Takeover talk tempts TD clients in run-up to Jubilee celebrations

Stuart Welch, CEO, TD Direct Investing comments: "While takeover talk is not something the Queen has routinely had to face during her reign, it appears that buyout reports were a key focus among TD clients in the lead up to the Diamond Jubilee celebrations; the highest new entrants to our tables were the subject of takeover reports last week. Meanwhile, TD Top 10 stalwarts, Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) and Gulf Keystone Petroleum (GKP), finished the week ending Monday, 4 June as the most popular buy and sell respectively. The overall buy:sell ratio among our clients was 1.5:1 in a week where the FTSE 100 closed at 5,260.19.

"The highest new entry to the sells table this week was fourth placed Logica Plc (LOG), which announced last Thursday (31 May) that it had agreed a £1.7bn takeover offer from Canada's CGI Group. Logica's share price rose on the day of the announcement amid reports that some analysts believed a rival bidder could emerge for the Reading based computer services company. It seemed TD clients could not resist the opportunity to cash in on the 64% increase in the value of Logica's stock between close of play Wednesday (30 May) and Friday (1 June), the share price finishing the week at 108.8p.

"In the buys, the sole new entry was Ithaca Energy Inc (IAE), which finished in eighth place after the company ceased negotiations with potential buyers last week. TD clients appeared to look at the North Sea oil explorer as a potential bargain, its share price losing nearly 61% to 111.25p in the week ending 4 June 2012."

For more information clients can log on to tddirectinvesting.co.uk.