On a good day for the markets, punters that took the plunge on the Paddy Power (LON:PAP) – Betfair (LON:BET) merger got the answer they had been hoping for.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared the merger, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.
According to Nomura, the combined bookies looks set to be number one in the online gambling market in the UK.
It comes a day after the CMA said it was still considering whether or not to pass the Ladbrokes (LON:LAD) – Gala Coral merger.
While the Ladbrokes-Coral merger was announced more than a month before the Paddy Power-Betfair deal, the CMA said it has not decided whether the Ladbrokes merger would “result in a substantial lessening of competition within any market.”
Shares in Betfair lifted 38p to 3,792p, while Paddy Power gained 2p to 122p.
Ladbrokes also rose 2p to 119p, as investors shrugged off the CMA’s indecision.
It was a strong day for markets overall, with the FTSE100 climbing 1.3%, or around 80 points, to 6,140.
Leading the way on the index was Standard Chartered (LON:STAN).
The bank has poached Simon Cooper, a top executive at HSCB (LON:HSBA), to run its corporate and institutional banking division.
Additionally, reports surfaced yesterday that the Asia-focused bank has axed around six of its oil and gas advisory roles, ending attempts to build a global mergers & acquisitions (M&A) team.
Both are part of the restructuring at the bank, as chief executive Bill Winters looks to slash costs. Shares jumped 9% or 46p to 559p.
Over in the US, shares are set to open higher on Thursday as global indices raced away yesterday after the Fed became the first to raise interest rates after a period of unprecedented monetary easing.
Back in the UK, South African life insurer Old Mutual (LON:OMI) was the second best performer, rising 6% to 175p.
South Africa-focused firms continue to recover ground as President Jacob Zuma announced the well-respected Pravin Gordhan as South Africa's would be the next finance minister, his third in little more than a week.
Also higher was broker Investec (LON:INVP), which jumped 5.3% to 477p.
Staying in the mid-cap arena, Entertainment One (LON:ETO) said it has a new extended deal with DreamWorks Pictures, though a new partnership company called Amblin Partners. Shares lifted almost 4.8%, or 8p, to 179p.
In the world of the small caps, Hardide (LON:HDD) leapt some 28% to 1.2p as the surface coating technology group says its Hardide-A coating has met Airbus technical performance standards and is now available for use on some of the European aircraft maker's aircraft parts.
Conversely, Concha (LON:CHA) plummeted around 69% to 0.8p as the investment vehicle focused on mobile, internet, sports, social media, digital and technology sectors terminated talks with potential investment target.
The biggest gainer of the day was Mobile payment company Proxama (LON:PROX) after it signed US$1mln deal with an existing client.
The company also said that revenue doubled in its second half compared to the first, sending shares rocketing 86% to 1p.
LONDON OPEN
London’s blue-chip stocks rose for the third consecutive day following the Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates in the US.
The central bank of the United States on Wednesday delivered its first interest rate hike since 2006, raising by 0.25% from the 0% level seen over the last seven years.
Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “It’s the first sign that the patient is recovering well enough to be weaned off the medicine.”
In the UK, analysts were predicting what the rate hike might mean for the Bank of England.
Bretell said: “Where the Federal Reserve leads, the Bank of England could follow, but not just yet.”
He said the Fed hike “opens the door” for the BoE to make its first rise next year, though notes that conditions are not the same in the UK as they are in the US.
Meanwhile, Michael Hewson at CMC Markets, said the decision in the US gives the BoE’s Mark Carney “the opportunity to perform another about turn in the New Year, perhaps, when things come into sharper focus.”
Markets responded well to the rate hike, with the Dow Jones Industrial jumping 1.3% to 17,749. The S&P 500 surged 1.4% to 2,073. The Nasdaq Composite was also up 1.5% at 5,071.
In the UK, the FTSE100 also had the feel-good feeling, joining its American counterparts with a 1.5%, or 90 point, gain to 6,151.
There were only three fallers on the index, which saw big gains for Standard Chartered (LON:STAN).
Reports suggest the bank has axed around six of its oil and gas advisory roles, ending attempts to build a global mergers & acquisitions (M&A) team.
It’s part of the restructuring at the bank, as chief executive Bill Winters looks to slash costs. Shares jumped 6.3% or 32p to 545p.
Also higher was pharma giant AstraZneca (LON:AZN), which agreed to take a majority stake in a Dutch-US rival for US$4bn.
Astra said it was taking a 55% interest in Acerta Pharma, which is developing a drug known as acalabrutinib to treat blood cancer and solid tumours. Shares rose 48p to 4,463p.
Away from the index, Entertainment One (LON:ETO) said it has a new extended deal with DreamWorks Pictures, though a new partnership company called Amblin Partners. Shares lifted almost 4.5%, to 7p, to 178p.
In the world of the small caps, mobile payment company Proxama (LON:PROX) has signed a new US$1mln deal with an existing client as revenue doubled in its second half compared to the first.
The group said it was in line to hit £3mln in sales for the full-year. Shares rocketed 45% to 0.8p.
Conversely, Ultimate Sports Group (LON:USG) dropped around 8.5% to 25p as it raised £200,000 through the issue of 1mln shares at 20p each.
The group, which encourages children between the ages of 4 and 11 to play sport, said the funds will be used for working capital as it looks to increase the number of coaches it trains.