Last checked at 
(Alliance News) - Lord Rothermere, the controlling shareholder of Daily Mail & General Trust, is prepared to make an offer to take the newspaper publisher private, if two business disposals currently being discussed take place, the company said on Monday.
DMGT confirmed it is in discussions to sell its Insurance Risk division, following "enquiries from third parties". It said the terms of the proposed sale would realise a "premium valuation" for DGMT shareholders, and it would return the sale proceeds as a 610 pence per share special dividend. This would be in addition to the direct distribution of shares in used car retailer Cazoo.
Following that, Rothermere Continuation Ltd would be prepared to make a 251p per share cash offer to take the remainder of DMGT private. This would give an enterprise value to the remainder of DGMT of GBP810 million, the company said.
DMGT shares were trading up 4.8% early Monday at GBP1,090.00p. The company has a market capitalisation of about GBP2.3 billion.
Here is what you need to know at the London market open:
----------
MARKETS
----------
FTSE 100: down 0.5% at 7,088.79
----------
Hang Seng: up 0.7% at 27,530.29
Nikkei 225: closed up 2.3% at 28,569.02
DJIA: closed up 448.23 points, or 1.3%, at 34,870.16
S&P 500: closed up 48.73 points, or 1.1%, at 4,369.55
Nasdaq Composite: closed up 142.13 points, or 1.0%, at 14,701.92
----------
EUR: up at USD1.1868 (USD1.1856)
GBP: up at USD1.3890 (USD1.3831)
USD: flat at JPY110.23 (JPY110.20)
GOLD: down at USD1,801.21 per ounce (USD1,809.40)
OIL (Brent): down at USD75.26 a barrel (USD75.70)
(changes since previous London equities close)
----------
ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
----------
Monday's Key Economic Events still to come
EU Eurogroup meeting of eurozone finance ministers
----------
England is "tantalisingly close" to lifting all remaining coronavirus restrictions, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said, as he is expected to push ahead with the next stage of unlocking. The prime minister will host a press conference on Monday where he is expected to say that the country can move to step four of the plan to lift measures, including ending the legal requirement to wear masks. But he will also warn cases will rise as rules designed to suppress the coronavirus are removed. Johnson will host a press conference on Monday afternoon while Health Secretary Sajid Javid will announce the plans in Parliament.
----------
Business confidence in the UK is continuing to improve as firms look ahead to the lifting of lockdown restrictions later this month, according to a new report. Business advisory firm BDO LLP said manufacturing is driving the optimism amid an improved global economic outlook, as the effects of the vaccine rollout begin to be felt by economies across the world. Kaley Crossthwaite of BDO LLP, said businesses were looking forward to the lifting of restrictions on July 19, adding: "After a gruelling year of unpredictable change, the ending of restrictions is timely, although rising Covid-19 cases still leave an element of uncertainty."
----------
Spending by UK businesses is set to surge in the coming months with takeovers in the sights of boardrooms, according to new data. More than half of UK finance chiefs said they have also seen a full recovery in demand for their businesses, or expect to by the end of the year, the latest Deloitte chief financial officer survey found. In a shift away from last year's top priority of cost reduction at the height of the pandemic, more than three-quarters of finance chiefs now expect rises in capital expenditure. About 76% also said they expect to see increases in hiring over the year ahead – with expectations for both recruiting and spending at their highest levels in almost seven years. A takeover is a top priority for nearly one in three – the highest level for 11 years.
----------
Japan's machine tool orders growth slowed to 96% year-on-year in June, from 142% in May. "The slowdown had to happen due to the unwinding of hugely favourable base effects," said Pantheon Macroeconomics Chief Asia Economist Freya Beamish. "The continued rise, 2.5% month-on-month, on our adjustment, was surprising after continuous gains for over a year." In contrast, foreign orders fell for the first time in a year, by 4.5%, after a 2.7% increase in May. "The data, therefore, present an early caveat for world industrial activity. Admittedly, trend in foreign orders has been extremely strong, and remains so for now. But the tick down could represent a turning point," added Beamish.
