Vodafone Share News (VOD)

LONDON (Alliance News) - International Consolidated Airlines Group has raised its offer for Aer Lingus Group a second time, saying Monday it is now offering EUR2.55 a share in cash, which values the Irish flag carrier at EUR1.36 billion.

The parent of British Airways and Spain's Iberia originally offered EUR2.30 a share, and then raised its offer to EUR2.40 a share. The latest offer comprises a EUR2.50 a share cash offer for Aer Lingus shares and a cash dividend of EUR0.05 a share. Aer Lingus says its board is considering the new offer.

Aer Lingus is not an easy takeover target due to its shareholder base. Ryanair has made several attempts to acquire its Irish rival, but has been thwarted by shareholders and regulators. It built up a 29% stake in Aer Lingus during its acquisition attempts, and has signaled that it may support a takeover of Aer Lingus by IAG.

Kenny Jacobs, Ryanair's chief marketing officer, said recently that Ryanair has not held talks with IAG but held no particular concerns about the company taking control of the Irish flag carrier.

The Irish Times reported on Sunday that the Irish government will consider IAG's takeover bid for the country's national carrier. Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe was reported as saying the government would assess the value of the offer and any impact of the sale on Ireland's links to the rest of the world. The Irish government has a 25.1% stake in Aer Lingus.

NPS Pharmaceuticals Inc has had its Natpara drug for hypoparathyroidism approved by the US Food and Drug administration, a move that Shire says is further evidence of the value of its deal to acquire the US company.

The US FDA has approved Natpara as an adjunct to calcium and vitamin D to control hypocalcemia in patients with hypoparathyroidism, which is a rare endocrine disorder characterized by insufficient levels of parathyroid hormone.

"The Natpara label is in line with our expectations, and we believe this approval further validates Shire's decision to acquire NPS Pharma, which is an excellent strategic fit allowing us to leverage our market expertise, core capabilities in rare disease patient management, and global footprint, Shire Chief Executive Flemming Ornskov said.

Shire also announced that its own SHP609 compound for the treatment of neurocognitive decline associated with Hunter syndrome has been granted a fast track designation by the US FDA.

----------
Markets: London's equity markets are lower Monday, as investors digest the results of Sunday's Greek election that saw the left-wing Syriza party sweeping the polls and forming a coalition government, reigniting worries that the troubled country may end up leaving the eurozone.

US stocks are set for a lower open, with stock futures indicating the DJIA will open down 0.5%, the S&P 500 down 0.4% and the Nasdaq 100 down 0.3%.

