Lloyds Banking upgrade, Vodafone merger |
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| Economy | |
| Written by Gary Howes | |
| Monday, 29 June 2009 | |
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The morning business news, Monday 29 June: Vodafone, Lloyds, National Express and Anglo American.
The prospects of the UK government realising profit from their investment in the Lloyds Banking Group (LON:LLOY) grew along with a Goldman Sachs recommendation this morning. Goldman Sachs raised its recommendation on the stock to “buy” from “neutral,” saying the lender will be a “key beneficiary” of higher market share concentration in the U.K. Vodafone and T-MobileVodafone (LON:VOD) is in the hunt for T-Mobile UK, a move that would make the firm the biggest mobile phone operator in the UK, the Financial Times has said. The Newbury-based firm is interested in acquiring T-Mobile, even though the deal may be blocked by regulators, the paper said. Vodafone has a 25% share of the UK market, behind O2. T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom, has a 15% share. T-Mobile UK is understood to have been placed on the market by Deutsche Telekom, its owner, which has appointed JPMorgan to advise it on its options. National ExpressNational Express (LON:NEX) has rejected an unsolicited takeover bid from its larger rival FirstGroup in a surprise development likely to put further pressure on the bus and rail operator. News of the board’s decision to spurn the offer comes ahead of a trading update on Wednesday and only a week after the company agreed a deal with bankers to ease restrictions on its £1.2bn debt. National Express’s future has been called into question by the government’s refusal to renegotiate the terms of its East Coast rail franchise between London and Edinburgh. Analysts said the approach from FirstGroup suggested an agreement with the Department for Transport was imminent, the FT reports. Anglo AmericanAnglo American (LON:AAL), the mining conglomerate that is being stalked by Xstrata, its Swiss-based rival, is in talks with Dubai Natural Resources World to co-develop iron ore assets in Brazil. The discussions with the Gulf company, owned by the Emirate of Dubai, come after separate talks with other potential investors, including Chinalco, the Chinese state-owned metals group, although these are not expected to result in a deal, the Times reports.
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