Sector movers: M&A activity boosts oil-services sector, Kentz jumps

Two rejected takeover proposals for Kentz Corporation gave London's oil services sector a lift on Monday, with the FTSE 250 constituent rising by as much as a quarter in afternoon trade in the hope that this could signal the start of a bidding war.Kentz rocketed after saying that it has rebuffed a 565-580p-a-share proposal from larger rival AMEC, saying it undervalued the company. AMEC's approach values Kentz at around £680m, compared with Friday's market cap of around £560m (476p a share)."Kentz has a strong and consistent track record of revenue and earnings growth since its IPO in 2008," the firm said in a statement."The company has strong growth prospects given its substantial order backlog, prospective bidding pipeline and robust balance sheet, together with a clear and realisable strategy to create further shareholder value as a standalone entity."Kentz said it had also been approached by Germany's M&W Group about a possible offer, though this was at a lower value than AMEC's and disregarded.Despite the rejections, Kentz's share price was trading 23.66% higher at 588.5p before the close today. "The surge in the share price suggests traders think this may just be the start with a bidding war likely," said Ankit Kapur, Sales Trader at CMC Markets.AMEC said that Kentz would represent an opportunity to extend its geographic footprint in its key growth regions, as well as increase the range of services it offers to clients.According to the London Evening Standard, City sources have said that Kentz could fetch up to 700p a share, valuing the company at nearly £820m.Elsewhere in the sector, Petrofac, Lamprell and Wood Group were making decent gains with the latter rising ahead of its interim report due on Tuesday.Top performing sectors so far todayOil Equipment, Services & Distribution 24,039.23 +1.65%Technology Hardware & Equipment 1,053.55 +0.81%Health Care Equipment & Services 4,420.14 +0.76%Beverages 14,685.96 +0.70%Industrial Transportation 2,917.49 +0.63%Bottom performing sectors so far todayIndustrial Metals & Mining 1,452.71 -3.07%Mining 16,675.72 -2.13%Forestry & Paper 11,019.10 -1.16%Real Estate Investment Trusts 2,361.89 -0.95%Automobiles & Parts 7,930.72 -0.91%