FTSE 250 movers: HomeServe jumps on M&A speculation

6th Jun 2013 15:37

Hopes of potential private-equity bids for home emergency and repairs group HomeServe pushed the stock firmly higher on Thursday, following comments from Liberum Capital.The broker said that the full-year results two weeks ago re-assured the market that the "company's new model can deliver stability and perhaps growth from a re-based level in the UK". Meanwhile, it reckons that the firm is close to an "end game" with regulators over telephone mis-selling."We do believe that the combination of these two things make Homeserve more attractive to a private equity buyer, who would value the relative resilience of the UK and the growth of overseas," said analyst Joe Brent.RPC Group, the packaging firm which reported its full-year figures yesterday, was extending gains after JPMorgan Cazenove lifted its target price and reiterated an 'overweight' rating, saying that the outlook is starting to improve.Investors welcomed an announcement by materials and packaging group Filtrona which is to change its name to Essentra later this month. The company said that after a year of planning, research and testing, this new identity best represents its new activities and products.FTSE 250 - RisersHomeserve (HSV) 266.90p +8.67%Lonmin (LMI) 291.50p +4.11%RPC Group (RPC) 423.90p +3.97%Rank Group (RNK) 155.00p +2.79%ICAP (IAP) 370.60p +2.43%Petropavlovsk (POG) 132.20p +1.85%Tullett Prebon (TLPR) 291.00p +1.75%Perform Group (PER) 585.00p +1.74%Jupiter Fund Management (JUP) 322.60p +1.57%Dechra Pharmaceuticals (DPH) 684.50p +1.56%FTSE 250 - FallersThomas Cook Group (TCG) 117.20p -6.84%888 Holdings (888) 144.00p -5.20%Big Yellow Group (BYG) 377.10p -3.06%Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 229.50p -2.88%Spirent Communications (SPT) 125.20p -2.79%KCOM Group (KCOM) 77.60p -2.76%Regus (RGU) 160.90p -2.66%Bwin.party Digital Entertainment (BPTY) 121.40p -2.65%Go-Ahead Group (GOG) 1,433.00p -2.52%Heritage Oil (HOIL) 140.90p -2.49%