🏷️ Abcam puts itself on the market

Good morning (and welcome back!). In today’s update - UK-headquartered Abcam put itself up for sale, GSK shares surged after settling a critical legal case, homeowners are set to be afforded a 12-month window on repossessions and Musk/Zuckerberg confirmed they’re both up for a fight.

Markets

• UK markets tumbled further on Friday, closing out a downbeat week fuelled by fears over surging interest rates.

• Homebuilders led the slide as HSBC analysts downgraded the sector, forecasting a dip in house prices.

  • Persimmon (-4%), Berkeley Group (-2.6%), Barratt Developments (-2.6%) and Bellway (-2.7%) were amongst the biggest losers.

• GSK (+4.9%) provided some support to markets after a notable legal victory (below), whilst Ocado (-5.3%) gave back some of its previous day’s takeover-led gains.

Corporate News

GSK shares rose 4.9% on Friday after the company announced it reached a first legal settlement over allegations that Zantac - its discontinued heartburn drug - caused cancer; the deal avoids a trial that would have taken place in California next month. (Link)

Chocolate retailer Hotel Chocolat issued its second profit warning in as many months, after cautioning investors that cost-cutting measures were taking longer than expected; the retailer now expects to make a “marginal” pre-tax loss for FY23. (Link)

Senior management and board members have exited Ant Financial-owned fintech WorldFirst en masse, as the Chinese giant looks to shift jobs away from the UK capital; Jack Ma-owned Ant acquired the British company in 2019 for around $700m. (Link)

Deals

Abcam has thrown up a ‘for sale’ sign after increased tensions with founder Jonathan Milner, who’s seeking a return as Executive Chairman over concerns around performance and governance; having received interest from “multiple” parties last week, the Cambridge-headquartered (and now NASDAQ-listed) biotech company announced it would launch a strategic review to “maximise shareholder value”. (The Times, Abcam)

After surging 40% the previous day on reports of a potential acquisition by Amazon, Ocado shares pulled back slightly as investors reassessed the likelihood of a bid; no announcement was made by the company or any bidder on Friday (which would have been required by the UK Takeover Code if talks were taking place). (Link)

Shareholders of FTSE 250 asset manager Rathbones have given the all-clear for an £840m merger with Johannesburg-listed investment bank Investec; the deal is subject to approvals and expected to close in late Q3/early Q4 this year. (Link)

Hampshire Trust Bank - a specialist lender owned by private equity firm Alchemy Partners - will reportedly be put up for sale after 9 years of ownership. (Link)

Economy / General

To help households through the struggle of surging interest rates, UK banks have agreed to a 12-month delay on home repossessions should borrowers face repayment difficulties. (Link)

UK consumer confidence improved for the fifth straight month in June, driven by solid wages and a resilient labour market; GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index rose to -24, from -27 in May (although the survey was taken before the BoE’s recent 50 basis point interest rate hike). (Link, GfK)

British retail sales echoed positive consumer confidence data, posting an unexpected monthly increase in May as shoppers remained resilient; retail sales rose 0.3% compared to economists’ forecasts of a 0.2% fall. (Link, ONS)

On the downside - a key survey showed the UK’s economy stumbled in June as manufacturing continued to decline and growth in the previously-strong services sector slowed; the flash PMI recorded a print of 52.8 (above 50 signals growth), down from 54 in May. (Link)

🌎 Global Snapshot

News

Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg are “dead serious” about having a scrap in the Octagon, according to UFC President Dana White; the fight will set viewers back $100 and could pull in sales of around $1bn – the “biggest fight in the world”, according to White. (Link)

Aside from offering to fight rival CEOs, Musk has also been busy preparing a $750m tender offer for SpaceX shares that would value the business at about $150bn; the valuation is a $13bn increase from January when SpaceX last tapped investors for cash. (BBG)

Citi is reportedly clamping down on its return to office guidelines, penalising staff for not adhering to its three-days-a-week policy at performance reviews and extending attendance monitoring to UK offices. (Link, BBG)

Having entered bankruptcy in May, digital media company Vice Media is reportedly being sold to its lenders Fortress Investment Group and Soros Fund Management, in a deal worth $350m. (Link)

IBM is reportedly nearing a deal to take software firm Apptio off the hands of its private equity owners, Vista; Apptio – a tool to help companies keep track of spending on software – will cost IBM around $5bn. (Link, WSJ)

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