British supermarket Morrisons is set to enter the FTSE 100 index, Britain's blue chip benchmark, after its share price surged over 60% since receiving an offer from private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) in June.
Index manager FTSE Russell placed Morrisons on its 'indicative FTSE 100 Additions' list on 24 August and said it would make a final announcement on Wednesday 1 September based on the data collected at the close on 31 August.
Morrisons, at the heart of a $9.5 billion bidding war between US-based CD&R and a consortium led by SoftBank-owned Fortress Investment Group, is now valued at about £7 billion ($9.6 bn).
Its membership in the index could prove short-lived with the bidders set to take the supermarket chain private.
Market Capitalisation
Currently a member of the midcap index FTSE 250, Morrisons' market capitalisation now dwarfs several members of the FTSE 100, such as British broadcaster ITV and engineering specialist Weir Group, worth £4.6 and £4.3 billion respectively.
Both companies are set to be expelled from the FTSE 100 blue-chip index along with Just Eat Takeaway.com .
The food delivery's 'nationality has been reassigned from the UK to the Netherlands, making the company ineligible for the FTSE UK Index Series', Index manager FTSE Russell explained in a statement.
Dechra Pharmaceuticals and British engineering group Meggitt which is at the centre of a takeover battle, are both set to enter the FTSE 100 index, FTSE Russell said.
Elsewhere, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R) said the pension rights of the Morrisons management team and employees will be 'fully safeguarded' once its takeover offer for the British supermarket chain becomes effective.
