London pre-open: Stocks to open higher

22nd Dec 2011 06:42

Stocks are looking up this morning, boosted by a slightly higher close of the US markets, with City sources predicting the FTSE 100 will open up 25 points from yesterday's close of 5,390. Media distribution group Perform has signed a four-year deal with the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) to manage and oversee the development of all media rights for the WTA from the start of 2013 to the end of 2016, outside of the USA and Canada. Perform plans to double the number of current live matches produced, by increasing both the number of courts and days covered. Hansteen, the investor in UK and Continental European property, has bought up 88 property assets from The Spencer Group of Companies, a commercial property specialist. Hansteen is paying £150m for some 88 assets totalling 4.1m square feet of predominantly industrial property located across the UK. International Airlines Group (IAG) has managed to land the British Midland airline after protracted negotiations with current owner, Deutsche Lufthansa. IAG, the company formed by the merger of British Airways and Iberia, is to pay £172.5m in cash for British Midland (bmi), though the price is subject to significant reductions. __NR