Halma acquires US medical devices outfit, Endeavour Mining's Burkina Faso operations unaffected by coup

London pre-open

The FTSE 100 was being called to open 65.3 points lower ahead of the bell on Monday after closing out the previous session 0.18% higher at 6,893.81.

Stocks to watch

Life-saving technology company Halma has acquired Maryland-based medical consumable devices outfit IZI Medical Products in a deal valued at as much as $168.0m.

Halma said on Monday that it will make an initial consideration for of $153.5m for IZI, on a cash and debt-free basis, funded from existing facilities. An additional consideration of up to $14.5m will be payable in cash, based on IZI's growth in the year to 31 March 2023.

Endeavour Mining said on Monday that its operations in Burkina Faso had not been affected by the recent coup that forced out Lieutenant Colonel Paul-Henri Damiba as the nation's leader.

"The company continues to monitor the situation and will provide further updates if appropriate," Endeavour said in a brief statement.

Newspaper round-up

The Pensions Regulator has for the first time been drafted into high-level emergency talks led by the Treasury and Bank of England as they examine measures to calm financial markets in the wake of the meltdown which followed Kwasi Kwarteng's mini-budget. The watchdog, which oversees the £1.5trn pension sector, is understood to have been summoned into closed-door meetings of the Authorities' Response Framework, which are triggered when an "incident or threat" could cause major disruption to financial services in the UK. - Guardian

The owner of British Steel, the UK's second-biggest steel producer, is understood to be seeking an urgent package of financial support from the government. Jingye Group, which bought the company out of insolvency just two years ago, has told ministers that its two blast furnaces are unlikely to remain feasible unless the Scunthorpe-headquartered company is granted financial aid. – Guardian

The Bank of England has been liaising with Swiss authorities after an attempt by Credit Suisse to calm nerves instead stoked fears of further turbulence in the financial system. There were no major developments at the Zurich-based lender over the weekend after a statement from chief executive Ulrich Koerner on Friday mixed with a febrile atmosphere on global markets to fuel speculation over potential threats to the 166-year-old lender's stability. – Telegraph

One of Britain's biggest investors is preparing to back the Government's plans for a nuclear renaissance, but only if ministers overhaul the funding model that previously led to the collapse of proposed power stations. Andy Briggs, chief executive of pensions giant Phoenix Group, said he has been in talks with the Government about investing in nuclear power infrastructure and is exploring how it could support the creation of new plants. – Telegraph

Britain is at "significant risk" of gas shortages this winter because of Russia's war in Ukraine and undersupply in Europe, the energy regulator said. Ofgem said there was a possibility that Britain could enter a "gas supply emergency" in which supplies to some gas-fired power plants could be cut off, stopping them generating electricity. – The Times

US close

Wall Street stocks closed lower on Friday as major indices wrapped up a brutal quarter with further losses.

At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up down 1.71% at 28,725.51, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100 were both 1.51% weaker at 3,585.62 and 10,575.62, respectively.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com