FTSE 250 movers: M&A lights fire under oil equipment stocks

Shares in Paddy Power and Betfair surged on Wednesday as they announced they have agreed in principle to a possible merger that would create one of the world’s largest public online betting and gaming companies by revenue.

OneSavings Bank reported a sharp jump in profitability, with underlying profits before taxes soaring 60% to £47.6m. "OSB does not look expensive being valued at 10.4 times´ earnings but we believe current operating conditions are exceptionally positive and that eventually margins will fall and impairments will increase [...] "We observe that businesses such as Virgin Money and others are increasingly focusing on the core OSB market segment. Until Lloyds, RBS etc. start to turn the taps on, we believe atractive volumes and margins will remain freely available to the specialist providers like OSB," broker Numis told clients following the release of the bank´s latest interims.

Oilfield equipment stocks such as James Fisher and Sons and Hunting were wanted after NYSE-listed Schlumberger announced it would pay a 37% premium to acquire oilfield equipment maker Cameron for a total transaction value of $14.8bn in cash and shares. The US oilfield services giant was looking to strengthen its technological edge, defying range-bound commodity prices and recent volatility in global financial markets.

Petrofac was also high on the FTSE 250 leaderboard after analysts at Barclays said the shares were "significantly undervalued" with the 90% upside to their target price of 1,400p justifying their decision to keep it as their top pick'.´

Pork producer Cranswick has not been affected by a slump in the Chinese stock market, chief executive officer Adam Couch has said, the Hull Daily Mail reported.