(Adds company news items, futures)
July 3 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 9 points
higher at 7,568 points on Wednesday, according to financial bookmakers, with
futures FFIc1 up 0.82% ahead of the cash market open.
* SYNTHOMER: Polymer maker and supplier Synthomer Plc SYNTS.L said on
Wednesday it has agreed to buy U.S.-based Omnova Solutions Inc OMN.N for an
enterprise value of $824 million as it looks to strengthen its global position.
* SAINSBURY: British supermarket group Sainsbury's SBRY.L reported a third
consecutive quarter of declining underlying sales, hurt by weak clothing and
general merchandise markets. * FERREXPO: Iron ore miner Ferrexpo plc FXPO.L said on Wednesday it
appointed MHA MacIntyre Hudson, the UK member of Baker Tilly International, as
its auditor for the current financial year. * UNITE: Student housing provider Unite UTG.L is to acquire rival Liberty
Living Group in a 1.4 billion pounds ($1.76 billion) cash and shares deal that
will see Canada's Pension Plan Investment Board take a 20 percent stake in the
enlarged group. * JD SPORTS: JD Sports JD.L , Britain's biggest sportswear retailer, said
on Wednesday it was on track to deliver headline annual pretax profit at least
equal to current consensus market expectations as it opened new stores.
* CBRE: U.S.-real estate firm CBRE Group Inc CBRE.N said on Wednesday it
will acquire British residential property developer Telford Homes Plc TELF.L
for about 267.4 million pounds ($336.15 million). * PURPLEBRICKS: Purplebricks Group Plc PURP.L said it would pull out of
the U.S. market in the latest setback for the struggling British online estate
agent which is already preparing to exit Australia. * SERCO: Britain's Serco SRP.L has agreed to pay a 19.2 million pound
($24.1 million) fine for three offences of fraud and two of false accounting
when it provided electronic tagging to the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) between
2010 and 2013. * BP: BP Plc BP.L has concluded that some of its resources "won't see the
light of day" as oil companies face increasing pressure to bring fuel to market
faster and cheaper, according to Bloomberg. * WOODFORD: Fund manager Neil Woodford is believed to have offloaded a stake
of about 70 million pounds in Stobart Group STOB.L as he tries to overhaul his
investment fund, according to The Times. * OIL: Oil prices edged higher on Wednesday after a steep fall in the
previous session, supported by extended output cuts by OPEC and its allies
despite concerns that a slowing global economy could crimp demand. * BORIS JOHNSON: Boris Johnson, frontrunner to become Britain's next prime
minister, will launch a review into the so-called sin taxes on products high in
salt, fat and sugar if he wins the contest for leader, he will say on Wednesday.
* The UK blue chip index closed up 0.8% higher on Tuesday driven by gains in
internationally exposed stocks that benefited from a weaker sterling.
* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on:
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