandemic, but now those same workers were facing another year of "pay misery" at the hands of the government – while the cost of living continues to soar. – Guardian

Planned strikes by Royal Mail workers in the next two weeks have been called off after a challenge by the company. Members of the Communication Workers Union are involved in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions. A series of strikes has taken place in recent weeks and more had been planned on 2, 3, 4, 8, 9 and 10 November. – Guardian

Elon Musk could avoid giving a payout of up to $90.0m to sacked senior Twitter executives after dismissing them "for cause", it has been reported. The new owner of the social media giant sacked four senior executives, including chief executive Parag Agrawal and finance chief Ned Segal, on Thursday, as he moved quickly to assert control over the company following the completion of his $44.0bn takeover. – Telegraph

Struggling household energy suppliers have been thrown a financial lifeline by a key player in the market, reducing the risk that taxpayer bailouts will be needed in a boost for Rishi Sunak. Elexon, which manages the electricity trades that keep Britain's lights on, has significantly cut the size of the deposits it requires suppliers to offer for power plants when they order electricity in advance. – Telegraph

Eight people have been arrested over alleged "organised criminal attacks" on multibillion-pound government tax incentives meant to spur investment in technology and innovation. HM Revenue & Customs is investigating a suspected conspiracy to submit fraudulent claims for relief under the research and development tax credit schemes. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed sharply higher on Friday, putting the blue-chip Dow Jones on track for its best monthly performance in more than 45 years.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 2.59% at 32,861.80, while the S&P 500 advanced 2.46% to 3,901.06 and the Nasdaq Composite saw out the session 2.87% firmer at 11,102.45.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com