Shares in Nordic IT services firm TietoEnator gained in morning trading following press reports that the company could be merged with rival EDB Business Partners if it is acquired by private equity outfit Cidron Services.
TietoEnator shares were up 0.28 cents to EUR16.31 in morning trading - well above the EUR15.50 per share in cash that Cidron Services has offered for the vendor.
Cidron Services, which is owned by Swedish private equity firm Nordic Capital, launched an unsolicited EUR1.1 billion takeover offer for TietoEnator last month, which was rejected by the vendor for being too low. The offer period ends on 28 April.
In the latest move Norwegian newspaper Dagens Naeringsliv, which cites anonymous sources, states that Nordic Capital is looking to team up with telecomms group Telenor, which owns 51.3% of EDB's shares, to merge the two firms and create a Nordic IT giant with a market valuation of over $2.5 billion.
The report says that EDB has long been seen as a perfect merger partner for TietoEnator.
The speculation also helped push EDB shares up, with the stock rising 1.99% to Nkr41.00