The shares in the UK finance group Barclays Bank have surged following speculation of a possible takeover bid for the British bank by Bank of America.
Despite Matt Barrett, Barclay’s chairman, confirming he had sold stock recently, shares still soared 3% taking the value of the bank to a record high of GBP47.4 billion following rumors that the US banking giant may be interested in a takeover bid.
According to the Scotsman, city experts interpreted the sale of the shares as an indication that no takeover bids had been proposed. Under stock market regulations, dealings shares is forbidden if directors have any inside information.
The rumored takeover bid by Bank of America (BoA) was indicated by Merill Lynch analysts. Cited in The Australian, Edward Najarian, analyst from Merill Lynch suggested that Barclays would give BoA a very large international presence in fixed-income investment banking and a strong presence in credit card and British retail banking operations.
As of December 10, 2006, the British bank is valued at almost GBP50 billion.