Exane BNP Paribas has identified Compass as an excellent target for a private equity buy-out. The bank said Elior, the French catering group, had expressed interest in Compass’s SSP division, which operates outlets such as Upper Crust and Millie’s Cookies. Exane, which raised it price target to 250p, said a sale of SSP could raise £1bn which would help Compass plug the £450m hole in its pension fund and make it more attractive to a leveraged buy-out. Compass closed up 2.4% at 198.75p. Financial Times 15/10/05 page 34 (FT Market Weeks (London)

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