Proactive Investors - The board of Hargreaves Lansdown PLC (LON:HRGV) has rejected a bid from a consortium of private equity and the Abu Dhabi investment fund.
A price of 985p per share was the latest of two approaches from the consortium made up of CVC Advisers, Nordic Capital, SCSP and Platinum Ivy (a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority)/
Hargreaves shares finished yesterday at 979p, after a late spike as reports of the bid filtered through, having started the day at 931p.
"The board confirms that it unanimously rejected the Proposal on the basis it substantially undervalues Hargreaves Lansdown and its future prospects," a statement this morning says, adding that it will update the market at the full year results on 9 August.
FTSE 100 to inch higher
After a two-day pullback, the FTSE 100 is predicted to hold its ground on Thursday, after confirmation that a general election is coming in six weeks.
In fact, spread-betters have called the blue-chip index four points higher, following a day when it lost 46 points to close just above 8370.
Overnight, the major US stock indices finished in the red but NVIDIA jumped 6% after the closing bell as its earnings continued to roar higher and beat Wall Street estimates.
The Dow Jones finished 0.5% lower, the S&P 500 down 0.3%, the Nasdaq Composite 0.2% and the small cap Russell 2000 dropped 0.8%.
"Markets had an eventful day yesterday, with various headlines that drove swings in both directions. As we go to press this morning, sentiment has turned more positive," says macro strategist Henry Allen at Deutsche Bank (ETR:DBKGn), pointing to futures on the S&P 500 up 0.65% following an upbeat outlook from Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA).
He said markets lost ground earlier in the day after the minutes of the latest Fed meeting were "on the hawkish side", while bonds sold off after UK inflation surprised on the upside to serve "as a reminder that the path back to target may not be a smooth one, and led investors to dial back the chance of rate cuts across Europe".
Market analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya at Swissquote Bank said the UK election news combined with the inflation print washed out the expectation of a June rate cut from the Bank of England and lifted the pound, which hit the FTSE.
"Consequently, Cable is pushing higher above the 1.27 level right now, but the upside potential will likely remain capped as – if nothing – the uncertainty surrounding the UK general election will most probably tame appetite for sterling in the next six weeks," she said.