----------
BROKER RATING CHANGES
----------
RBC RAISES HAYS TO 'OUTPERFORM' (SECTOR PERFORM) - PRICE TARGET 195 (150) PENCE
----------
RBC RAISES PAGEGROUP TO 'OUTPERFORM' (SECTOR PERFORM) - PRICE TARGET 700 (525) PENCE
----------
JEFFERIES RAISES AO WORLD TO 'BUY' ('HOLD') - TARGET 400 PENCE
----------
COMPANIES - FTSE 250
----------
Tate & Lyle said it has agreed to sell a controlling stake in a new company and its subsidiaries, comprising its Primary Products business in North America and Latin America and its interests in the Almidones Mexicanos and DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio-Products joint ventures. The assets will be sold to KPS Capital Partners. Tate & Lyle said it expects to receive gross cash proceeds of USD1.3 billion, resulting in net cash proceeds of USD1.2 billion after adjustments and transaction costs. Following completion, the company said it intends to return GBP500 million to Tate & Lyle's shareholders through a special dividend and associated share consolidation. Completion is expected in the first quarter of 2022. Tate & Lyle and KPS will each own 50% of new company - valued at around USD1.7 billion - with KPS having board and operational control.
----------
Online trading provider Plus500 said its financial position remains robust and cash balances are healthy. The company's revenue in the six months to the end of June was USD346.2 million, down from USD564.2 million posted for the first half of 2020, though up from 148.0 million in the same period of 2019. Customer Income, a key underlying growth metric for Plus500, reached USD379.2 million, lower than USD556.9 million a year earlier but up from USD175.0 million in 2019. Plus500 said 136,980 new customers were onboarded during the recent half year, down from 198,176 a year before but up 47,540 two years before. The company noted that its results reflect regulatory changes implemented in Australia during the period, the impact of which it is still assessing. Plus500 said it remains confident about its performance during the remainder of 2021 and beyond.
----------
Product review platform Trustpilot Group said it expects to report total revenue of USD62 million for the six months to the end of June, representing 31% growth over a prior year, or 22% growth at constant currency. Trustpilot said it sees its annual recurring revenue at USD134 million, compared to USD99 million a year ago, representing 27% constant currency growth. The company said it expects high-teens constant-currency revenue growth for the full year. "We are encouraged by the progress we have made in the first half of the year and the board remains confident in the strategy and outlook for the business," said Chief Executive Peter Holten Muhlmann.
----------
Dechra Pharmaceuticals reported a stronger-than-expected trading performance. The company said it delivered year-on-year organic revenue growth, supplemented by the product acquisitions of Osurnia and Mirataz. Dechra said revenue for the financial year to June 30 increased by 21% at constant exchange rate or by 18% at actual exchange rate. "We are pleased to have continued to outperform a robust market throughout the pandemic affected financial year. We have benefited from above average market growth in the majority of our key CAP markets," said Chief Executive Ian Page.
----------
COMPANIES - MAIN MARKET AND AIM
----------
Clothing retailer ASOS has formed a joint-venture with US-based multi-channel retailer, Nordstrom, which will invest for a minority interest in the Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge and HIIT brands. ASOS said the joint-venture will help drive the growth of these brands and paves the way for exploration of a new wider strategic partnership aimed at building greater awareness and engagement in the US and Canadian market. Under the joint-venture agreement, ASOS said it will retain operational and creative control, but work with Nordstrom to "leverage its US market expertise and extensive customer reach".
----------
Monday's Shareholder Meetings
Charles Stanley Group PLC - AGM
BrandShield Systems PLC - AGM
Gabelli Value Plus+ Trust PLC - GM re voluntary liquidation
Triple Point VCT 2011 PLC - AGM
Urban Logistics REIT PLC - AGM
----------
By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
