LONDON BRIEFING: easyJet receives new offer; LondonMetric ups bid

London Briefing: easyJet receives new offer; LondonMetric ups bid reports that easyJet is backing a higher-priced £5.7 billion possible takeover offer from Apollo for Picton Property Income. LondonMetric and Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust have improved their all-share proposal, valuing Picton at £397.0 million, or 77.0p per share. Under revised terms, Picton shareholders would receive 0.190 new LondonMetric shares and 0.894 new Schroder REIT shares for each Picton share. Picton said it remains minded to recommend the revised offer unanimously, subject to confirmatory due diligence and final deal documentation. Separate news highlights Polar Capital Technology Trust, whose net asset value per share more than doubled to 657.41p at April 30 from 325.20p a year earlier, with total net assets up 93% to £7.32 billion. The trust reported no dividend recommendation and cited AI-driven gains.