Market News: 
 
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FTSE 100 Largely Unchanged, But Diageo Soars

0736 GMT [Dow Jones]--London's FTSE 100 index is largely flat shortly after the open, outperforming the weaker European markets. Diageo shares are leading the pack, up close to 7% after reports late Friday of buyout interest. Diageo on Monday declined to comment. Elsewhere shares in Vodafone are up 1.1%, making the telco giant the second biggest gainer. Shares in Vodafone fell late last week, amid disappointment the company is engaging in an asset swap with Liberty Global rather than a merger. Shire is the biggest decliner, down 2.2%. GKN is the second biggest faller, down 1.5%.

 
Companies News: 

Drax FY Expectations Unchanged Despite Weak Power Market

Coal-fired power station operator Drax Group PLC (DRX.LN) Monday said its full year expectations are unchanged as a strong operational performance and contracts help it cope with weak power prices.

ACE Ups Offer for ARMS; Secures Backing From Nathaniel Rothschild

Investment vehicle Asia Coal Energy Ventures Ltd. said Monday it increased its takeover offer for Asia Resource Minerals PLC (ARMS.LN) by 37% and in the process secured full support for its bid from the Indonesian coal miner's co-founder and major shareholder Nathaniel Rothschild.

Games Workshop Fiscal 2015 Profit To Be In Line With Market Views

Games Workshop Group PLC (GAW.LN) said Monday that it expect profit for the year ended May 31 to be broadly in line with market expectations.

Victoria Oil to Exceed 2015 Production Target

Victoria Oil & Gas PLC (VOG.LN) said Monday that it expects to exceed its 10.5 million standard cubic feet per day target for the calendar year 2015.

Tritax Big Box REIT Proposes to Raise GBP125M Via Placing

Tritax Big Box REIT PLC (BBOX.LN) intends to proceed with an institutional placing of new ordinary shares at a price of 113 pence per share to raise up to 125 million pounds ($190.7 million).

Mirada Sees Fiscal 2015 Trading Results in line with Market Expectations

Mirada PLC (MIRA.LN) expects full year trading results to be in line with market expectations, despite project delays.

Concha In On-going Investment Opportunity Talks

Concha PLC (CHA.LN) said Monday that as part of the on-going discussions regarding a specific global opportunity within its investment scope, the company's Asian based nonexecutive Director Gordon Watson is stepping down.

Pendragon No Longer Buying California Dealership

Car retailer Pendragon PLC (PDG.LN) said Monday it won't be going ahead with the acquisition of a dealership in California, as Lexus is exercising a right to buy it.

Enables IT Group 1H15 Pretax Loss Narrows

Enables IT Group PLC (EIT.LN) Monday reported a narrowed first-half fiscal 2015 pretax loss, despite revenue falling 23%, due mainly to lower costs and a foreign exchange gain.

Phoenix IT Swings to Profit

Phoenix IT Group PLC (PNX.LN), an information technology services company, Monday swung to yearly profit.

Atlantic Coal FY Pretax Loss Widens After Harsh Winter

Atlantic Coal PLC (ATC.LN), an anthracite coal company with activities in Stockton, Pennsylvania, Monday reported a wider full year pretax loss after being hit by the harsh winter and a fall in coal prices.

Trans-Siberian Gold FY Production Rises, Swings to Pretax Profit

Trans-Siberian Gold PLC (TSG.LN) Monday reported rise in gold and silver production for 2014, as it swung to a pretax profit for the period mainly due to a 32% reduction in cost of sales.

Filtronic Trading in Line

Filtronic PLC (FTC.LN), a designer and manufacturer of microwave electronics products for the wireless telecom infrastructure market, Monday said its wireless and broadband businesses are trading in line with expectations.

 
Market Talk: 

UK's Cyan Holdings Slumps on Share Sale Plan

0745 GMT Cyan Holdings PLC shares are trading 19% lower at 0.21p apiece, as the developer of smart energy metering solutions says it plans to raise GBP4.1 million from the sale of discounted shares. The technology firm will issue 2.06 billion shares at 0.20 pence each, a 23% discount to last Friday's closing mid-market price of 0.26p. Cyan says it will use the new money to pay for projects it has recently won and for further product development work.

Citi Lifts UK Bookmaker William Hill's Target Price

0736 GMT Citi lifts William Hill PLC target price to GBP5.00 from GBP4.25 and believes the bookmaker is significantly undervalued. "Risks from further tax and regulation have diminished now that the U.K. political uncertainty is unwinding," the equity research analyst writes. Citi says William Hill's relative low valuation, strong cash generation and online market leadership are key reasons to drive its buy recommendation as shares currently trade up 2.1% at 430p.

Diageo Soars on Takeover Talk

0734 GMT [Dow Jones]--Diageo soars 6.9% to 1882p on talk Brazilian billionaire Jorge Paulo Lemann's buyout company 3G is eyeing the company. Jefferies, however, is cautious. Says a pure leveraged buyout of Diageo would be well beyond anything 3G have previously contemplated. However, all this could imply a move for Diageo by Anheuser-Busch InBev--Mr. Lemann's private equity firm 3G owns ABI--which feels more plausible. Adds either way, "this feels like a prompt for a re-evaluation." Jefferies has a buy recommendation with a 2100p target price. Diageo declined to comment.

Contact: London NewsPlus, Dow Jones Newswires; +44-20-7842-9319

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