Friday 23 December, 10:15 AM GMT (Thomson Financial): European markets are
trading quietly higher ahead of the festive holidays. However, there is some
M&A activity, with steel group Arcelor trumping ThyssenKrupp's agreed bid for
Canada's Dofasco, while healthcare group AstraZeneca has agreed to pay US$210
million for KuDOS Pharmaceuticals. Meanwhile, shares in SAM international are
solidly higher after the company agreed to a business review.
London's FTSE-100 Index is up by 3.00 points or 0.05% to 5600.00, while
Paris's CAC-40 Index has added 9.59 points or 0.20% to 4761.55. Frankfurt' s
DAX Index is higher by 15.57 points or 0.29% to 5413.85 and Milan's S&P MIB
Index has risen by 44 points or 0.12% to 35,880. The pan-European blue chip
Dow Jones Stoxx 50 Index has climbed by 6.94 points or 0.21% to 3358.54.
* Steel group Arcelor has upped its offer for Canadian group Dofasco to
63 Canadian dollars per share, valuing the group at 4.88 billion
dollars. Arcelor's new offer for the company trumps a recommended 61.5
dollars per share bid by ThyssenKrupp.
* AstraZeneca has agreed to pay US$210 million for KuDOS
Pharmaceuticals, a privately owned healthcare firm that focuses on
oncology. KuDOS's KU59436 compound is currently undergoing phase I
clinical development.
* Shares in ASM International -- which designs and manufactures equipment
and materials used to produce semiconductor devices- are trading
sharply higher after the company said it would review its policy of
combining its wafer processing operations and its assembly and
packaging activities at a shareholder meeting to be held next May. The
company's decision came after pressure from some shareholders.
Olivier.Masson@Thomson.com; Thomson Financial
This is Thomson Financial Corporate Services Europe Market Commentary. The
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SOURCE Thomson Financial Corporate Group
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