UK MORNING BRIEFING: M&A Takes Back Centre Stage

LONDON (Alliance News) - Company acquisitions and disposals have roared back to the fore Tuesday, with RSA Insurance, London Stock Exchange, Wolseley, RPS, Cobham and others all making pre-market announcements of deals done or being considered.

Despite AstraZeneca's rejection on Monday of Pfizer's final takeover offer, Citigroup has added the UK pharmaceutical group to its Focus List Europe with a Buy recommendation.

Meanwhile, Pfizer set out what would be required for it to resume its pursuit.

Here is what you need to know amid a mixed UK market open:
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MARKETS
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FTSE 100: down 0.1% at 6,839.20
FTSE 250: up 0.8% at 15,505.61
AIM ALL-SHARE: up 0.1% at 792.12
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Hang Seng: up 0.4% at 22,805.23
Nikkei 225: closed up 0.5% at 14,075.25
DJIA: closed up 0.1% at 16,511.86
S&P 500: closed up 0.4% at 1,885.08
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GBP-USD: down at USD1.6810
EUR-USD: down at USD1.3693

GOLD: down at USD1,290.56 per ounce
OIL (Brent): up at USD109.54 a barrel

(changes since end of previous GMT day)
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ECONOMICS AND GENERAL
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Tuesday's Key Economic Events still to come
(all times British Summer Time)

