Virgin Money
Wire reports this morning are confirming that Virgin Money is set to be consumed by CYBG plc in an all share offer. Virgin Money shareholders will receive 1.2125 CYBG shares for each one they hold, reflecting a 19% premium on the share price from before the offer was made. The RNS includes a number of strategic reasons behind the move, but the low complexity integration plan is worthy of note, given the slew of issues that have hit the banking sector of late – most notably TSB’s IT crisis.
DS Smith
Multinational packaging business and FTSE-100 constituent DS Smith has reported full year results this morning. A quick inspection of the numbers reveals no major surprises, with earnings per share coming in towards the upper end of guidance and the 21% uptick in revenue again being in line with expectations. The company continues to grow through strategic acquisition and this appears to be a successful model, although a very modest decline in return on sales has been noted – is the company paying too much when it snaps up competitors?
South32
Again, it’s the usual slim pickings for a Monday but there’s a note from South32, the company which was spun out of BHP Billiton three years ago. They’re spending $1.3 billion on buying up the remainder of Arizona Mining, a stock they already owned 17% of. Arizona has been seen as an attractive purchase as they own what is said to be one of the most exciting base metals projects in the industry and the deal is seen as giving a great return to South32’s shareholders.
