Once the details of the proposed merger – that's German for takeover – of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with Deutsche Börse emerged, the LSE was effectively in play.
Confirmation that the LSE is regarded as the junior partner in what the Financial Times (FT) has called a “love-in” came in the form of a stock market announcement from the New York-listed Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE), which said it is considering making an offer for the LSE.
Perhaps we ought to throw in the Bank of England and Buckingham Palace in an attempt to persuade them to take one of our most prestigious institutions off our hands, what with London being such a financial backwater and all?
The FT has managed to crowbar in a Brexit angle, asking whether the special relationship (that's American for you still owe us big time for WWII) or ever closer union (that's French for when will you start taking the Eurovision Song Contest seriously?) will prevail.
The possibility of Britain voting to exit the European Union certainly muddies the waters. The EU is not exactly bending over backwards to support the Anglo-Saxon financial model while Britain is still in the EU and it is even less likely to be accommodating should Britain turn its back on Europe.
All of which reminds me, for some reason, of the doomed attempt a few years back by baked goods maker Greggs (LON:GRG) to introduce the Belgians (I think) to the delights of Cornish pasties, sausage rolls, Bakewell tarts and … er … Belgian buns.
The hot snacks group announced this morning it would shut three of its 12 bakeries, which means residents of Edinburgh, Twickenham and Sleaford will no longer wake up with an inexplicable urge to gorge on a hot pastry as the smell of freshly baked comestibles wafts across the tenements.
More importantly, up to 355 jobs will be lost as the food-on-the-go retailer has decided the three bakery sites are not suitable for long-term investment “due to their location and size”.
There is a fair amount of mergers & acquisitions activity today, including the proposed disposal of the Synergy Business for £20.25mln by Tribal Group (LON:TRB), the provider of software and services to the education management market.
In that vein, here is a test for you.
If Tribal Group was worth £37.5mln at last night's close, and this morning has announced plans to raise £20.25mln by selling an asset, how much should it be worth now?
a) £37.5mln
b) £50mln
c) £57.75mln
The answer is B, apparently, at least according to the market, but I am blowed if I know why. The shares are up 33%.
Meanwhile, the company that is proposing to buy Synergy, Servelec Group (LON:SERV), has also seen its shares rise, albeit by a lesser amount, namely 7%.
Is this the proverbial win-win?
Has anyone told Deutsche Börse?