UK Indexes Drop; Betfair IPO

Arthi Gupta
22 Oct, 2010
New York City

The UK indexes fell after miners led the decline. Ireland with 14.4% registered largest budget deficit in the European Union in 2009. MasterCard completed acquisition of DataCash. Betfair priced IPO at 1,300 pence per share. State Street unit agreed to acquire Bank of Ireland Asset Management. BSkyB profit soars.

[R]5:30 PM London – The UK indexes fell after miners led the decline. Ireland with 14.4% registered largest budget deficit in the European Union in 2009. MasterCard completed acquisition of DataCash. Betfair priced IPO at 1,300 pence per share. State Street unit agreed to acquire Bank of Ireland Asset Management. BSkyB profit soars.[/R]

In London, FTSE 100 Index traded lower 16.49 or 0.29% to 5,741.37 and the pound edged lower to close at $1.5676. For the week, the index gained 0.67%.

The Bank of England policy maker Andrew Sentance said in an interview on BBC West Midlands radio that the UK recovery showed signs of momentum, led by manufacturing. He noted the British economy will weather the harshest public spending cuts since the World War II and repeated his call for a gradual increase in the key interest rate.

According to the latest data from the statistics office Eurostat, no member of the European Union recorded a government surplus in 2009 and Ireland registered the biggest shortfall in the region.

The largest government deficits as percentage of GDP were recorded in Ireland and the UK as estimated in April. In Ireland, the deficit was 14.4% of GDP, revised from 14.3%. The second biggest shortfall was in the UK, at 11.4%, revised from 11.5%.

AstraZeneca plc, the drug maker said that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use or CHMP in European Union issued a positive opinion on the marketing authorization application for its nasal spray vaccine Fluenz for prevention of seasonal influenza in children.

MasterCard, Inc., the payment transaction company completed the acquisition of DataCash Group plc at a price of 360 pence per share in cash, representing £334 million or $526 million in aggregate.

According to the company, the acquisition of DataCash expands its existing e-Commerce merchant gateway presence in Asia and Australia to European countries and emerging markets.

State Street Corp. said its investment management business, State Street Global Advisors, agreed to acquire Bank of Ireland Asset Management for consideration of about €57 million, which includes estimated net assets of the business of €14 million. Bank of Ireland Asset Management is a subsidiary of Bank of Ireland.

Scotty Group PLC said it received a purchase order from Diamond Aircraft Industries GmbH for the provision of aero-certified communications equipment for five DA42 MPP aircraft to be supplied by Diamond under a deal they have recently signed with an Asian government.

According to the company, the total value of the order to SCOTTY is €2.84 million and majority of the equipment is expected to be delivered during the 2010 last quarter and remaining in the 2011 first quarter.

Betfair Group Plc announced that the offer price of its shares has been set at 1,300 pence per share. Based on the offer price, the total market capitalization at the commencement of conditional dealings would be around £1.39 billion.

The company said the offer comprises the sale of 16.23 million existing shares, prior to the exercise of the over-allotment option, by shareholders of the company, representing around 15.2% of the total of 106.93 million shares which would be in issue at Admission.

Reckitt Benckiser Gp, the consumer goods company said that its Chief Financial Officer Colin Day will leave the company.

Gainers & Losers

BAE Systems Plc gained 0.34% to 358.40 pence after the defense products maker agreed the disposal of its Container Solutions assets used by the U.S. Army in Colorado to Rocky River Holdings LLC for cash consideration of around $1 million.

British Sky Broadcasting Group PLC rose 0.57% to 701.50 pence after the satellite television provider reported first quarter revenue climbed 15% to £1.53 billion from £1.33 billion in the same period last year, with strong growth in subscription, advertising and wholesale businesses. Net profit in the quarter surged 78% to £228 million or 13 pence per share, compared to net profit of £128 million or 7.3 pence per share last year.

Legal & General Group Plc dropped 0.58% to 103.70 pence after the provider of investment and insurance services, published its headline third quarter new business numbers, reporting a total worldwide APE of £466 million. In a trading statement, the company said new funds for the quarter were £5.63 billion. For the 9 months, total worldwide APE was £1.35 billion compared to £1.06 billion in the previous year.

PartyGaming Plc declined 0.11% to 271.20 pence and the online casino said in its interim report revenues increased 9% annually with growth in all products except poker.

For the third quarter, the company said group revenue increased 9% to €85.3 million from €78.3 million last year. Casino revenue grew 2% to €34.9 million, helped by content and jackpot improvements on PartyCasino. Poker revenue declined 5% to €29.6 million, hurt by continued pressure from U.S.-facing sites which was partially mitigated by growth in newly regulated markets.

Provident Financial plc soared 4.53% to 808.00 pence after the financial services company said its performance for the nine months to September 30 was in line with its expectations. The company said that trends in the recent weeks have added to management confidence of delivering “a good result” for the year.