Stock market analysts are fond of doing sum-of-the-parts valuations of companies, trying to establish whether a business is worth more broken up than staying in one piece. So it was this week with Kingfisher, the DIY retailer that owns B&Q and Screwfix in Britain and Castorama and Brico Depot in France. Paul Moran, who covers Kingfisher at Northern Trust Capital Markets, caused a stir by saying that breaking up the group would release about £1 billion of value not recognised in its stock market quote.
Kingfisher shares rose by 3 per cent on Wednesday as his comments prompted speculation that an activist investor such as Elliott Advisors could move in on the group, though the shares settled back yesterday, closing 5¼p lower at 256p.
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