UK Indexes Gain On China Exports Report

Arthi Gupta, Mayank Mehta and Sanjay Barot
09 Jun, 2010
New York City

The UK indexes traded higher after Reuters reported a surge in China''s total exports in May, ahead of the data''s official release on Thursday. Allscripts and Eclipsys to merge in an all-stock deal valued at $1.3 billion. Autonomy to acquire CA Technologies Information Governance business.

[R]4:00 PM London – The UK indexes traded higher after Reuters reported a surge in China''s total exports in May, ahead of the data''s official release on Thursday. Allscripts and Eclipsys to merge in an all-stock deal valued at $1.3 billion. Autonomy to acquire CA Technologies Information Governance business.[/R]

UK stocks gained on reports that a surge in new loans and a robust export growth in May helped China''s economy. The gain was led by banks and miners. UK trade deficit rises in April.

In London FTSE 100 Index traded higher 44.12 or 0.88% to 5,072.27 and the pound edged higher to close at $1.454 and close at €1.211.

The UK trade deficit in goods and services increased to £3.3 billion in April, compared to a deficit of £3.2 billion in March. The goods deficit increased to £7.3 billion in April broadly unchanged from March. Exports and imports fell £0.1 billion in April.

Permanent staff placements in the United Kingdom continued to rise in May, although growth eased for the second month running, according to a report from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and KPMG today. Temporary staff placements also rose at a strong rate. Higher job placements were underpinned by a further improvement in demand for staff in May.

""The U.K. job market recovery continues albeit at a slower pace than in the previous months,"" said Bernard Brown, partner and head of business services at KPMG. ""While demand for staff from the private sector remains strong in some areas, the figures suggest that hiring activity in the public sector has started to slow down,"" he said.

Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, Inc. said it has signed a deal with healthcare IT company Eclipsys Corp. to merge in an all-stock transaction valued at around $1.3 billion.

According to the terms of deal, stockholders of Eclipsys will receive 1.2 shares of Allscripts for each share of Eclipsys, a premium of 19% based on the June 8 closing price.

The transaction is subject to stockholder approvals from both Allscripts and Eclipsys, and other customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including expiration or termination of any applicable waiting period under Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended.

Misys will be selling a minimum of nearly 36 million of its Allscripts shares in the secondary offering to the public. Additionally, Allscripts will buy back from Misys, concurrent with the closing of the secondary offering, about 24.4 million of its Allscripts shares at a price of $18.82 per share or $460 million in total, plus a payment of a premium of $117.4 million with regard to the sale by Misys of its controlling interest for a total of $577.4 million.

After the buyback and secondary offering, Misys is expected to hold a total of approximately 15.5 million shares.

Autonomy Corp. plc, the infrastructure software company said today that it intends to acquire the Information Governance business of IT management software and solutions company CA Technologies for further strengthening Autonomy''s leadership position in Meaning Based Governance. The company noted that the acquisition, whose terms were not disclosed, is expected to close early in the third quarter.

The acquisition includes CA Records Manager, a market leader in federated and physical records management and CA Message Manager, an industry leading solution for capturing and managing all messages according to corporate and regulatory requirements.

Pursuant to the acquisition, CA Technologies Information Governance employees will join Autonomy.

Jacob Lamm, CA Technologies Executive Vice President for Strategy and Corporate Development said, ""This deal works for both CA Technologies and Autonomy and, most of all, for the customers of CA Records Manager and CA Message Manager who will continue to have access to leading edge information governance products.""

Autonomy Corp. plc ((AU.L)) shares rose 28.00 pence or 1.58% and are currently trading at 1,796.00 pence on the LSE.

CA Technologies ((CA)) shares closed Tuesday''s regular trading at $19.07 on the Nasdaq.

Gainers & Losers

ASOS plc rose 4.5% to 661.50 pence after the online fashion retailer said fiscal year 2010 revenues rose 35% to £223 million from £165.4 million a year ago. Net profit for the year rose 46% to £14.6 million or 18.7 pence per diluted share compared to net profit of £10.0 million or 12.8 pence per share a year ago.

Autonomy Corporation plc, the software firm rose 1.3% to 1,792.00.

Blinkx Plc rose 6.6% to 40.00 pence after the video search engine firm today launched four custom browser “add-ons” that will turn everyday Internet browsing into a true video experience for Windows Internet Explorer 8 users.

FirstGroup plc, the rail and bus operator fell 0.8% to 371.20 pence.

Hampson Industries PLC fell 7.5% to 49.00 pence after the aerospace components maker said fiscal year 2010 revenues fell 30.5% to £178.3 million from £256.6 million a year ago. Net profit for the year was £16.5 million or 9.57 pence per diluted share compared to net loss of £11.2 million or 7.64 pence per share a year ago.

IG Group Holdings plc, the financial derivatives trading company surges 10.9% to 435.00 pence.

Misys plc, the global applications software and services company surges 19.3% to 266.70 pence.

The Monks Investment Trust Plc rose 1.2% to 287.40 pence.

Tullow Oil plc, the oil and gas producer fell 1.1% to 1,091.00 pence.

UK Commercial Property Trust Limited rose 1.8% to 78.30 pence after the closed-ended investment company and F&C Commercial Property announced that they have reached an agreement on the terms of a recommended acquisition of the assets of FCPT by UKCPT.