Iconic UK high street store sparks bidding war as major firms fight it out

TWO major bidders are trying to grab a Currys takeaway, sending shares soaring at the high street electricals retailer.

They leapt 38 per cent to 65p after interest from US firm Elliott Advisors and China online retailer JD.com.

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It emerged at the weekend that Currys had turned down Elliott’s 62p-a-share takeover offer last Friday, saying it “significantly under-valued” the firm.

Elliott will have to put a much sweeter bid on the table before a March 16 deadline as Currys’ shares are already trading higher than its initial price — and it 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 process.

Elliott, which already owns the Waterstones book retailer and has a major stake in sushi chain Wasabi, made its name as a highly aggressive activist investor and notoriously seized an Argentine naval ship in a debt dispute. It recently lost out in the auction to buy the Body Shop.

JD.com is China’s biggest online retailer, their version of Amazon, and sells millions of products to around 570million users. It has been eyeing European targets to offset slowing growth at home.

Analysts have said that Currys, currently valued at £533 million, is cheap for a foreign buyer as it made £9.5billion in sales last year and upgraded profit forecasts to £115million.

The Brit retailer’s market value has collapsed over the past two years after the lockdown spending boom on electronics faded.

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

The firm has 815 stores across eight countries.

Morr’s a match in Aldi war

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

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

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

The chain was overtaken by Aldi in 2022 as the UK’s fourth biggest supermarket and has suffered an exodus of shoppers who prioritise low prices. Meanwhile, LIDL is the UK’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’ scheme, it covers less than half as many items as Tesco and Sainsbury’s.

Aldi yesterday said it was lowering prices on another 50 food and veg items to pass on falling inflation.

Apple in spot of trouble

APPLE is facing a bumper£427million 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 prioritise its own Apple Music service.

 Spotify also claims that Apple limits users’ choice by charging a 30 per cent fee on purchases and prevents telling them they can get a better deal by signing up via its website, rather than the App Store.

The European watchdog has found that Apple failed to inform users that there were cheaper alternatives outside of its own App store.

The Financial Times reported that Apple will face one of the biggest fines by the EU on a big tech firm for “unfair trading conditions”. The penalty is set to be announced next month.

Relief as rent rise slowing

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THE breakneck pace of rent rises is finally easing — in a boost for hard-hit tenants.

The average rent on a new letting went up by 8.3 per cent in January, the lowest rise for over a year, Hamptons estate agents said.

The drop to single digits still equates to a £109 rise compared to a year ago on an average monthly rent of £1,324.

Nearly 60 per cent of landlords still increased rent in January, but it was down on the 81 per cent of a year ago.

Stability in the mortgage market means the number of house sales is rising, which should start to release pressure among renters.

House prices are up this month by 0.9 per cent, or £3,091 to an average £362,839, Rightmove said.

The Government also wants to make it easier for locals to live affordably in their area by clamping down on holiday home owners renting out for more than 90 days a year.

400 hired by Aston

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

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

The new manufacturing jobs will be based at its sites in Gaydon, Warwickshire, and St Athan, South Wales.

Switch-off woe

GAMERS and Nintendo investors have been gutted by reports 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 pushed back to 2025, according to Bloomberg.

Shares in Nintendo, Japan’s richest firm, fell by almost nine per cent yesterday.

The £158billion video games industry is facing its worst slowdown in 30 years, reports say. Switch 2 is seen as key.

THE boss of MoneySupermarket, Peter Duffy, said it helped customers to save a record £2.7billion on bills last year. The price comparison site grew revenues by 11 per cent to £432million. Profits rose 7 per cent to £92.1 million.

Oil’s war chest

THE world’s five biggest 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 made a surplus of £223billion since March 2022, said Global Witness. Putin’s invasion sparked a global energy crisis and gas and oil prices rocketed.

While households struggled, oil companies benefited from a jump in commodity values and their traders making bets on future prices.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk