FTSE 250 movers: WS Atkins jumps after receiving bid

Confirmation that WS Atkins has received a cash takeover offer from Canadian rival SNC-Lavalin at a price of 2,080p per share, sent shares in the engineer to the top of the leaderboard.

Atkins' board said the possible offer - which valued it at £2.1bn - "would deliver value to Atkins shareholders at a level that the Board would be prepared to recommend", if it can agree the terms and conditions of a deal.

Evraz was on the up despite weaker than expected manufacturing data out of China for the month of March and persistent talk of slower economic growth ahead.

Spirax Sarco was higher as Numis upped its recommendation on the shares from 'Hold' to 'Add' and as the firm announced its largest M&A transaction ever, picking up German boiler controls outfit Gestra for £160.0m.

Numis said Gestra had long been seen as a strong competitor in Germany, adding that the portfolio was also complimentary and would benefit Spirax's scale and reach.

Nostrum Oil&Gas was on the defensive after the latest Baker Hughes US rig count data, released on Friday, revealed that 15 rigs came online over the past week, bringing the total to 824 units, from 658 at the back end of 2016.

The news sent crude oil futures down by almost 1% on Monday.

Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK, said the rise in rig numbers, to a level last seen in October 2015, had again acted as a reminder that US shale producers continued to add supply at a rate quicker than Opec producers could cut it.

FTSE 250 - Fallers

Allied Minds (ALM) 270.40p -11.26%
IP Group (IPO) 151.70p -3.19%
Drax Group (DRX) 315.40p -3.07%
Dixons Carphone (DC.) 308.20p -2.96%
CLS Holdings (CLI) 1,718.00p -2.94%
Nostrum Oil & Gas (NOG) 470.80p -2.93%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 228.00p -2.56%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 130.20p -2.33%
TP ICAP (TCAP) 455.50p -1.94%
GVC Holdings (GVC) 720.00p -1.84%