Some modest gains for the consumer goods company Reckitt after the company advised the market it would divest a majority stake its Essential Home business. An enterprise valuation of up to $8.4bn has been placed on the deal, with $2.2bn of excess capital set to be returned to shareholders by way of a special dividend. In early trade, the Reckitt Benckiser share price was sitting around 2% higher.
Gains for the online grocer and technology platform provider were also noted as the week’s final session got underway. The company published interim results yesterday which received a great reception from the market and the momentum is being continued in today’s early trade. The CEO’s calls for investors to take a longer term view appears to have resonated with the Ocado share price up a further 3% this morning, taking the week’s gains to almost 25%.
A Q1 trading update from the iconic fashion house Burberry this morning saw the company note it had transitioned from stabilising the business to driving it forward with some confidence. Headline revenues continued to contract with declines in Asian markets weighing but some progress was seen in EMEIA and the Americas. Guidance for the full year was loose given the macroeconomic backdrop but that hasn’t deterred investors, at least some of whom seemed willing to jump in at the open. The Burberry share price was initially trading around 5% higher but these gains have been abating as the market settles down.
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