Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio News.
Speaker 2: The Stock Movers Report, your roundup of companies making moves
Speaker 2: in the stock market, harnessing the power of Bloomberg Data.
Speaker 3: Let's take a look at some of the stocks on
Speaker 3: the move today here in Europe. I'm Caroline Hepgar with
Speaker 3: Stephen Carroll, and we're joined by Bloomberg's Breaking News editor
Speaker 3: Louise Moon. Let's start by looking at easy Jet, the
Speaker 3: latest bid.
Speaker 4: As you know, we.
Speaker 3: Could see another big UK company maybe entertaining a US takeover.
Speaker 1: Well indeed, yeah, so easy. Yet they say they've unanimously rejected.
Speaker 1: This is a fourth takeover bid from Castle Lake, which
Speaker 1: is a US investment firm. This was for six pounds
Speaker 1: fifty a share, so values easier at about or just
Speaker 1: under five billion pounds. But they've rejected that, saying it
Speaker 1: significantly undervalues it. They've got concerns, a few concerns, you know,
Speaker 1: centered around the deliverability of the offer. The only structure
Speaker 1: US entities have to have a local partner to take control,
Speaker 1: which Castleake does have. So rejected, but as you say,
Speaker 1: there is still potential for this to maybe happen. They've
Speaker 1: been sparring for weeks over a potential deal, but the
Speaker 1: opposition seems from easy yet it seems to be kind
Speaker 1: of waning.
Speaker 4: There's been a bit of a change of tone this morning.
Speaker 1: What they've done is given Castle Lake more time to
Speaker 1: come back with an even sweeter offer, so they've got
Speaker 1: until July fifth and just over a week to do that.
Speaker 1: And they've also given them access to some materials so
Speaker 1: that they can look at those and make an offer
Speaker 1: on the back of this, So there's still potential for
Speaker 1: this to maybe go through.
Speaker 4: Has to be said, Easier isn't making it easy.
Speaker 1: They did reistererate you know their strength this morning they
Speaker 1: say they're high confident in their own strategy. But you know,
Speaker 1: as you say, if it happens, this would be another
Speaker 1: big London firm leaving the London Stock Exchange as and
Speaker 1: when and Alys have got you know, a few different
Speaker 1: opinions saying you know JP Morgan for example saying easier
Speaker 1: and unlikely to see he consider offers below seven one
Speaker 1: hundred pence a share, so that would be a lot
Speaker 1: higher than Castle like have just bid.
Speaker 4: So we're waiting and seeing indeed, or we will continue
Speaker 4: to do so. Staying in London Advanced Medical Solutions. Their
Speaker 4: shares up sixteen percent at the moment.
Speaker 1: What's going on, Yeah, absolutely surging this morning, sixteen percent.
Speaker 1: As you say, this is another M and A story
Speaker 1: and a London firm that has left the Stocke changel
Speaker 1: or will do after this comes to fruition. So they've
Speaker 1: agreed to be bought by a US firm called HB Fuller.
Speaker 1: They are best known for making adhesives. They first offered
Speaker 1: to buy AMS in late April and they've been going
Speaker 1: back and forth since then. Now this has been agreed.
Speaker 1: A's for six hundred and fifty nine million pounds. That's
Speaker 1: a thirty percent premium to AMS's closing price just before
Speaker 1: the news broke that they were initially discussing a deal
Speaker 1: for HB Fuller. This is them wanting to push into healthcare.
Speaker 1: They're saying that medical is a core strategic growth market
Speaker 1: for them and it will allow them to create, you know,
Speaker 1: another business unit, a fourth business unit with in their
Speaker 1: company saying what add three hundred million dollars in revenue
Speaker 1: and for AMS, as I say, the latest company to
Speaker 1: leave London, but share searching on the back of that,
Speaker 1: they are still trading below the offer price, but up
Speaker 1: sixteen percent.
Speaker 3: Okay, lastly, talk us through the reaction to H and
Speaker 3: M's results.
Speaker 1: Less of a positive share price reactions, shares down as
Speaker 1: much as one point eight percent this morning. This is
Speaker 1: after their second quarter earnings essentially weaker than expected. They
Speaker 1: expect sales in June to be on a part with
Speaker 1: the same month last year or the previous year. But
Speaker 1: and this is saying, actually it's kind of a tale
Speaker 1: of two halves. There's positive and negatives. On the one hand,
Speaker 1: H and M are in the middle of a turnaround,
Speaker 1: and the results this morning did show some improvements in
Speaker 1: their profitability, so that's the positive side. On the other hand,
Speaker 1: there's this persistent weakness in their top line and that's
Speaker 1: not being restored or you know, made better.
Speaker 4: So current trading is disappointing.
Speaker 1: So yeah, so the questions over the turnaround efforts, if
Speaker 1: it's enough, if it's and why it's not offsetting that
Speaker 1: persistent weakness that we're seeing across retail. You know, there's
Speaker 1: a lot of competition, there's a cautious consumer, so a
Speaker 1: bit of a tail two holf An H and M
Speaker 1: slipping on the back of that second.
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