Metro Shares Up on Speculation Of Kaufhof Offer -- Market Talk
October 23 2014 - 8:14AM
Dow Jones News
1144 GMT [Dow Jones]--Metro shares initially gain 3.3% after a
newspaper report that Austrian investor and Karstadt owner Rene
Benko has made a bid for the group's Kaufhof department stores.
According to weekly Lebensmittel Zeitung, Mr. Benko is offering
between EUR2.5B and EUR2.7B. Traders say an acquisition would make
sense, that Mr. Benko has a proven track record of successful
transactions and that the price would be fair, after his previous
offer of EUR2.1B in 2011. Metro declined comment. A spokesman for
Mr. Benko's Signa-Holding denied the intention to buy Kaufhof.
Shares +1.5% at EUR25.49. (Manuel.Priego-Thimmel@wsj.com;
Natali.schwab@wsj.com)
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