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The companies in discussion are largely small- to mid-sized, making them achievable targets, as opposed to firms listed on the FTSE 100. 'DRY POWDER'One of the contributing factors for PE firms' abundance of cash, or "dry powder", is the continued buildup of uninvested capital during the pandemic, according to fund managers. During the first five months of 2023, nine listed firms on the London Stock Exchange were approached by PE firms, exceeding the number of targets in the same time period last year, according to Refinitiv data. Among those out shopping for firms, many seem attracted to these lower valuations of small- and mid-cap firms. Though firms listed on the smaller UK indexes are more domestically focused than their larger counterparts, analysts point out that nearly half of their revenue is from their international presence, making them an even more attractive purchase for PE firms.

Persons: Richard Bullas, Martin, Franklin Templeton, John Wood, Bullas, Moodley, Johann M Cherian, Shounak Dasgupta Organizations: Bank of, Network International Holdings, Hyve, Medica Group, Pharmaceuticals, PE, Martin Currie UK Equity, London Stock Exchange, Apollo, John, John Wood Group, BNP, FTSE, U.S, Thomson Locations: Bank of England, Britain, United States, 10.2x, Europe, U.S, Bengaluru

☆ Wood Group’s non-deal requires a rapid Plan B
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Ken Gilmartin needs a Plan B. The chief executive of $1.3 billion John Wood Group (WG.L) did little to encourage Apollo Global Management’s (APO.N) interest, despite the U.S. private equity house submitting no less than five separate bids for the UK infrastructure business. But now Apollo has ditched its most recent plan to buy Wood Group for 240 pence a share – and the target’s shares have slumped 35% back to 145 pence. Gilmartin and the Wood Group board reckon the company will be successful as a solo operation. But if investors were convinced, then Wood Group’s share price shouldn’t have plummeted back to around where it was when Apollo’s interest emerged in February.

☆ Wood Group shares sink after Apollo abandons 1.7 bln pound bid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The shares initially fell by as much as 40% after private equity firm Apollo said it would not go ahead with an offer following an exploratory bid last month. Representatives for Wood and Apollo declined to comment further. Under UK takeover rules, Apollo cannot launch a takeover offer for Wood for the next six months, except with the company's agreement or in the event that a rival bidder swoops in. The news comes just days after British consumer group The Hut Group (THG) (THG.L) ended takeover discussions with Apollo after concluding that a preliminary bid by the fund was based on "inadequate valuations". Last week, Wood released its first-quarter earnings, which saw the group reiterate its 2023 outlook with performance expected to be weighted to the second half of the year.

☆ European shares edge higher ahead of more Wall St earnings
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( Shubham Batra | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Rate-sensitive technology shares <.SX8P> fell 1.2% tracking overnight losses on Wall Street, while banking shares (.SX7P), which were the biggest gainers on Friday, fell 0.3% . Investors will closely monitor a slew of earnings reports led by Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and Bank of America (BAC.N) due later in the week. Last week, Citigroup Inc (C.N), JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N) beat earnings expectations, benefiting from rising interest rates and easing fears of stress in the banking system. "Cautious optimism is the Monday motivation mantra, as stronger U.S. corporate news and signs of consumer resilience help to mask ongoing worries about the knock-on effect of higher interest rates," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets, Hargreaves Lansdown. Shares of Rovio (ROVIO.HE) rose 17.8% after Japan's Sega (6460.T) agreed to launch a 706 million euro offer for Angry Birds maker.

☆ UK's THG gets buyout proposal from Apollo, shares jump
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Apollo must announce a firm intention to make an offer by May 15 or walk away, the British company said. Oil services company John Wood Group (WG.L) said on Monday it is engaging with Apollo over a possible 1.66 billion-pound offer, while CVC Capital and Francisco Partners have tabled a 2.1 billion-pound takeover bid for payments provider Network International (NETW.L). Last week, EQT entered talks with veterinary pharma group Dechra (DPH.L) over a 4.63 billion-pound deal. THG, formerly known as The Hut Group, is set to publish full-year results on Tuesday. ($1 = 0.8063 pounds)Reporting by Muhammed Husain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh KuberOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Apollo sweetens bid for Britain's Wood Group with $2.1 bln offer
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SummarySummary Companies Wood privately rejected fourth offer - ApolloWood Group's shares down 2.2%April 4 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Apollo Management has made what it said was a final offer to buy John Wood Group (WG.L) for 1.66 billion pounds ($2.1 billion) in cash, after the British oilfield services and engineering firm rejected four earlier proposals. The 240 pence per share bid represents a premium of about 55% to Wood's closing share price on Feb. 22, the day before it made Apollo's proposals public. Apollo said Wood Group had privately rejected its previous offer of around 1.64 billion pounds, that the firm had made on March 6. Shares in London-listed Wood Group were down 2.2% at 200 pence at 1516 GMT, much lower than the possible offer price, indicating that investors do not expect the deal to go through. Wood separately said it noted the sweetened possible offer from Apollo for the company, and added it continues to engage with its shareholders.

☆ Wood Group has grounds to face down Apollo
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, Feb 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - John Wood Group (WG.L) has a seriously pushy bidder. While the latest 230 pence a share one represents a 50% premium to Wood Group’s closing price on Wednesday, the target has reasonable grounds to say no. Wood Group’s latest offer implies only around seven times on the same metric. Admittedly Wood Group shares are hovering around 200 pence, far below Apollo’s offer. Still, if he’s right and Wood Group trades on the same multiple at its peers, it would be worth nearly 3.8 billion pounds.

☆ FTSE 100 falls as ex-dividend trades weigh; Rolls-Royce soars
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Shashwat Chauhan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SummarySummary Companies Rolls-Royce jumps on upbeat forecastMajor banks and healthcare stocks trade ex-divFTSE 100 down 0.3%, FTSE 250 adds 1.0%Feb 23 (Reuters) - The FTSE 100 index fell on Thursday, as banking and healthcare majors traded ex-dividend, although a surge in Rolls-Royce after it reported higher profit limited further losses. The blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE) was down 0.3%, on track for its third straight session of decline. Some banks, including Barclays (BARC.L) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L), and healthcare majors AstraZeneca (AZN.L) and GSK (GSK.L) traded without entitlement for dividend payout. The exporter-heavy FTSE 100 has had a strong start to the year, helped by some positive earnings and a stir in commodity prices, hitting record highs and breaching the 8,000 barrier level. Among individual stocks, Mondi (MNDI.L) hit the bottom of the FTSE 100, falling 6.7% after reporting its full-year results.

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