Key moments
Mike Ashley shows interest in Revolution Beauty
Revolution Beauty has said that the billionaire retail entrepreneur Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group was among several parties conducting due diligence for a potential takeover.
The struggling British company, which sells make-up and cosmetics online and through concessions in stores, put itself up for sale last month. Boohoo, the online retailer which has renamed itself Debenhams, has a 27 per cent stake, according to FactSet. Frasers also has a stake in Boohoo.
Revolution Beauty said: “There can be no certainty that Frasers’ interest will result in a firm offer.”
UK’s Alphawave agrees $2.4bn takeover by Qualcomm
The London-listed chip designer Alphaware is recommending that shareholders accept a $2.4 billion takeover bid from the US chipmaker Qualcomm.
Alphawave investors will receive 183p per share under the deal, a more than 90 per cent premium to its closing price before Qualcomm disclosed its interest in the company.
Arm Holdings, the US-listed, Cambridge-based chip designer, was also said to have been interested in Alphawave.
WPP chief steps down after seven years in role
Mark Read is to step down as chief executive of WPP at the end of the year. In a brief stock exchange statement the advertising giant said that a search for a successor is under way.
“After seven years in the role, and with the foundations in place for WPP’s continued success, I feel it is the right time to hand over the leadership of this amazing company,” Read said.
His departure follows the appointment of Philip Jansen as chairman of WPP at the start of the year.
WPP shares have fallen 32 per cent since the start of the year and are down 56 per cent since Read’s appointment in September 2018. The FTSE 100 has risen 18 per cent over the period.
US and China meet in London for trade talks
Markets have been buoyed by optimism that the United States and China will ease trade tensions when representatives of both nations meet in London on Monday.
Shares on Asian stock markets bounced, with Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng both gaining 1 per cent. Markets in Europe are expected to be more subdued.
Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary, and other top Trump aides are expected to meet their Chinese counterparts at an undisclosed venue in London for talks to resolve the trade war between the nations. It comes as data from China showed export growth slowed to a three-month low in May, hit by US tariffs, and amid protests in Los Angeles over President Trump’s immigration policies.
Today’s top business stories
• The government will deliver just over half of the 1.5 million new homes it has promised to build by 2029, according to Savills, the property agent, and there are fears the spending review this week could exacerbate the housing crisis.
• The pharmaceutical industry has rejected a government offer to cut the cost of a contentious NHS drug pricing scheme as “falling significantly short”
• Nvidia has unveiled a slew of UK partnerships to boost artificial intelligence capabilities as concern increases that Britain is falling behind in the race to develop the technology. The $3.5 trillion multinational chip producer said it would work with the government to help businesses make use of AI.
• Economic data released this week is expected to show wage growth moderated and that joblessness rose in the spring while the economy contracted.
