FTSE 250 movers: Afren hit by rescue deal talks, Hunting rises on upgrade

Afren came top of the fallers as the company revealed it was in rescue deal discussions with bondholders and other lenders after last week’s announcement that talks for a combination with Seplat Petroleum had been terminated.

The company said it was continuing discussions with the advisers to its largest bond holders “regarding the immediate liquidity and funding needs of the business” and is also in talks with existing stakeholders and new third party investors with a view to recapitalising the company.

Fidessa Group took a hit after reporting a 9% fall in full-year pre-tax profit to £39.1m, reflecting the strength of the pound against other currencies. The maker of trading software said revenue declined 1% to £275m in the year ended 31 December 2014.

Pace also dipped on a downgrade to ‘hold’ from Numis.

SABMiller was boosted by weekend reports that 3G Capital was considering a £75bn takeover bid for the brewer. The investment group, which owns a controlling stake in Anheuser-Busch, was looking at a possible offer as part of a consortium.

Tate & Lyle was trading higher following a strong appraisal from analysts at Cannacord Genuity in a research note e-mailed to clients on Monday. The analysts upgraded their rating to ‘buy’ add raised their price target from 530p to 650p as the possibility of a takeover from US rival Bunge seemed increasingly likely.

A low fourth profit warning, a strengthening US dollar and rising corn prices make a bid seem all the more probable. Forry and Hargreaves estimated that Bunge might be willing to scoop up Tate & Lyle at a 40% premium.

Analyst Kathryn Leonard at Numis has upgraded her view on shares of Hunting to 'buy' from 'reduce' and increased her target price on the shares to 554p from 487p previously.

Risers

Jimmy Choo (CHOO) 174.80p +6.59%
Vedanta Resources (VED) 558.50p +6.58%
Premier Oil (PMO) 180.40p +4.22%
Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 86.95p +4.07%
Aveva Group (AVV) 1,571.00p +3.36%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 510.00p +3.32%
Tate & Lyle (TATE) 576.00p +3.23%
Amec Foster Wheeler (AMFW) 895.50p +2.99%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 145.20p +2.76%
Wood Group (John) (WG.) 632.50p +2.68%

Fallers
Afren (AFR) 6.68p -8.18%
Pace (PIC) 320.00p -4.82%
AO World (AO.) 276.70p -4.59%
Thomas Cook Group (TCG) 124.60p -2.66%
Fidessa Group (FDSA) 2,406.00p -2.59%
Game Digital (GMD) 261.00p -2.25%
Redrow (RDW) 344.10p -2.24%
Countrywide (CWD) 527.50p -2.22%
Crest Nicholson Holdings (CRST) 433.70p -2.19%
Dairy Crest Group (DCG) 477.10p -2.17%