PSA parent company raises P&O stake, sparking rival bid trading frenzy

PSA parent company raises P&O stake, sparking rival bid trading frenzy    Temasek Holdings, the Singapore government-controlled parent company of global port operator PSA International Friday raised it stake in the P&O Group to 3.24 percent by buying 8.1 million shares at '4.40.9 ($5.16). Last week P&O was subject to a $5.7 billion takeover offer from another port operator, the Dubai-state owned DP World.
   Temasek now owns 24.32 million shares in P&O.
   The prospect of Temasek mounting a rival bid lifted P&O’s share price to $4.94 ($5.80) at close of business on Friday at the London stock exchange, although the price had dropped to $4.69 ($5.49) at 12:30 p.m. local time today. DP World’s offer is equal to '4.43 ($7.65) per share.
   DP World will need to secure 90 percent of P&O’s shares to force the takeover. If the P&O bid is successful, DP World would become the world’s third-largest terminal operator. PSA is the second-largest terminal operator behind Hutchison Port Holdings.
   Temasek is also the parent company of Neptune Orient Lines and its liner-shipping unit APL.