Bid fever hit the FTSE 100 this afternoon with news billionaire retailer Philip Green may make a pitch to buy Marks & Spencer, helping send the index up 15.30 points to 4,453.60 by the close.
M&S was the best performer, adding 54.5p, or more than 18% to 345p. Boots added 43.5p to 675.5p on its own good news about rising profits. Even Sainsbury joined the party, adding 8.25p to 274p on speculation it too like M&S could become a target at current share price levels. MmO2 gained 3p to 96.5p after moves by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka Shing to buy a stake in a high speed telecoms venture – which includes MmO2 - from NTT DoCoMo for a fraction of the price paid by the Japanese carrier a few years ago. Barclays had a stinker, falling 11.75p to 484.5p after admitting it is unl...
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