Network International gets rival cash offer, International PPL expands debt facility
London open
The FTSE 100 is expected to open flat on Friday, having closed up 0.05% on Thursday at 7,902.61.
Stocks to watch
Payments firm Network International on Friday confirmed it had received a “highly preliminary” rival 400p a share cash offer from Canada's Brookfield Asset Management. The latest bid trumps a non-binding takeover proposal from a consortium of CVC and Francisco Partners about a cash offer of 387p a share which Network said it was minded to accept if a firm bid was made.
FTSE 250-listed International Public Partnerships said it had increased the committed size of its existing corporate debt facility by £100m to £350m to support the company's investment pipeline. In addition, the company will retain a flexible 'accordion' component which would, subject to lender approval, allow for a further increase in the committed size of the facility to £400m. The maturity date of the CDF has also been amended from March 2024 to June 2025.
Newspaper round-up
Forecourt owners in the UK are adding to soaring inflation for consumers by charging many businesses that rely on diesel more than necessary at the pumps, campaigners have claimed. The pump price for diesel is about 10% higher than for petrol, even though the wholesale market price is lower, reigniting concerns that forecourt owners are profiteering at the expense of diesel drivers. – Guardian
Facebook groups offering fake reviews on the likes of Amazon, Google and Trustpilot are persistent despite regulators’ demands that tech platforms do more to tackle the issue, according to an investigation by a consumer group. Groups on the social network with thousands of members offer free products in exchange for reviews, said the consumer group Which?, despite past interventions by UK regulators. – Guardian
The City watchdog is clearing the way for millions of buy-to-let landlords and flat owners to claw back billions of pounds lost in secret building insurance commissions. Leaseholders will be defined as customers of buildings insurance under new rules planned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) that will give homeowners new grounds to claim for thousands in wrongly charged fees. – Telegraph
Over-50s are dropping out of the workforce because of “ageist” companies, MPs have claimed. A report from the Labour-led Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee blamed businesses for the recent exodus of older workers, saying unfriendly policies were the cause rather than a wave of early retirement. - Telegraph
BuzzFeed News, the loss making website that once won a Pulitzer Prize, is closing as its parent company seeks to cut costs by slashing 15 percent of its workforce. The business has gone through “more challenges than I can count in the past few years'', Jonah Peretti, 49, BuzzFeed’s chief executive, said. – The Times
US close
Wall Street stocks were still weaker by the close on Thursday, as a fall in oil prices weighed on energy stocks, while continued concerns over the federal debt ceiling added to the dampened investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 33,786.62, down 0.33%, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite saw even greater losses, falling 0.6% and 0.8% to 4,129.79 and 12,059.56, respectively.
On the currency front, the dollar was last up 0.04% on sterling at 80.39p, while it strengthened 0.02% against the common currency to trade at 91.17 euro cents.
It was 0.16% weaker against the yen, however, to change hands at JPY 134.03.