M&S at centre of bid rumours

Shares in Marks & Spencer surged yesterday on speculation that the high street retailer is an £8bn bid target for Middle Eastern investors.

The stock jumped 8 per cent at one stage, adding more than £500m in value, after the Sunday Times said the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the Gulf state’s sovereign wealth fund, is in talks with private equity and banks about an approach. Despite the scale of the share price movement, there was no official stock market announcement to confirm or deny the speculation.

Shares closed up 25.60p at 398.10p.

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