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M&A shakes up European shares as bid targets IWG, EDP soar

Published 14/05/2018, 08:43
© Reuters. The DAX (German stock index) logo is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt
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LONDON (Reuters) - European shares edged down in early deals on Monday after a strong run of weekly gains, while dealmaking livened up trading with Britain's IWG and Portugal's EDP both surging higher on takeover offers.

Oil stocks were the worst-performing as crude prices fell away from multi-year highs due to a surge in U.S. drilling activity and resistance in Europe and Asia to U.S. sanctions against Iran.

The STOXX 600 oil & gas index (SXEP) fell 0.4 percent, while the broad pan-European index (STOXX) hovered near flat.

Italy's FTSE MIB (FTMIB) rose 0.2 percent as investors shrugged off progress in government-forming talks between the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League.

Shares in IWG (L:IWG) shot up 21.3 percent after the British serviced office provider said it had been approached for a takeover by three rival suitors.

EDP (LS:EDP) shares climbed 8.8 percent after China's state-owned utility China Three Gorges offered $10.8 billion to take control of the Portuguese power firm.

In results-driven moves, Dutch bank ABN Amro (AS:ABNd) fell 4.6 percent after reporting a drop in first-quarter net profit due to ongoing problems in the oil sector leading to impairments on loans to shipping and offshore services clients.

© Reuters. The DAX (German stock index) logo is seen at the stock exchange in Frankfurt

Shares in Swedish property and investment company Lundbergs halved in price after a bonus 1:1 issue doubling the number of shares in the company.

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