Shares in ITV (ITV) have fallen to the bottom of FTSE 100, giving back some of the gains made late on Friday, as excitement over potential renewed takeover interest from Liberty Global (LBTY.A) subsided.
Shares in the broadcaster fell 2.5% to 213.5p, holding back the UK blue-chip index, which rose just eight points to 7,331.
ITV surged late on Friday, jumping 4% to 220p, after a regulatory ownership filing that fuelled speculation in renewed interest from Virgin Media owner Liberty Global, which owns 9.9% of ITV.
The filing showed that Goldman Sachs, acting on behalf of Liberty, had increased its stake to more than a quarter of ITV’s shares.
But Liberum analyst Ian Whittaker poured cold water on excitement of a bid for the company. ‘Speaking with ITV, its explanation is that Liberty have loaned out some stock to Goldmans who in turn have loaned out and “have done some things with it” but that this is not Liberty increasing their stake,’ he said.
‘However, the statement is likely to fuel speculation on the mergers and acquisitions front.’
Micro Focus (MCRO) was the biggest riser on the FTSE 100, up 2.9% at £23.45, as the business software provider disclosed the earnings from HPE Software, the business it bought from Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
On the FTSE 250, Allied Minds (ALML) remained rooted to the bottom of the FTSE 250, down 5.4% at 288.3p, in a second day of heavy losses after Friday’s double downgrade from analysts at Jefferies.
The biggest mover was to be found on the FTSE Small Cap, where Imagination Technologies (IMG) crashed 60.3% to 106.5p after the chip maker revealed its biggest customer Apple was planning to stop using its products.