19 April 2021 | 08:28am
StockMarketWire.com - UK stocks made modest gains in early trading Monday as investors continue to bet on a global economic recovery while vaccine rollouts gather pace.
At 0816, the benchmark FTSE 100 index was up 12.24 points, or 0.2%, at 7,031.77.
Engineering group Melrose Industries edged up 0.1% to 179.1p, having agreed to sell its Nortek Air Management business to Chicago-based Madison Industries for around £2.62 billion ($3.625 billion).
Melrose Industries said a portion of the proceeds would be returned to shareholders, without specifying how much. It also intended to use them to cut debt and contribute around £100 million to pension schemes.
Gas company Energean fell 3.5% to 827p after it reported a widening of annual pre-tax losses to $113.6 million amid lower energy prices.
19 April 2021 | 07:06am
StockMarketWire.com - Engineering company Melrose Industries said it had agreed to sell its Nortek Air Management business to Chicago-based Madison Industries for around £2.62 billion ($3.625 billion).
Melrose Industries said a portion of the proceeds would be returned to shareholders, without specifying how much.
It also intended to use the proceeds to cut debt and contribute around £100 million to GKN s defined benefit pension schemes.
Completion of the deal, which was struck at a multiple of 12.5 times 2020 adjusted earnings, was expected in the second or third quarter of 2021 and was conditional on shareholder approval. The disposal demonstrates the strength of the Melrose strategy, chairman Justin Dowley said.
UPDATE 2-FTSE 100 drops on stronger pound; Melrose top loser Reuters 4/19/2021 By Devik Jain and Shashank Nayar
(For a Reuters live blog on U.S., UK and European stock markets, click LIVE/ or type LIVE/ in a news window)
Popular Searches Pound jumps 1% to hit a one-month high British footfall at stores jumped 87.8% last week - report FTSE 100 down 0.3%, FTSE 250 drops 0.1% (Updates to close)
By Devik Jain and Shashank Nayar
April 19 (Reuters) - London’s FTSE 100 ended lower on Monday, dragged down by a stronger pound and as weaker oil prices weighed on energy firms, with Melrose the worst performer on the index after it decided to sell its air management unit.
2 Min Read
(Reuters) -Melrose Industries has agreed to sell its Nortek Air Management business for about 2.62 billion pounds ($3.63 billion) and plans to use the proceeds to pay down debt, reduce a UK pension deficit and return cash to shareholders.
The British engineer, which purchased Nortek for 2.2 billion pounds in 2016, said on Monday it expects the sale of the business to Chicago-based buyout specialist Madison Industries to close in the second or third quarter of this year.
Melrose’s London-listed shares gained 1.7% in early trade.
Nortek, Melrose’s third largest division by revenue, manufactures heating, ventilation and air conditioning products for residential and commercial customers mostly in North America.
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