果冻传媒

Shares in Auction Technology Group (ATG) soared nearly 20 per cent this morning after the online auction platform said it had rejected 11 takeover approaches from its largest shareholder, FitzWalter Capital. 

The London-based private capital firm first approached the company in September, but the board said the proposal lacked financial terms. Since then, FitzWalter has made 10 more informal bids, the latest on 23 December with an offer price of 360p in cash. That compares with a target price of 815p from Deutsche Numis.

ATG鈥檚 shares are down more than 40 per cent over the past year even after Monday鈥檚 rally, trading well below IPO levels and a fraction of their 2021 peak. Weak acquisitions, growing debt and uneven performance, including a profit warning in August, have weighed on investor sentiment. 

ATG鈥檚 board said the proposals 鈥渇undamentally undervalue鈥� the business and represent an 鈥渙pportunistic attempt鈥� to acquire the company at a time when its public market valuation is 鈥渄isconnected鈥� from its fair value. It called on FitzWalter to either put forward a fair offer or step aside. FitzWalter owns 21 per cent of the company, buying in a year ago when the auction company was trading at over 500p.

The board said it had planned on keeping discussions private but chose to go public after FitzWalter said it would make its own announcement on 12 January. The firm now has until 2 February to confirm whether it will make a formal offer or walk away.

The directors backed management鈥檚 strategy, pointing to the potential for network effects 鈥� more lots attracting more buyers and sellers 鈥� alongside higher-margin services such as digital marketing and software tools. An update is due with the AGM trading statement on 22 January.

Defence shares rose across Europe on Monday following the US administration鈥檚 intervention in Venezuela over the weekend.

The capture and removal from power of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro 鈥渞emoves one of the key items on the US administration鈥檚 foreign policy focus list鈥� and turns attention towards both Greenland and Ukraine, analysts at Jefferies said.

US President Donald Trump said in an interview with The Atlantic over the weekend that 鈥渨e do need Greenland, absolutely ... we need it for our defence鈥�, prompting Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen to call on the US to halt threats to take over its territory.

A proposal from France last year to place troops in Greenland was declined by Denmark 鈥渂ut the deployment of EU troops to Greenland may once again be on the agenda鈥�, Jefferies analysts said.

The prospect of Nato鈥檚 most powerful member looking to acquire the territory of a smaller ally 鈥渋ntroduces a new and uncomfortable source of instability into the European security order鈥�, HanETF鈥檚 head of research Tom Bailey said.

Defence shares had de-rated towards the end of last year as investors grew concerned that European governments might not stick to increased spending pledges if a peace deal were thrashed out between Russia and Ukraine.

However, against the current backdrop 鈥渢he defence spending commitments and capability pledges made by European governments in 2025 look increasingly structural, rather than cyclical鈥�, Bailey argued.

In the UK, shares in BAE Systems (BA.) and Babcock International (BAB) rose by 4 per cent, while Chemring (CHG) and Qinetiq (QQ.) shares were both up 3 per cent. On the continent, shares in Rheinmetall (DE:RHM) and Saab (SE:SAAB.B) rose by 7 per cent, while Leonardo (IT:LDO) shares were up 6 per cent.