FTSE lifted by Carlton and Granada's second merger attempt

A merger between Granada and Carlton is back on the cards again this morning, boosting confidence in trading as well as the performance of the FTSE 100. Granada saw its shares jump 6p or 9% to 72.5p and Carlton Communications leapt 10.25p or 9.1% to 123.25 p after it was announced Granada, the biggest ITV network, would take over the company. Payment is likely to be as 68% of the combined company and £200m. The last attempt to merge these two companies collapsed two years ago when Carlton attempted to take over Granada. The FTSE 100 index added 96.00 points or 2.5% to 3873.10 but ...