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* Unilever worst performer on the FTSE 100
* Homebuilders gain as UK home prices soar in early 2022
* Taylor Wimpey expects annual results in-line with
forecasts
* FTSE 100 up 0.9%, FTSE 250 adds 0.6%
(Updates to close)
By Shashank Nayar
Jan 17 (Reuters) - London's FTSE ended higher on Monday,
aided by healthcare stocks as GlaxoSmithKline jumped after
rejecting a 50-billion-pound buyout offer for its consumer arm
from Unilever, while energy and mining stocks also provided
support.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 index gained 0.9% to record
its highest closing in nearly two years, with miner Glencore
and energy majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell
among the biggest boosts to the index.
GlaxoSmithKline jumped 4.1% after it said over the
weekend that it had rejected Unilever's offer for its
consumer goods arm and would stick to its plan of spinning off
the unit.
Unilever shares dropped 7.0% and were the worst
performer on the index. A report said the company was in talks
with banks for additional financing to make a potential
sweetened offer.
"Paying 50 billion pounds for a business that sells pain
relief products and toothpastes comes across as a risky bet and
while there appears to be universal consensus that Unilever
needs to shake up its business ... the price tag for doing so
seems a little on the rich side," CMC Markets analyst Michael
Hewson said.
Analysts at Barclays said that Unilever's offer and the
ensuing valuations are very complex to execute in normal times,
let alone in the middle of a global pandemic.
The domestically focussed mid-cap index rose 0.6%.
Homebuilders gained 1.0% after a survey
showed asking prices for British homes rose by the most in
annual terms in nearly six years in early 2022.
Taylor Wimpey Plc, the UK's third-largest
housebuilder, added 4.2% after saying it expected annual results
in line with its forecasts.
Meanwhile, Clinigen Group Plc dropped 0.8% after
agreeing to a sweetened takeover offer by UK-based private
equity firm Triton that valued the pharmaceutical services firm
at about 1.3 billion pounds ($1.78 billion).
(Reporting by Shashank Nayar and Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing
by Aditya Soni)
