FTSE 100 movers: Sky rallies as bidding war hots up; ITV hit by downgrade
London’s FTSE 100 was up 0.7% to 7,642.57 in afternoon trade on Thursday, recovering from heavy losses in the previous session.
Sky was among the top gainers after US media giant Comcast raised its bid for the London-listed broadcaster, while the UK government cleared a takeover by Fox.
Late on Wednesday, Comcast increased its bid to £14.75 per share from a previous offer of £12.50, trumping a sweetened £14 per share bid from Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox just hours earlier.
The company said that the offer, which implies a valuation of £26bn, has been recommended by Sky’s Independent Committee of directors.
Meanwhile, the UK government gave the green light on Thursday for Murdoch's takeover of the 61% shares in Sky it does not already own.
Paddy Power Betfair was on the rise after England was knocked out of the World Cup by Croatia, meaning there'll be no big payout to punters with big hopes for the team.
On the downside, ITV was under the cosh after Goldman Sachs downgraded the stock to ‘neutral’ from ‘buy’.
Goldman said that while ITV remains better positioned structurally than peers owing to its exposure to content, the near-term risk/reward is more balanced following recent outperformance.
"Near-term upside from the World Cup is already priced in, in our view, while additional investments could be announced at the upcoming strategy refresh," GS said.
FTSE 100 - Risers
AstraZeneca (AZN) 5,408.00p 3.01%
Micro Focus International (MCRO) 1,219.00p 2.96%
Burberry Group (BRBY) 2,071.00p 2.73%
Sky (SKY) 1,534.00p 2.68%
Compass Group (CPG) 1,638.00p 2.44%
Paddy Power Betfair (PPB) 8,500.00p 2.35%
Barratt Developments (BDEV) 511.28p 2.26%
Relx plc (REL) 1,693.00p 2.11%
TUI AG Reg Shs (DI) (TUI) 1,639.00p 1.96%
Melrose Industries (MRO) 216.30p 1.88%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 1,027.00p -1.86%
ITV (ITV) 174.90p -1.44%
International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 666.00p -0.72%
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG) 3,142.00p -0.70%
BT Group (BT.A) 226.80p -0.46%
3i Group (III) 901.20p -0.27%
Ashtead Group (AHT) 2,343.00p -0.26%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,098.50p -0.23%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 255.50p -0.20%
BHP Billiton (BLT) 1,651.60p -0.18%