Hochtief shares rise after Reuters reports strong interest in sale

Shares in Hochtief strongly and outperformed the sector after Reuters reported on May 18 that Germany’s largest construction group was attracting several potential buyers for its airport holdings and could clinch a trade sale as a result. Shares in Hochtief started rising after the Reuters story was published and topped Frankfurt`s mid-cap index the following day, up 2.9 percent, after the chief executive of Vinci, the world’s largest public works group, gave an interview to a German newspaper confirming the company’s participation as reported by Reuters. Traders and analysts pointed to the interest in the sale when explaining the share rise, with Citi analysts issuing a special alert to their clients in which they analysed the deal based on data in the Reuters story.