Barclays stock soars on takeover talk

LONDON: Barclays shares rose as much as 4.7%, leading a gain in UK bank stocks amid speculation there may be a takeover in the industry. Shares of Barclays rose as much as 32.5 pence to 719 pence and traded at 713 pence as of 11:36 am in London. Shares of Lloyds TSB Group added 1.5% to 551.5 pence. HBOS stock gained 1.6% to 1,065 pence. “There is bid speculation,” about a possible offer for Barclays by Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria having an interest in Barclays, said Mark Thomas, an analyst at Keefe Bruyette & Woods in London.

Bank of America has been viewed as a potential bidder in the past, said Colin Morton, who helps manage $1.8 billion at Rensburg Sheppards in Leeds including Barclays stock. The acquisition of Barclays would be a surprise “as anybody would have to pay a 30% premium to the share price,” he said. BBVA’s chief financial officer Manuel Gonzalez Cid said last week that the bank has no plans to buy a UK mortgage lender.

He made the comments on November 27 after BBVA said it planned to raise e3 billion in a capital increase to boost solvency levels. Spokespeople for London-based Barclays and Bilbao-based BBVA declined to comment.

Royal Bank of Scotland Group shares climbed 1.8%, adding to a 4.1% gain on Wednesday, when the company said earnings will probably rise more than analysts estimated as corporate loans increase and growth in consumer bad debts slows. “I think there’s a bit of a feel good factor from the RBS statement,” said Mike Trippitt an analyst at Oriel Securities in London.