Shares in Weir Group spiked 10.7% Thursday as the British engineering equipment maker announced it agreed to acquire Texas company SPM Flow Control for $653 million in cash, and also said there would be significant benefits from the alliance.
The acquisition comes during a period of strong demand for oil and gas exploration and production equipment, which Weir said in a statement is due to higher energy prices.
The $653 million will be funded by a combination of new and existing loans and cash already on the balance sheet. Weir didn't specify the ratio of debt to cash.
Keller Group (Up 3.6%) The international ground engineering specialist gained on an upbeat half-year trading statement, in which it highlighted "continued strong sales and an improvement in margins" for the period.
EDF (Up 3.4%) Shares of French power group topped the CAC-40 on news UBS and Societe Generale raised their price targets for the company's stock. EDF is expected to continue outperforming the sector, UBS told Reuters.
Biffa (Down 3%) Morgan Stanley placed 22.8 million shares of the U.K. waste disposal firm at 280 to 285 pence per share, traders told Reuters.
Colruyt (Up 0.2%) The Belgian holding company topped the BEL20 Index. KBC Securities expected the company to report excellent full-year results, Dow Jones reported.