Shares in drinks company C&C rose as much as 8.7% today as traders pointed to renewed talk SABMiller is eyeing a bid for the maker of the fast-growing Magners and Bulmers cider brands.
Shares in the company were up 6.5% at €10.45 euros by 3.15pm, having earlier risen as high as €10.65.
'Of course, with the share price back above €10 rumours of a potential takeover approach have resurfaced this morning,' said Stuart Draper, head of research at Dolmen Securities said.
Draper said it was not the first time talk of a bid by SABMiller had surfaced in the market but there had been a number of recent developments to give the rumours some credibility.
Shares in C&C had risen strongly over the past two years, driven primarily by rising sales of its established Bulmers cider brand in Ireland and a strong launch for its increasingly popular Magners cider in Britain.
A trading statement from the company last month predicting operating profit growth for the year to the end of February of 25% also disappointed analysts who had been expecting an increase of almost 29%.
