ASX 200 rises, Afterpay sinks, Vocus jumps

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by around 0.5% today to 6,771 points.

Here are some of the highlights from the ASX today:

Vocus Group Ltd (ASX: VOC)

The best performer in the ASX 200 today was Vocus, rising by around 8.5%.

Vocus announced that it has agreed to enter into a scheme implementation deed with a consortium comprising Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and its managed funds, as well as Aware Super. In other words, it accepted the takeover offer.

The accepted offer is $5.50 cash per share.

The Vocus Chair Bob Mansfield said:

The Vocus board is unanimous in our view that this offer is in the best interest of Vocus shareholders. In making this assessment, the board considered a range of alternatives, including the execution of our existing strategy under which the proceeds of an IPO of Vocus New Zealand would reduce debt and be invested in our core business. Feedback from shareholders in recent weeks on the indicative offer of $5.50 originally received from MIRA has been overwhelmingly positive and there is broad recognition that this is a very fair value for Vocus shareholders.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG)

The IAG share price was one of the most volatile shares in the ASX 200 today.

Whilst it ended the day 4% lower to $4.62, it went as low as $4.32 just after midday on worries about its exposure to Greensill.

IAG said that in response to market enquiries, the ASX 200 company said that it has no net insurance exposure to trade credit policies, including those sold through BCC Trade Credit to Greensill entities.

The insurance giant solid its 50% interest in BCC on 9 April 2019 to Tokio Marine Management with the result of eliminating net exposure to trade credit insurance.

In addition to extensive reinsurance placed by IAG, as part of the sale IAG entered into agreements with Tokio Marine for it to hold any remain exposure to trade credit insurance written by BCC through Insurance Australia Limited.

Big ASX 200 market movements

In the ASX 200 there were strong market movements both positively and negatively.

At the red end of the ASX 200, the Pro Medicus Ltd (ASX: PME) share priced dropped 5.7%, the Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) share price fell 4.4%, the Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price declined 3.8%, the Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price fell 3.6% and the Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) share price fell 1.6%.

However, there were also some positive gains for the travel industry, including the Corporate Travel Management Ltd (ASX: CTD) share price which rose 7.5% and the Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) share price which rose almost 5% after the Prime Minister said that the aviation and travel sector will continue to receive government subsidies.

More reading

• ASX tech correction? 10 of the worst-hit shares
• Why did the Openpay (ASX:OPY) share price slide today?
• Latest broker ASX buy ideas for 2021
• IOUpay and Zip were among the most traded ASX shares last week
• Credit Suisse just rated the Afterpay (ASX:APT) share price as ‘outperform’

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends MEGAPORT FPO and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Corporate Travel Management Limited and Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended MEGAPORT FPO and Pro Medicus Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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