Equities markets were higher at midday on Monday in New York. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.75 percent higher to 12,076.41, while the Nasdaq Composite was up 1.3 percent to 2,361.12 and the S&P 500 had added 0.9 percent to 1,376.69.
Four Seasons Hotels was 30 percent higher to $83.01 on a $3.7 billion bid by a group which includes current Four Seasons chairman and chief executive Isadore Sharp, Microsoft’s Bill Gates, and a Saudi Arabian prince. The bid works out to $82 per share in cash, 28 percent higher than last week’s closing share price.
In other bids news, this time in the pharmaceuticals sector, Abbott Laboratories said it will purchase Kos Pharmaceuticals for $3.7 billion cash, or $78 per share, 56 percent higher than Kos’ Friday close. Kos added 54 percent to $76.99 but Abbot dropped 0.08 percent to $47.60. Elsewhere in the sector, however, biopharmaceuticals company Adolor dropped 44 percent to $7.80 on the news that the Food and Drug Administration has asked for more testing on a new drug that had been expected to gain approval this week.
Home improvement retailers were lower on the session. Home Depot fell 0.75 percent to $36.92 on a downgrade from UBS due to the weaker housing market. Rival Lowes dropped 0.8 percent to $28.81.