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* Rentokil top FTSE 100 loser
* BT Group falls as Drahi raises stake
* National Express to acquire Stagecoach
* FTSE 100 down 0.2% , FTSE 250 drops 0.4%
(Updates to close)
By Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashank Nayar
Dec 14 (Reuters) - London's FTSE 100 ended lower on Tuesday
as investors fretted over risks associated with the Omicron
variant, while a takeover deal at a significant premium and news
of a stake change weighed on pest contol firm Rentokil and
telecoms company BT Group.
The blue-chip FTSE 100 eased 0.2% to mark its fourth
consecutive decline. Rentokil was the top drag on the
index, down 12.3% to mark its worst day in 13 years.
The pest control firm said it is buying U.S. rival Terminix
in a $6.7 billion deal, at a significant premium of
47%.
However stronger industrial miners and gains
in banking shares on the back of firmer long-term
yields helped limit losses.
The domestically focussed FTSE 250 index fell 0.4%
after fears around fresh COVID-19 restrictions amid rising
Omicron cases affected sentiment.
"Omicron has clearly added a huge cloud of uncertainty over
the outlook for the economy in the coming months just as many
countries were preparing for tighter monetary policy," said
Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda.
British employers added a record number of staff in
November, data showed ahead of the Bank of England's monetary
policy decision on Thursday.
While positive, the data underscores the dilemma that the
BoE faces after the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant
and renewed restrictions caused investors to pare back bets of a
rate hike this week.
Among individual stocks, BT Group fell 4.3% after
Franco-Israeli telecoms entrepreneur Patrick Drahi increased his
stake to 18%, drawing a defensive response from the British
government.
Online supermarket group Ocado Group jumped 5.5% to
the top of the FTSE 100 on winning a patent infringement lawsuit
against Norwegian robotics company AutoStore Holdings Ltd
in the International Trade Commission.
British public transport group National Express rose
1.7% after saying it is acquiring rival StageCoach, up
10.5%, in an all-share deal.
(Reporting by Bansari Mayur Kamdar and Shashank Nayar in
Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu, Amy Caren Daniel, William
Maclean)
