Exista denies Greencore stake

ICELANDIC group Exista has denied it holds an 8% stake in the Irish convenience group Greencore or that it was planning to bid for the company.

Shares in the Irish firm shot up by 5.65% in early trading yesterday to €4.27 following a report that Exista held 8% of Greencore’s shares and was preparing to mount a bid for the group.

By late afternoon, following publication of the denial, Greencore’s shares lost most of its earlier gains and were trading up less than 1% on the day.