Market report: Wednesday close

CITY investors look poised to give Yellow Pages publisher

Indicative prices at trader Tullet & Tokyo Liberty suggest an offer pitched towards the peak of the 250p-300p range, valuing the business at more than £2bn.

Bookie Cantor Index has increased its spread for tomorrow's closing level to 295p-305p ahead of the pricing by financial advisers Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.

Yell was bought from BT, up 2 1/2p at 194 1/2p, but last year's attempt to float was postponed as the stock market plunged.

Share prices generally continued to trade in a narrow band today following a lacklustre performance by the Dow in New York yesterday. In London, the FTSE 100 ended down 18.9 at 4054.7.

Bradford & Bingley gained 11 3/4p to 322p after reports that HSBC, up 1/2p at 737p, wanted to bid. In the past, the mortgage provider has been linked to Lloyds TSB, down 4p at 445 1/2p.

Discount airline easyJet fell 8p to 241p. Broker Merrill Lynch has downgraded from buy to neutral with the price hovering just below its 250p target.

Newcomer Kesa Electricals, demerged from Kingfisher earlier this week, rose 8p to 196p supported by bullish comments from broker UBS. It has begun coverage of the shares with a buy rating and a 220p target price and reckons the shares are trading just below grey market expectations.

Incepta, which includes the Citigate Dewe Rogerson financial PR business, firmed 3 1/4p to 19 3/4p after a line of 11.52m shares was crossed at 17 1/2p. Earlier this month, Incepta raised £27m by way of a rights issue and placing. It wants the money to finance earn-outs from earlier acquisitions.

Aerospace and defence group Cobham, up 12 1/2p at 1192 1/2p, is to fund its £100m acquisition programme via a placing of 9.1m shares with institutional investors to raise £105m.

John Menzies dipped 10p to 315p as it warned conditions in its aviation business deteriorated following the outbreak of the Sars virus which meant three-quarters of passenger flights were cancelled in Macau. But the firm's newspaper and magazine division had a good year with sales growth in all products.

AIM-listed Millfield, the fast-expanding independent financial adviser group, expects to return to profits this year and is signing up Norwich Union as a coinvestor in its online investment services business Lifetime. Millfield, up 4p at 53 1/2p, is tapping shareholders for the third time in less than three years, raising a net £8.85m through a placing and open offer at 49.5p underwritten by Collins Stewart. Annual losses widened from £7.4m to £12.3m.

Property group Ashtenne, 1 1/2p lighter at 264 1/2p, is paying £182.5m for a portfolio of small business units and indoor markets from Mentmore, 1/2p dearer at 75 1/2p. It intends to sell half the portfolio to an institutional fund it runs, Ashtenne Industrial. Mentmore will take a £61.7m loss on the deal and will have to apply to the courts in order to pay a dividend.

Prices and indices in this section are supplied from various sources and calculated at different times and may not always match those listed on the site.