Europe Earnings: Accor, AstraZeneca, A.G. Barr, Lloyds Banking, Ophir

Nigel Thomas
27 May, 2014
New York City

Accor agreed to acquire 100 hotels in Europe for

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Accor agreed to acquire 100 hotels in Europe for €900 million. AstraZeneca fell after Pfizer walked away from its bid. A.G. Barr said revenue climbed 5.2%. Lloyds Banking plans to sell 25% stake in TSB.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index increased 0.5% or 34.42 to 6,850.17 and in Frankfurt the DAX index gained 0.4% or 43.64 to 9,936.46.

In Paris, CAC 40 index rose 0.2% or 6.77 to 4,533.70.

Accor SA increased 1.1% to €37.97 after the France-based hotel operator agreed to acquire approx 100 hotels in Germany and the Netherlands for €900 million or $1.23 billion that it had previously sold and leased back to free up capital.

AstraZeneca Plc dropped 2.1% to 4,236 pence after the U.K.-based biopharmaceutical company said in a statement that Pfizer does not intend to make an offer.

A.G. Barr Plc rose 1% to 629 pence after the U.K.-based soft drinks maker said total revenue increased 5.2% for the fifteen-week ending on May 11.

The board declared second interim-dividend of 8.19 pence per share, payable on June 6.

Lloyds Banking Group Plc gained 1.8% to 77.31 pence after the U.K.-based financial service provider intends to sell 25% stake of its TSB consumer bank through initial public offering next month.

The bank said it will offer one free share for every 20 shares acquired up to £2,000 and held for one year after the IPO.

Ophir Energy Plc declined 4.6% to 248.10 pence after the U.K.-based oil and gas explorer failed to discover significant volumes of oil and gas at Affanga offshore of Gabon and did not contain significant volumes of hydrocarbons, a second well in the area in a month that failed to meet commercial expectations.