Reuters: Global Markets: Marks & Spencer bid talks boosts shares

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Marks & Spencer bid talks boosts shares Aug 24th 2012, 15:55 LONDON | Fri Aug 24, 2012 11:55am EDT LONDON (Reuters) - Persistent bid rumors surrounding British clothing and foodstores chain Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) pushed its share price up over 4 percent on Friday, as a media report added to market hopes that private equity could be getting ready to swoop. CVC Capital Partners CVC.UL has already explored taking the company private, Bloomberg said, citing people close to the matter, but added that the firm is not thought to be currently pursuing a bid. M&S shares closed up 3.9 percent at 370.5 pence, the biggest gainer and the most actively traded stock in the FTSE 100 .FTSE index, with several traders attributing the rise to the report. "If I were you, I would not spend too much time on this," a source familiar with CVC's thinking told Reuters. M&S shares have risen around 10 percent since the beginning of August amidst reports of private equity or sovereign wealth fund interest. In May the 128-year-old group posted its first drop in annual profits in three years, as even its relatively older and more affluent shoppers feel the chill of recession in Britain. Its share price dropped 15 percent between the start of April and mid July, when the price began to turn up again, but with a market capitalization of around 5.7 billion pounds ($9 billion) any prospective buyer of the firm would still need deep pockets at a time when the debt markets remain tight. A spokeswoman for Marks & Spencer said the company would not comment on rumor and speculation. ($1=0.6323 British pounds) (Reporting by Rosalba O'Brien, Sophie Sassard and Simon Jessop; Editing by Greg Mahlich) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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