Engineering company Smiths Group saw share price rocket in early trading after news broke late last week of a multi-billion pound approach for its medical subsidiary.

The engineering group rebuffed a £2.45 billion offer for Smiths Medical as not in the interests of shareholders.
The news of the rejected approach saw share price soar, increasing by 10.8 per cent to 1,420p.

According to a market statement, the company said it had taken into account the cash generative nature of Smiths Medical as a standalone division and as part of the group.

The bid was reported to have come from private equity firm Apax Partners. Smiths Medical generated 31 per cent of Smiths Group's total sales in 2010.

Medical devices company Smith & Nephew saw share price rise by 5.2 per cent to 720.5p, boosted by further takeover rumours, while outsourcing specialist Capita Group saw share price increase by 2.4 per cent to 714.5p.

The biggest faller was precious metals miner Fresnillo, with share price dropping by 4 per cent to 1,432p as metal prices started weaker.

Asset manager Schroders saw its share price fall in both the non-voting and ordinary share classes after reports of a broker downgrade, dropping 2.7 per cent to 1,435p and 2.6 per cent to 1,837p, respectively.