09:00 Italy Industrial Orders and Sales
09:30 UK Consumer and Producer Price Indices and DCLG House Price Index
13:30 Canada Wholesale Sales
13:55 US Redbook index
16:30 US 4-Week Bill Auction
17:30 US Philadelphia Fed's Plosser speech
18:00 US Fed's William Dudley speech
18:30 UK MPC Member Bean Speech
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The chief of the Thai army declared martial law, in what he said was a bid to stem violence in the country following six months of anti-government protests. "There are some groups with bad intentions to create unrest, and threatening to use weapons on the people," General Prayuth Chan-ocha said. Martial law gives the army control over security, but leaves the government in command of other tasks. Prayuth denied that the army was carrying out a coup.
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Germany's producer prices fell for the ninth consecutive month in April, Destatis reported. Producer prices fell 0.9% on a yearly basis, the same rate as seen in March and February. The annual decline also matched economists' expectations. On a monthly basis, producer prices fell 0.1%, slightly slower than the 0.3% drop seen in March. Excluding energy, producer prices slid 0.2% from last April and remained unchanged from March.
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NATO said Monday that it saw no evidence of Russian troops pulling back from the border with Ukraine, despite such an order by Russian President Vladimir Putin. NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "Unfortunately...we haven't seen any evidence at all that the Russians have started withdrawal of troops from the Ukrainian borders." The US also said it had seen no evidence of troop movement.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin before the planned signing of deals on gas and infrastructure projects. Putin arrived in the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai Tuesday for a two-day visit amid expectation that the two sides will announce a major deal to bring Russian gas to China. Xi and Putin were scheduled to attend the launch of a seven-day joint drill by Russian and Chinese naval vessels off Shanghai.
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China summoned the US ambassador to protest Washington's charges of cyber espionage against five Chinese military officers, Beijing's Foreign Ministry said. Assistant Foreign Minister Zheng Zeguang summoned US Ambassador to China Max Baucus to "lodge a solemn representation" over the charges announced by US Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday.
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BROKER RATING CHANGES
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JEFFERIES CUTS TESCO TO 'HOLD' ('BUY') - TARGET PRICE 310 (320) PENCE
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CITIGROUP ADDS ASTRAZENECA TO 'FOCUS LIST EUROPE' - 'BUY'
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TRADERS: JP MORGAN ADDS BABCOCK INTL TO EUROPEAN ANALYST FOCUS LIST
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BERENBERG RAISES ITV TO 'HOLD' ('SELL') - TARGET 180 (175) PENCE
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HSBC CUTS LADBROKES TO 'UNDERWEIGHT' ('NEUTRAL') - TARGET 125 (135) PENCE
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GOLDMAN CUTS VEDANTA TO 'NEUTRAL' ('BUY')
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GOLDMAN SACHS REMOVES UBM FROM 'CONVICTION BUY LIST' - STILL 'BUY'
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TRADERS: MERRILL RAISES AFRICAN BARRICK GOLD TO 'NEUTRAL' ('UNDERPERFORM')
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COMPANIES - FTSE 100
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BP PLC has suffered a decisive setback in its court battle to limit the cost of its settlement for victims of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, leaving it with the option only of going to the US Supreme Court as a last chance to avoid billions of dollars of additional liabilities, the Financial Times reports Tuesday. The Fifth Circuit appeals court in New Orleans on Monday rejected BP’s request for a full review of the company’s case, as it seeks to establish that the compensation settlement it agreed with plaintiffs’ lawyers in 2012 is being interpreted unfairly, the paper says. The ruling means BP has now nearly run out of road in its attempt to stop the cost of the settlement soaring far above the USD7.8 billion that it originally predicted, the FT said, quoting BP saying it was disappointed.
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RSA Sells Canadian Insurance Brokerage To Arthur J Gallagher For CAD500M
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Marks & Spencer FY Statutory Pretax Profit GBP580.0M Vs GBP547.2M; Underlying Pretax Profit GBP622.9M Vs GBP648.1M; Revenue GBP10.31Bn Vs GBP10.03Bn; FY Total UK Sales Up 2.3%, Food Up 4.2%, General Merchandise Flat; Full Year Dividend Unchanged At 17.0P
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London Stock Exchange Confirms Exclusive Discussions For Russell; Says Discussions Ongoing, No Certainty Of Deal
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Vodafone FY Ebitda Down 7.4% To GBP12.8B; Revenue Down 1.9% To GBP43.6B; To Pay Final Dividend Of 7.47P, Total Dividend Up 8% To 11P; CEO Says Cash Flow To Be Depressed During Investment Phase; Pledges To Continue To Grow Dividends Despite Cash Flow Cap
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Pfizer Says Would Only Make New AstraZeneca Bid If Share Price Changes, Another Suitor Emerges Of Astra Decides To Recommend Final Bid
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Wolseley In Talks To Dispose Of Austrian Plumbing And Heating Business ÖAG; Expects Disposal To Generate Small Loss
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COMPANIES - FTSE 250
