PE firms set to take over Aggreko, LSE Group posts higher sales and profits

London open

The FTSE 100 is being called to start the session down by 50 points at 6,600.

Stocks to watch

Aggreko has agreed to be bought by two private equity firms in a deal valuing the FTSE 250 company at £2.3bn. TDR Capital and I Squared Capital Advisors will pay 880p in cash for each of the power generator supplier's shares. The price is 39% more than the closing price on 4 February, the day before an offer period started, and 49% more than the average price in the preceding three months.

The London Stock Exchange Group posted a 3% rise in total revenues at constant exchange rates to reach £2.12bn. Topline growth was strongest in its Post Trade unit, which saw revenues climb 7% to £751m while those at the Information Services unit increased 3% to £882m. On an adjusted basis meanwhile, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairments grew 5% to £1.33bn. The stock exchange operator lifted its full-year dividend payout by 7% to 75.0p.

In the press

Oil prices surged to the highest level in more than a year on Thursday as the Opec+ alliance surprised the market by keeping production levels unchanged in April. Brent crude jumped 5pc above $67 in afternoon trading, while US oil made similar gains above $64. Delegates said the alliance agreed to keep oil output unchanged in April, while Saudi Arabia will also maintain its 1m-a-day voluntary production cut next month. The decision has yet to be officially announced. - Daily Telegraph

Companies will leave Britain to avoid Rishi Sunak’s corporation tax rise, experts have warned. Documents from the Treasury and the Office for Budget Responsibility reveal that officials are concerned the higher rate will encourage tax avoidance as companies shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions. However, experts claimed that a bigger risk was companies moving their headquarters overseas or chosing not to come to the UK. - Times

The property industry has joined a growing backlash over the lack of green measures in the budget. Despite the government’s hopes of a “green industrial revolution” and the focus on climate change before the COP26 summit in Glasgow in November, critics said that the budget had failed to deliver policies that would drive significant progress toward Britain’s net zero emissions target. It froze fuel duty, awarded only limited funds to a handful of energy and green innovation projects and was silent on the government’s green homes grant scheme paying householders to make their properties more energy-efficient. - Times

US close

Wall Street's main market indices finished in negative territory on Thursday, after Fed chair Jerome Powell cautioned that inflation could rise as the American economy reopens.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1.11% at 30,924.14, the S&P 500 lost 1.34% to 3,768.47, and the Nasdaq Composite was off 2.11% at 12,723.47.

Powell said in his comments at an event hosted by the Wall Street Journal that he was expecting some inflationary pressure as the economy gathered pace again following the Covid-19 pandemic, though he didn’t think it would be enough to warrant a hike in interest rates.

“We expect that as the economy reopens and hopefully picks up, we will see inflation move up through base effects,” the Federal Reserve chair said.

“That could create some upward pressure on prices.”

Markets were seemingly unhappy with Powell’s comments, though, as stock prices slid and bond yields rose even further.