Bayer in

Nigel Thomas
10 Jun, 2015
New York City

Bayer agreed to sell its diabetes devices business to Japan-based Panasonic Healthcare for about

[R]4:00 PM Frankfurt – Bayer agreed to sell its diabetes devices business to Japan-based Panasonic Healthcare for about €1 billion. Cap Gemini to raise €506 million. FirstGroup profit soared 39% but revenues declined 10%. Gerry Weber tumbled 31%.[/R]

In London trading, FTSE 100 index jumped 0.6% or 42.37 to 6,796.29 and in Frankfurt the DAX index climbed 1.3% or 145.23 to 11,144.78.

In Paris, CAC 40 index increased 0.6% or 30.06 to 4,882.31.

Bayer AG jumped 2.9% to €127.95 after the Germany-based conglomerate agreed to sell its diabetes devices business to Japan-based healthcare company Panasonic Healthcare Co., Ltd for about €1.02 billion or about 138 billion yen.

The transaction is expects to close in the first-quarter of next year.

Cap Gemini SA fell 0.7% to €77.17 after the France-based professional consultation services provider said it launched a stock offering of 7 million new shares priced at €75.50 a share to raise €505.8 million to finance the purchase of iGATE Corp.

On April 27, the company agreed to acquire the U.S.-based and India-focused iGATE Corp, the integrated technology and operational solutions provider for a cash consideration of $48 a share or about $4 billion.

The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter.

FirstGroup Plc climbed 4.8% to 125 pence after the U.K.-based transport company reported revenues in the year ending in March plunged 9.9% to £6.05 billion from £6.72 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the year soared 38.7% from a year ago to £75.2 million compared to £54.2 million and diluted earnings per share jumped to 6.2 pence from 5.1 pence.

The company said group finance director Chris Surch will retire as of January 8, 2016.

Gerry Weber International AG tumbled 30.7% to €20.50 after the Germany-based fashion and lifestyle retailer said the company “no longer ensured” to meet its targets for revenue and earnings for the current fiscal year.

The retailer forecasted earnings for the first-half to decline 25% or €52.5 million after products sales declined and on higher-than-expected costs of expansions.

Inditex SA slipped 1.3% to €29.61 after the Spain-based fashion accessories retailer reported group revenues in the first-quarter ending in March soared 17% to €4.37 billion from €3.75 billion in a year ago period.

Net profit in the quarter surged 28% from a year ago to €521 million compared to €406 million.

J Sainsbury Plc climbed 4.5% to 260.30 pence after the U.K.-based supermarkets and convenience stores operator said total retail sales in the first-quarter slipped 0.6% and fell 2.3% including fuel.

The retailer added comparable retail sales in the quarter dropped 2.1% and fell 3.7% including fuel.

Weir Group Plc decreased 1.9% to 1,886 pence after the engineering services provider said second quarter will be a challenging after orders declined 34% in the first five-months of 2015 in oil and gas division and lower trading at upstream businesses.