The FTSE 100 will open at 8am. Among the companies with reports and trading updates today are Hargreaves Lansdown, Bellway and Asda. Read the Friday 9 August Business Live blog below.
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Asda set to employ more checkout staff
Hargreaves Lansdown agrees takeover
Hargreaves Lansdown has agreed to be acquired by a consortium backed by private equity giant CVC Partners and the Abu Dhabi wealth fund, in a 1,140p-per-share deal worth £5.44billion.
As part of the deal, Hargreaves investors will also receive a dividend of 30p per share as part of the deal.
The group of bidders includes buyout giant CVC, alongside Nordic Capital, and Platinum Ivy, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). The consortium is owned in equal parts by the three firms.
In a stock market update, the consortium said the deal is set to complete in the first quarter of 2025 if shareholders approve the terms.
‘While the Independent HL Board has been pleased with the progress made by the new management team, the Independent HL Board believes that the Cash Offer represents an attractive opportunity for HL Shareholders to realise an immediate and certain cash value for their investment at a level which may not be achievable until the execution of the strategy is delivered over the medium to longer term, and therefore intends to unanimously recommend HL Shareholders vote to approve it.
‘We are pleased to see that the Consortium is aligned that HL has an important purpose making it easy for the UK consumer to save and invest for a better future.’