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Kier Group Wins GBP100M NHS Trust Contract
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Afren Q1 Net Production 35,465 Bopd, In Line With Its Hopes; Q1 Revenue USD269M Vs USD386M, Hit By Reduced Share From Ebok Field
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Kentz Awarded Sadara In-Plant Support Services Contract in Saudi Arabia
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Big Yellow FY Pretax Profit GBP59.8M Vs GBP31.9M; Revenue GBP72.2M Vs GBP68.7M; Final Dividend 8.4P Vs 6.0P
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RPS Acquires US-Based Environmental Consultancy GaiaTech Holdings For Enterprise Value Of USD34.0M
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Homeserve FY Statutory Pretax Profit Of GBP24.4M Vs GBP66.5M; Revenue GBP568.3M Vs GBP546.5M; Maintains Full Year Dividend At 11.3P Per Share; CEO: To Increase Investment During FY15 In Marketing, Business Development In US
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Spirax-Sarco Says 2014 Has Been In Line With Expectations So Far; Organic Sales Up Nearly 4% In First 4 Months
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Victrex Names Larry Pentz As Non-Executive Chairman, Replacing Retiring Anita Frew; Pentz To Take Role On Sept 30; Pentz Is An Executive Director Of Johnson Matthey; H1 Pretax Profit GBP48.9M, Up From GBP45.7M Year Before; Revenue GBP120.0M, Up From GBP106.4M Year Before; Interim Dividend 11.39p, Up 10% From 10.35p; Says Second Half Has Started Well, Expectations For Full Year Well Supported Despite Currency Headwinds
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Greencore Group H1 Pretax Profit GBP8.0M Vs GBP12.2M; Revenue Of GBP619.8M; Raises Interim Dividend 15.8% To 2.20P
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Countrywide Names Alison Platt As Chief Executive, As Grenville Turner Becomes Non-Exec Chair; Says Executive Changes To Take Place Sept 1; Platt Joins From Bupa
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Cobham To Buy Aeroflex Holdings Corp For About GBP869M; Launches Placing Of 65 Million Shares To Help Fund Aeroflex Buy
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Entertainment One FY Reported Pretax Profit GBP21.0M Vs GBP5.5M; Reported Revenue GBP819.6M Vs GBP629.1M; Outlook For New Financial Year Positive
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BTG FY Pretax Profit GBP33.3M Vs GBP24.1M; Revenue GBP290.5M Vs GBP233.7M
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Paragon Group of Companies H1 Pretax Profit GBP58.2M Vs GBP48.8M; Reports Strong Increase In Buy-to-let Lending; Interim Dividend 3.0p Vs 2.4p
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Dechra Pharmaceuticals Acquires Trade, Assets Of PSPC Inc For Up To USD10M; Says Further Strengthens Its US Product Portfolio
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COMPANIES - ALL-SHARE AND AIM
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S&U Says Group Trading In Line With Expectations; Chairman Confident Of Further Progress Throughout Year
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Topps Tiles H1 Adjusted Pretax Profit GBP8.0M, Up From GBP4.7M; Revenue GBP97.7M, Up From GBP87.4M; Interim Dividend 0.65p, Up From 0.50p; Says Has Made Good Start To 2nd Half, Expects To Continue To Grow Sales
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Mariana Resources Says Mineralisation Confirmed At Soledad; Says Latest Tests Show High Grade Copper, Gold Results
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Lekoil To Place Shares To Fund Acquisition Of 40% Interest In Otakikpo Marginal Field, Nigeria; To Pay USD7M On Signature, Plus USD4M Contingent, Plus Fund USD67M Work Programme; To Place 33M Shares, 10% Of Current Total, Via Accelerated Book-Build Led By Mirabaud, UBS; Lekoil FY Pretax Loss USD18.1M Vs USD3.8M Loss
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C&C Group FY Pretax Profit EUR116.2M Vs EUR109.7M; Net Revenue EUR620.2M Vs EUR476.9M; Raises Total Dividend 14% To 10.0 Cents
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EKF Diagnostics Says Trading Remains In Line With Expectations
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Vmoto Says Simon Farrell Resigns As Non-Executive Chairman; Starting Replacement Search
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Renew Holdings H1 Pretax Profit GBP6.9M Vs GBP4.3M; Adjusted Pretax Profit GBP7.6M Vs GBP4.6M; H1 Revenue GBP225.8M Vs GBP152.4M; Interim Dividend 1.50p Vs 1.10p; Order Book Was GBP427M On March 31 Vs GBP361M
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ACM Shipping Group In Recommended Acquisition By Braemar Shipping Services; Braemar Shipping Services Shareholders Will Own 72% Of New Entity, ACM Holders 28%; ACM Holders Will Receive 2 New Shares, Plus 250p Cash For Every 5 ACM Shares
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Empyrean Energy Says Major Upgrade To Sugarloaf AMI Reserves, Resources
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UBC Media to Raise GBP6M In Placing and Subscription For Acquisition; Conditionally Agrees To Acquire 7digital Group For GBP16.5M
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William Sinclair Says Revenue Growth Hasn't Met Expectations; Now Expects Significant Underlying FY Net Loss; Expects To Break Even At Ebitda Level; Net Debt Higher Than Hoped, Won't Pay Dividend
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Aer Lingus Says It Traded Positively In April; Short Haul, Long Haul, Retail All Performed Strongly; May 30 Strike To Offset Potential Revenue Gains
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Tuesday's Scheduled AGMs/EGMs

Spirax-Sarco Engineering
Glencore Xstrata
Synety Group
Advanced Medical Solutions Group
UBM
S&U
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By Tom Waite; thomaslwaite@alliancenews.com; @thomaslwaite

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