By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K.'s FTSE 100 index outperformed most
other European markets and rose for a fourth straight day on Friday
as drug maker Shire surged more than 15% after rejecting a takeover
proposal.
The benchmark index in London gained 0.3% to close at 6,825.20,
ending with a 0.7% weekly advance.
Leading the pack, Shire PLC jumped 17% after the pharma firm
rejected a 27.2 billion-pound ($46.35 billion) takeover bid from
U.S. rival AbbVie Inc. (ABBV), citing a fundamentally
undervaluation of the company. AbbVie said discussions were no
longer ongoing and that there could be no certainty that any firm
offer would be made.
AstraZeneca PLC (AZN) -- which recently rebuffed an acquisition
bid from Pfizer Inc. (PFE) -- picked up 0.6%.
Outside the main index in London, shares of TSB Banking Group
PLC soared 12% on its first trading day. The move took Lloyds
Banking Group PLC (LYG) one step closer to selling off the whole
TSB unit as part of a condition of its government bailout. The
lender must divest its remaining shares in TSB by the end of next
year.
Lloyds listed 175 million shares in TSB, or 35% of the business,
raising GBP455 million and selling a bigger stake than initially
planned. Lloyds shares dropped 0.9%.
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