UK shares surge, Imperial Tobacco up 3% on acquisition talks

Shares in the UK posted gains on Friday, trimming their weekly loss, as Imperial Tobacco Group rose 3%, following its announcement that it plans the acquisition of some assets and brands, owned by companies in the United States.

The FTSE 100 Index gained 17.80 points, or 0.27%, to close at 6,690.17 in London on Friday. This pared the gauges weekly drop to 2.62%, which has been the most considerable slump since the week ended on March 9th, when the benchmark fell 2.76%. The wider gauge, FTSE All-Share Index posted a 0.2% gain.

Shares of Shire PLC (SHP:LN), a company which develops prescription medicines, recorded the largest gain within the FTSE 100, adding 270.000 GBp (5.87%) to close at 4,870.000 GBp on Friday.

Shares of Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMT:LN) rose 3.05%, or 81.000 GBp, the most since July 3rd, to close at 2,740.000 GBp. The producer of Gauloises cigarettes announced that it is in discussions with Reynolds American Inc. and Lorillard Inc. for a deal in the event of a merger between the two. According to Bloomberg, Imperial Tobacco is preparing 7 billion US dollars to purchase some brands that Lorillard and Reynolds would sell off in order to ease any concerns, raised by the US government.

Coca-Cola HBC AG (CCH:LN) marked the third largest daily advance within the FTSE 100, adding 39.000 GBp (2.97%) to close at 1,351.000 GBp on Friday.

Shares of ITV PLC (ITV:LN), a media company which covers broadcasting, news and production, rose 2.36%, or 4.100 GBp, to close the trading session at 177.800 GBp.

Randgold Resources Ltd (RRS:LN) posted the biggest daily drop within the FTSE, falling 2.20%, or 115.000 GBp, to close at 5,120.000 GBp. This has also been companys largest daily drop since May 30th.

Gold and silver miner, Fresnillo PLC (FRES:LN) lost 1.80%, or 17.000 GBp, to close at 928.000 GBp, marking the most considerable daily retreat since June 6th.