Barclays/Absa; Stretching your abs

Barclays is having to run to keep up with Absa’s share price. In the seven months that the UK bank has been negotiating the purchase of a 60% stake in the South African lender, the potential cost of the deal has risen from £2.2bn to £2.8bn. Absa’s prospects may have improved in the meantime, but Barclays has now stretched its offer as far as it should. At first glance, Barclays’ putative offer of R80.80 a share looks like it’s on safe ground. The proposal values the whole of Absa at just over R...