LIVE BUSINESS: National Grid to raise £7bn; Hargreaves Lansdown rejects takeover bid; Nationwide gives its members £385 million

Takeover target Anglo American has agreed to enter talks with suitor BHP after rejecting the Australian miner’s latest £39bn offer.

The London-listed firm, whose empire includes De Beers diamonds and a potash mine in Yorkshire, as well as vast deposits of copper and iron ore, has given its larger rival another week to discuss the terms of the deal.

It marked a significant concession by Anglo’s board, which until recently had refused to engage with BHP, having rejected two previous bids worth £31bn and £34bn.

Nationwide Building Society has announced it will pay another “fair share” bonus this year.

Members will receive payment directly into their checking accounts in June.

It comes as the mutual giant said its pre-tax profit was £1.77bn in the year to April, up from £2.2bn last year.

Britain’s biggest investment platform has become the latest London-listed company to be targeted by foreign bidders.

After the market closed last night, Hargreaves Lansdown said it had received two proposals from a consortium of buyers regarding a possible acquisition.

The latest offer – valued at 985 pence per share or £4.67bn – was unanimously rejected by the board “on the basis that it substantially undervalues ​​Hargreaves Lansdown and its future prospects”.

National Grid hopes to raise £7bn to invest in energy grid infrastructure, through a fully subscribed rights issue of 1.09bn new shares.

The capital increase will be via a fully subscribed rights issue at 645 pence per share on the basis of seven new shares for every 24 existing shares, the company said.

The rights issue will help fund National Grid’s significant capital investment of around £60 billion in energy network infrastructure.

Boss John Pettigrew said the move reflects the company “consolidating our position as a leader in the energy transition in the north east of the UK and US”.

He added: ‘On both sides of the Atlantic, governments and regulators are acting with greater urgency to attract the levels of investment needed to meet their decarbonisation targets.

‘As economies become increasingly digital, electrified and decarbonized, the need for energy infrastructure has rarely been more pressing. Our investment will unlock significant economic growth and by the end of the decade, National Grid is expected to create more than 60,000 more jobs, while decarbonising our energy systems, strengthening security of supply and reducing consumer bills. long-term.

“Our strong track record of infrastructure delivery, positive engagement with our regulators and broader stakeholders, together with clarity around the scale and profile of our capital investments position National Grid to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities we see in the future”.