Northern Rock continues to defy gravity. Its shares added another 8p to 98p as the in-house management team spelled out more details of its proposed offer and hedge fund SRM increased its stake.
Apparently the management team are confident of raising at least £500m in new equity, but fear the Virgin name might sway the government. They have the backing of the other hedge fund shareholder, RAB Capital, but this may not be enough. Meanwhile SRM now holds 10.77% after buying 2.1m shares at 92p each.
Overall the UK market has closed higher, helped by a recovery on Wall Street. The FTSE 100 ended up 7.4 points at 5875.4 ahead of tomorrow's key interest rate decision. But the FTSE 250 slipped back 50.8 points to 9904.5.
With BHP Billiton finally going hostile with its advances to Rio Tinto, investors were looking for the next deal. Many believe Xstrata could be the one, with Brazil's Vale the potential predator. BHP closed 77p lower at £15.20, Rio - which has rejected the bid - slipped 17p to £54.17 but Xstrata added 45p to £38.35.
Lower down the market came a couple of late - indeed after trading hours - takeover approaches. Meridien Petroleum, up 24% to 8.375p, responded to internet speculation by confirming it had received a number of approaches, while wheelmaker Titan Europe also unveiled a possible offer after its shares rose 11.5p to 140p.
