Iconic British store sparks bidding war as bidders battle it out

TWO major bidders are trying to snap up a Currys takeaway, sending shares at the major electronics retailer soaring.

They rose 38 percent to 65 cents after interest from the American company Elliott Advisors and the Chinese online retailer JD.com.

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Last weekend it emerged that Currys had rejected Elliott's takeover offer of 62 cents per share last Friday, saying the company was 'significantly undervalued'.

Elliott will have to put a much sweeter offer on the table before March 16 deadline as Currys shares are already trading higher than their initial price – and the company now faces competition from JD.com. Mike Ashley, who owns an 11 per cent stake in Currys through his Frasers retail empire, could add an extra layer of drama to the proceedings.

Elliott, who already owns the Waterstones bookstore and has a major stake in the sushi chain Wasabi, has made a name for himself as a very aggressive activist investor and notoriously seized an Argentine naval ship in a debt dispute. It recently lost out at auction to buy the Body Shop.

JD.com is China's largest online retailer, their version of Amazon, selling millions of products to approximately 570 million users. The country has been keeping an eye on European targets to compensate for slowing growth at home.

Analysts have said Currys, currently valued at £533m, is cheap for a foreign buyer as it made £9.5bn in sales last year and boosted profit expectations to £115m.

The British retailer's market value has collapsed over the past two years after the boom in electronics spending faded.

Currys was formed in 2014 from the £3.8 billion merger between Carphone Warehouse and Dixons Retails.

The company has 815 stores spread across eight countries.

Morr is a match in the Aldi war

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MORRISONS has become the latest supermarket to launch a price match with its budget rivals to win back customers.

It promised to match Aldi on 200 products, ranging from cornflakes to canned tomatoes

The move comes five months after new Morrisons boss Rami Baitieh was hired by the private equity owner to revive sales.

The chain was overtaken by Aldi as the UK's fourth largest supermarket in 2022 and has suffered an exodus of customers who prioritize low prices. Meanwhile, LIDL is Britain's fastest growing grocer.

Tesco was the first to launch an Aldi Price Match in 2020, followed by Sainsbury's.

Asda recently said it would match both Aldi and Lidl, but like Morrisons it includes less than half as many items as Tesco and Sainsbury's.

Aldi said yesterday it is cutting prices on a further 50 food and vegetable products to pass on falling inflation.

Apple in trouble

APPLE is facing a £427 million fine from the European Union after a music streaming row with Spotify.

Spotify complained in 2019 that Apple had silenced rivals on its platforms to prioritize its own Apple Music service.

Spotify also claims that Apple limits users' choice by charging a 30 percent fee on purchases and not telling them they can get a better deal by signing up through its website, rather than the App Store.

The European watchdog finds that Apple did not inform users that there were cheaper alternatives outside its own App Store.

The Financial Times reported that Apple faces one of the largest fines the EU has imposed on a major tech company for “unfair trading conditions.” The fine will be announced next one month.

Relief now that rent increases are slowing down

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THE breakneck pace of rent increases is finally slowing – a boost for hard-hit tenants.

The average rent for a new rental home rose 8.3 percent in January, the lowest increase in more than a year, according to Hamptons real estate agents.

The drop to single figures still equates to an increase of £109 compared to a year ago at an average monthly rent of £1,324.

Nearly 60 percent of landlords still increased rent in January, but this was lower than the 81 percent of a year ago.

The stability of the mortgage market is increasing the number of home sales, which should reduce pressure among tenants.

House prices rose by 0.9 per cent (or £3,091) this month to an average £362,839, according to Rightmove.

The government also wants to make it easier for locals to live affordably in their area, by cracking down on holiday home owners who rent out more than 90 days a year.

400 hired by Aston

LUXURY carmaker Aston Martin is hiring 400 more workers at its factories as it ramps up production of its new sports cars and SUVs.

The British brand, loved by James Bond, recently unveiled the latest version of its Vantage supercar, which starts at £129,610. The new SUV model, DBX, is available from £179,160.

The new production jobs will be based at locations in Gaydon, Warwickshire and St Athan, South Wales.

Elimination woe

GAMERS and Nintendo investors are upset by reports that the latest version of the Switch console has been delayed until next spring.

The Japanese gaming giant behind Mario and Zelda told its manufacturers that the launch of its Switch successor will be postponed until 2025, according to Bloomberg.

Shares of Nintendo, Japan's richest company, fell by almost nine percent yesterday.

The £158 billion video games industry is facing its worst slowdown in three decades, according to reports. Switch 2 is seen as a key.

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THE boss of GeldSupermarkt, Peter Duffysaid it helped customers save a record £2.7 billion accounts last year. The price comparison site increased sales by 11 percent to £432 million. Profits rose 7 percent to £92.1 million.

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Oil's war chest

The world's five largest energy companies have made more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in profits since Russia invaded Ukraine.

BP, Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total Energies have posted surpluses of £223 billion since March 2022, Global Witness said. Putin's invasion led to a global energy crisis and gas and oil prices skyrocketed.

While households struggled, oil companies benefited from a rise in commodity prices and the traders they bet on future Prices.