Europe: Shares rise as FedEx/TNT bid strengthens M&A fervour

[PARIS] European shares rose in early trading on Tuesday, as FedEx's 4.4 billion euro (S$6.52 billion) bid for Dutch package delivery firm TNT Express sparked a rally in the shares of other courier companies.

TNT stock jumped 31 per cent, while PostNL surged 16 per cent. Royal Mail added 1.7 per cent and Kuehne & Nagel gained 1.5 per cent.

Signs that corporate takeover activity was on the rise were also highlighted by French media group Vivendi's offer to buy Orange's video-sharing website Dailymotion.

At 0709 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.6 per cent at 1,596.88 points, tracking a rally on Wall Street after Friday's surprisingly weak US jobs data fuelled expectations the Federal Reserve could hold off longer on raising interest rates.

REUTERS