Michael Page gains after CEO puts price on sale

ZURICH: Shares in Michael Page rose 3 percent on Wednesday following comments from the recruitment group's boss that a sale of the company to Adecco could be possible at 600 pence per share or more.

When asked in an interview with Swiss newspaper Finanz und Wirtschaft if he still thought a sale of the group was a possibility for a price starting at 600 pence per share, as he did two years ago, Chief Executive Steve Ingham said: "Yes".

But Ingham said he was a small shareholder and that Adecco, which has so far made an offer for 400 pence per share, valuing Michael Page at 1.3 billion pounds ($2.42 billion), had to make the other larger shareholders an attractive offer. By 0838 GMT, shares in Michael Page, which has rejected Adecco's advances twice, had risen 2.9 percent to 339.50 pence, while shares in Adecco were up 0.7 percent at 50.10 francs.

"The shares are probably rising after the comments. But they are what he thought in a personal capacity. The question is what Adecco is prepared to pay," said Investec Securities UK analyst Robert Morton. Adecco declined to comment.