Market report: ConvaTec buoyed by takeover chatter

Swerling takeover speculation pushed colostomy bag maker ConvaTec close to the top of the FTSE 250 leaderboard as City analysts highlighted a window of opportunity for bargain-hunting bidders.

After a string of setbacks that have sent ConvaTec’s share price crashing to record lows, private equity firm EQT is among several investors that could make a bid, Swedish newspaper Dagens Industri claimed.

The £2.8bn-valued company is vulnerable to a bid after a 37pc share price plunge since its initial public offering. David Cox, at Panmure Gordon, believes there is a window for an offer “before the new chief executive arrives and makes his mark”, adding that the medical equipment maker is “obviously looking cheap”.

“But there’s a load of work to do and after all that’s done and dusted, what’s EQT’s exit?” he said.

ConvaTec was the biggest flotation on London’s stock market in 2016, listed by its private equity backer but it has suffered a spectacular fall from grace with Genus boss Karim Bitar parachuted in on Monday to spearhead its turnaround. The speculation boosted ConvaTec’s shares by 7.9p to 141.8p, a 5.9pc leap. Elsewhere, global stocks started to stage a recovery from their two-day slide as bond market jitters ebbed. Recession fears faded as analysts at Goldman Sachs played down the significance of Friday’s Treasury yield curve inversion.