FTSE 250 movers: Paysafe surges on deal news; Acacia slides

London’s FTSE 250 was down 0.5% to 19,658.89 in afternoon trade.

Paysafe was the standout gainer as it struck a $470m deal to acquire US-based Merchants' Choice Payment and also received an 590p-a-share takeover proposal from private equity companies Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners.

After rejecting initial proposals from Blackstone and CVC in May, Paysafe has granted the consortium due diligence access on the basis of a possible 590p-a-share offer, which values the company at £2.8bn.

Sports Direct racked up gains for the second day in a row after rallying on Thursday as investors welcomed stronger-than-expected full-year revenue and a more upbeat outlook than anticipated, even as underlying pre-tax profit fell nearly 60%, mostly on the back of the weaker pound.

Going the other way, Acacia Mining slid as it said it is now targeting the lower end of its full-year production guidance after first-half results were dented by Tanzania’s ban on the its concentrates exports.

Homeserve retreated after saying trading in the period from 1 April to 20 July was in line with its expectations, while Euromoney fell despite its third-quarter revenue growth coming in largely as expected.

After its shares tanked on Thursday as it warned that full-year operating profit would be at the lower end of the consensus range, Moneysupermarket suffered another blow as the Information Commissioner’s Office slapped it with a £80,000 fine for ignoring customers’ marketing email opt-outs.

Capital & Counties was in the red. Earlier, the company sounded a confident note on the outlook for its Covent Garden estate, despite the uncertain economic and political environment, reiterating its medium-term estimated rental value target for it.

FTSE 250 - Risers

Paysafe Group (PAYS) 578.50p 6.73%
Sports Direct International (SPD) 349.80p 4.39%
FDM Group (Holdings) (FDM) 780.00p 2.63%
Sanne Group (SNN) 695.50p 2.43%
Synthomer (SYNT) 499.80p 2.42%
Aveva Group (AVV) 2,099.00p 2.39%
Petra Diamonds Ltd.(DI) (PDL) 112.20p 2.37%
Lancashire Holdings Limited (LRE) 736.00p 2.36%
Ladbrokes Coral Group (LCL) 118.40p 2.16%
Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) 1,409.00p 2.03%