Sector movers: Kentz takeover sparks oil services stocks

23rd Jun 2014 13:50

The oil equipment, services and distribution sector was rising strongly today, helped by a soaring share price of engineer Kentz after a £1.2bn cash offer from Canadian rival SNC-Lavalin.Kentz, which provides engineering and construction services to clients in the energy and resources sectors, saw shares gain nearly a third today after the company's board unanimously approved a takeover bid from Montreal-based SNC-Lavalin.SNC-Lavalin has offered 935p per share for Kentz, a 33% premium to Friday's closing price. It said the deal is a "key milestone" in its strategy to become a global top-tier engineering and construction company.Kentz's Chief Executive Officer Christian Brown, who will head up a new business combining SNC-Lavalin's oil and gas business and Kentz's operations, said that the offer "recognises the value of our future prospects, world-class client base, and our excellent people; the ultimate assets of our business".The stock was 32.2% higher at 928.82p by 14:08.Others in the sector such as KBC Advanced Technologies, Lamprell, Wood Group, Hunting and Petrofac were also on the rise.Top performing sectors so far todayOil Equipment, Services & Distribution 24,992.58 +2.12%Technology Hardware & Equipment 1,090.97 +1.49%Mining 16,734.61 +1.15%Industrial Metals & Mining 1,127.52 +0.55%Gas, Water & Multiutilities 5,988.24 +0.42%Bottom performing sectors so far todayConstruction & Materials 4,264.27 -1.66%Household Goods & Home Construction 11,546.58 -1.42%Aerospace and Defence 4,983.10 -1.37%Pharmaceuticals & Biotechnology 13,131.89 -1.31%Software & Computer Services 1,167.94 -1.11%BC