欧洲股市异动：AMS飙升、易捷航空上涨、H&M下跌

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Let's take a look at some of the stocks on the move today here in Europe. I'm Caroline Heker with Steven Carol and we're joined by Bloomberg's breaking news editor, Louise Moon. Let's start by looking at EasyJet, the latest bid uh as um you know, we could see another big UK company maybe entertaining a US takeover.

Well, indeed. Yeah. So, EasyJet, they say they've unanimously rejected. This is a fourth takeover bid from Castle Lake, which is a US um investment firm. This was for650 a share. So, it values Easjet at about or just under5 billion, but they've rejected that, saying it significantly undervalues it. They've got concerns, a few concerns, um, you know, centered around the deliverability of the offer, the ownership structure.

US entities have to have a local partner to take control, which Castle Lake does have. Um, so rejected, but as you say, there is still potential for this to maybe happen. They've been sparring for weeks over a potential deal, but the opposition seems to from EasyJet seems to be kind of waning. There's been been a bit of a change of tone this morning. What they've done is given Castle Lake more time to come back with an even sweeter offer.

So they've got until July 5th, just over a week to do that. Um, and they've also given them access to some materials so that they can look at those and and make an offer on the back of this. So there's still potential for this to maybe go through. Has to be said easy isn't making it easy. They did reiterate, you know, their strength this morning. They said they're highly confident in their own strategy. Um but you know as as you say if it happens this would be another big London firm leaving uh the London stock exchange as and and when and analysts have got you know a few a few different opinions saying you know JP Morgan for example saying is unlikely to seriously consider offers below 700 p a share.

So that would be a lot higher than Castle Lake um have just bid. So we're we're waiting and seeing.

Indeed. Well we will continue to do so. staying in London. Advanced Medical Solutions, their shares up 16% at the moment. What's going on?

Yeah, absolutely surging this morning. 16% as you say. This is um another M&A story and and a London firm that has left uh the stock exchange or or will do after this um comes to fruition. So, they've agreed to be bought by a US firm called HB Fuller. They are best known for making adhesives. Um they first offered to buy AMS in late April and they've been going back and forth since then. Now, this has been agreed. is for £659 million.

That's a 38% premium to AMS's closing price uh just before the news broke um that they were initially discussing a deal for HB Fuller. This is them wanting to push into healthcare. Um they're saying that medical is a core strategic growth market for them. Um and it will allow them to create, you know, another business unit, a fourth business unit within their company, saying it will add $300 million in in revenue. Um and for for AMS, as I say, the latest company to uh leave London, but share surging on the back of that, they are still trading below the offer price, but up 16%.

H okay. Uh lastly, talk us through the reaction to H&M's results. Less of uh a positive share price reactions. Um shares down as much as 1.8% this morning. This is after the second quarter earnings, essentially weaker than expected. they expect sales in June to be on a par with the same month last year or the previous year. Um but analysts are saying actually it's a kind of a tale of two halves. There's positives and negatives.

On the one hand, um H&M are in the middle of a turnaround and the results this morning did show some improvements in their profitability. So that's the positive side. On the other hand, there's this persistent weakness in their topline and that's not being restored or or you know made better. So current trading is disappointing. Um, so yeah, so there's questions over the turnaround efforts, if it's enough, if it's um, and why it's not, you know, offsetting that persistent weakness that we're seeing across retail.

You know, there's a lot of competition. There's a cautious consumer. Um, so a bit of a tale of two halves and and H&M slipping on the back of that second quarter report.

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