FTSE 100 movers: Informa surges; Ithaca gives back some gains

(Sharecast News) - London's FTSE 100 was up 0.3% at 10,529.88 in afternoon trade on Tuesday. Informa surged to the top of the index after saying it had agreed to buy event and exhibition organiser Clarion for £2.24bn, and announcing plans to separate its academic business, Taylor & Francis, to focus on the core B2B business.

Chief executive Stephen A. Carter said: "The planned separation of Taylor & Francis coincides with further expansion in B2B through the £2.24bn acquisition of Clarion, the UK-based owner of more than 100 B2B Live Event brands. The combination will underscore Informa as the UK-listed, international leader in B2B Live Events, with annual group revenues exceeding $6bn and underlying revenue growth of 7%.

"Today's announcements mark the latest step in a growth strategy that has seen B2B revenues grow tenfold since 2014, whilst generating more than $3bn of value in Business Intelligence and lifting Taylor & Francis revenues fourfold since it joined the group."

Ithaca Energy was in the red, having rallied on Monday after agreeing with Suncor to buy a portfolio of conventional offshore oil assets located in shallow waters off the East Coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, for up to $1.1bn.

BP was under the cosh as oil prices fell, while M&G dropped as JPMorgan cuts its price target on the stock to 310p from 335p and maintained its 'underweight' rating.

FTSE 100 - Risers

Informa (INF) 913.60p 5.87% Weir (WEIR) 2,668.00p 3.10% AstraZeneca (AZN) 12,072.00p 2.84% Marks & Spencer Group (MKS) 386.00p 2.37% Whitbread (WTB) 2,480.00p 2.27% Croda International (CRDA) 3,359.00p 2.06% Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,021.00p 1.94% Spirax Group (SPX) 7,400.00p 1.72% Pershing Square Holdings Ltd NPV (PSH) 3,748.00p 1.68% Diageo (DGE) 1,596.50p 1.36%

FTSE 100 - Fallers

Ithaca Energy (ITH) 271.60p -3.55% BAE Systems (BA.) 1,869.50p -3.41% BT Group (BT.A) 194.35p -2.16% M&G (MNG) 306.70p -2.10% BP (BP.) 552.70p -1.94% Babcock International Group (BAB) 908.20p -1.81% Abrdn (ABDN) 238.00p -1.74% IG Group Holdings (IGG) 971.50p -1.67% 3i Group (III) 2,375.00p -1.53% Games Workshop Group (GAW) 16,710.00p -1.53%