9 April 2010 – statement re possible offer
The company has announced this morning that it has received an approach which may lead to an offer being made for the company. As is usual in these situations there is no guarantee that any bid will be forthcoming, but the shares are already moving up in response. We always felt that the fall in the share price from January’s high of 287p had been overdone, because the latest so-called disappointing results were due to a change in accounting policy rather than a sharp downturn in business. We therefore think that any bid, if it is to be successful, will have to be pitched up around the 300p mark to have any chance of success. The shares remain a BUY.