FTSE 100: down 0.5% at 6,800.30
FTSE 250: down 0.1% at 16,441.63
AIM ALL-SHARE: down 0.3% at 694.33
GBP-USD: up at 1.5012
EUR-USD: up at USD1.1231
GOLD: down at USD1,278.26 an ounce
OIL (Brent): down at USD48.20 a barrel
----------
Top Corporate News
----------
SSE kept its lowered guidance for its results in the current financial year, and said it still expects to pay a dividend for the year that's at least equal to RPI inflation, continuing that policy in future years as well. The gas and electricity generator said it still expects its results for the year to March 31 to be in line with the guidance it gave when it put out its half-year results last November. At that time, it had said adjusted earnings per share would be towards the lower end of a guidance range it had given in March, and roughly the same level as it had achieved in its last financial year.
----------
Rolls-Royce Holdings said it has won an order worth about EUR100 million for its MTU rail locomotive engines from China's CNR Dalian. The engine maker said it will provide 232 engines for freight locomotives that Dalian is producing for use in South Africa. It expects delivery to take place between 2015 and 2017.
----------
Vodafone Group said it has signed a new partner agreement with Docomo Pacific covering Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, building on its existing strategic partnership with NTT Docomo. The deal means NTT Docomo becomes Vodafone's preferred partner in Guam and the islands and the two companies will jointly offer business and consumer customers a range of products and services.
----------
Standard Chartered is to step up its search to find a replacement for Chief Executive Peter Sands after its two largest investors said a succession plan must be put in place so that he can depart by the end of the year, the Sunday Telegraph reported. According to the report, it is understood that Temasek and Aberdeen Asset Management have in recent weeks separately told the emerging markets bank that a successor to Sands must be found within months. Temasek holds a 17.73% stake in Standard Chartered, while Aberdeen's shareholding amounts to about 8%.
----------
Petra Diamonds said two exceptional diamond sales and weakness in the South African rand offset a softer rough diamond market in the first half, but its shares dropped after it warned downgraded grades and pricing guidance for the second half may mean it misses market expectations for the year. FTSE 250-listed Petra said its production in the first half of its financial year to the end of December was down 2% year-on-year to 1.60 million carats from 1.63 million last year. It said it has upgraded its full-year production guidance, however, to 3.3 million carats from 3.2 million previously.
----------
Balfour Beatty said it has been named the preferred bidder for the GBP120 million East Slope Residences project at the University of Sussex. The FTSE 250-listed construction and support services group said it will work in partnership with the university to design, build, finance and operate the project under a 50-year deal.
----------
LondonMetric Property said it repositioned its portfolio in the third quarter, with a focus on capitalising on the growth of e-commerce, and said it expects to benefit further from capital recycling in the coming year. The FTSE 250-listed property investor said it undertook GBP362.1 million of investment activity in the trading period between October 1 and January 26, of which GBP344.4 million had been previously announced. LondonMetric said it has now substantially repositioned its portfolio, with 90% of its investments concentrated on its core sectors of retailer-led distribution and out-of-town retail properties. The group's core portfolio is 99.5% occupied.
----------
AIM Movers
----------
Sable Mining Africa shares are up again after it has signed the long-awaited deal with the Liberian government to get rail and port access for the ore from its Nimba Iron Ore project in Guinea. WYG shares are up after it launched a strategic review, saying it will look at all options for the future of the growing business, including whether it would be better off being acquired and made part of a larger group. Horizonte Minerals is also up after drill results from bulk sample sites on the Araguaia nickel project in Brazil confirmed high nickel grades. Global Energy Development shares have fallen after the recent slide in oil prices cut its reserves valuation and it said it will have to write-down the value of its assets in the Bocachico Contract area because it had become uneconomic to produce there. FinnAust Mining is also down after it said nickel and copper grades found at its Kelkka nickel sulphide project were below expectations.
----------
Other Top Economics And General
----------
Greece's leftist Syriza party struck a deal with a small right-wing populist party to form a government, after narrowly failing to win an outright majority in parliamentary elections. "From this moment, I want to announce that we have a government," Independent Greeks party leader Panos Kammenos said. "The Independent Greeks give a vote of confidence to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras," he said. "The prime minister will go to the president later today so that he can receive the mandate to form a government," Kammenos added, after leaving a meeting in Athens with the Syriza's leader.
----------
Bank of England policymaker Kristin Forbes said that UK interest rates may need to be raised earlier than many expect as falling oil prices could boost consumption and investment. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Forbes said robust growth in the US and cheaper oil could benefit consumption and investment growth, which will strengthen the case for raising the interest rate from a record low 0.50%, earlier than expected. The UK central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by the middle of 2016. The central bank targets inflation of 2%. Headline inflation eased to 0.5% in December.
----------
Majority of Bank of Japan's policymakers said that the drop in oil prices will affect the economy and inflation positively in the long-term, though it is expected to weigh on inflation in the short-term, the minutes of the meeting held on December 18 and 19 showed. However, one member said that the primary focus should be on the underlying trend in prices when considering the future conduct of monetary policy, and that the key was developments in inflation expectations in a broad context, the minutes said.
----------
Japan's trade deficit decreased more than expected in December, figures from the Ministry of Finance showed. The trade deficit came in at JPY660.7 billion in December, less than the JPY735.2 billion expected by economists. In November, the deficit was at JPY893.5 billion. In the same month of the previous year, the deficit was at JPY1.307 trillion. Exports rose 12.9% year-over-year following the 4.9% in the previous month. This was more than the 11.2% consensus estimate. Imports rebounded by 1.9% after the 1.6% drop in November, slightly less than the 2% increase expected by economists.
----------
The Islamic State jihadist group claimed responsibility in an internet radio broadcast for the beheading of a Japanese hostage. "The Japanese hostage was executed after the expiration of a deadline that had been reported to Japan," an Islamic State spokesman said on the militant jihadist group's al-Bayan internet radio service. An internet video released Saturday contained an image of what appeared to be the lifeless remains of Haruna Yakawa, 42. Sunday's internet message was the first confirmation by an Islamic State source. The group continues to hold a second Japanese hostage, Kenji Goto.
----------
Yemen's parliament postponed a planned vote on whether to accept the resignation of President Abd Rabu Mansour Hadi, who stepped down to protest the demands of Houthi rebels, who have overrun the capital, Sana'a. The state news agency Saba, which is controlled by the mainly Shiite Houthis, said the session had been delayed to allow members of the assembly to be notified. Hadi and the government of prime minister Khaled Bahah both resigned Thursday, a day after reaching an apparent deal with the rebel movement, which had surrounded their residences. The resignations left a political vacuum in Yemen with Houthi fighters in control of much of the north while Hadi loyalists in the south have said they will no longer take orders from Sana'a.
----------
The pro-Western government in Ukraine announced it plans to bring charges before the International Criminal Court in The Hague against the pro-Russian separatists it blames for the large number of civilian deaths in the east of Ukraine. The Ukrainian government would also like to have the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Donetsk and Lugansk declared a terrorist organization internationally. In response to Saturday's attack on the port city of Mariupol, in which at least 30 civilians were killed, Ukraine's National Security Council has ordered new weapons for its armed forces.
----------
The Islamist group Boko Haram has seized the important transport junction of Monguno during a simultaneous attack upon it and Maiduguri, a north-eastern state capital, Premium Times newspaper reported, citing security sources. The army and air force had repelled the attack on the capital of Borno state, which has a population of 1.2 million people, but Premium Times reported many deaths in the attack.
----------
Afternoon Watchlist (all times in GMT)

15:30 US Dallas Fed Manufacturing Business Index
23:50 Japan Corporate Service Price
----------
Tuesday's Key UK Corporate Events

PZ Cussons - Half Year Results
easyJet - Q1 Interim Management Statement
British Land - Q3 Interim Management Statement
Carpetright - Q3 Interim Management Statement
Crest Nicholson - Full Year Results
Britvic - Q1 Interim Management Statement
---------
Tuesday's Key Economic Events (all times in GMT)

All Day EU EcoFin Meeting
n/a Germany Import Price Index
07:45 France Business Climate
09:30 UK Gross Domestic Product
13:30 US Durable Goods Orders
13:55 US Redbook index
14:00 US S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices
14:45 US Markit Composite/Services PMI Preliminary
15:00 US Consumer Confidence
15:00 US New Home Sales
15:00 US Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index
---------
Contact: +44 207 199 0340; newsroom@alliancenews.com; @AllNewsTeam

Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.