Continental Net Climbs, Fosun Acquires 5% Stake in Thomas Cook

Nigel Thomas
06 Mar, 2015
New York City

Continental net surged 24% to

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Continental net surged 24% to €2.4 billion and lifted sales outlook. Thomas Cook surged 24% after Fosun agreed to acquire 5% stake for £92 million. Unibail-Rodamco agreed to sell its asset to TIAA Henderson for €176 million. Wendel lowered Bureau Veritas stake for €1 billion.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index slipped 0.4% or 30.51 to 6,930.63 and in Frankfurt the DAX index gained 0.4% or 48.17 to 11,552.18.

In Paris, CAC 40 index rose 0.2% or 8.64 to 4,972.15.

Continental AG gained 0.6% to €71.47 after the Germany-based automobile parts maker reported sales in the year ending in December jumped 3.5% to €34.51 billion from €33.33 billion a year ago period.

Net profit in the year surged 23.5% from a year ago to €2.38 billion compared to €1.92 billion and earnings per share climbed to €11.88 from €9.62.

The company forecasted sales for the fiscal 2015 to climb 9% to €37.5 billion and EBIT margin is estimated to be 10.5%.

Thomas Cook Group surged 24.1% to 149.60 pence after the U.K.-based leisure travel group and China-based conglomerate Fosun International agreed to acquire 5% stake for £91.8 million or $140.12 million and plans to increase its stake to 10% in the company.

Unibail-Rodamco SA slid 0.2% to €167.70 after the France-based real estate developer agreed to sell its Sweden-based Nova Lund Shopping Centre to TIAA Henderson real estate for about €176 million or 1.64 billion kronor.

The transaction is expected to close in third-quarter.

Weir Group Plc climbed 5.4% to 1,832 pence on a report that the engineering service provider may be targeted for a takeover offer by the U.S. private equity consortium.

Wendel SA fell 0.4% to €110.90 after the France-based investment company agreed to reduce its stake by 10% in certification group Bureau Veritas at €20.32 per share or for €1 billion.

The company retains its stake of more than 40% and 56% of voting rights in Bureau Veritas.