Currys shares spike as JD.com mulls potential stake in U.K. electronics retailer

Investing.com -- London-listed shares in Currys (LON:CURY) spiked on Monday, driven higher by a statement from Chinese e-commerce group JD.com saying it was in the preliminary stages of evaluating a stake in the British electronics retailer.

JD.com's announcement comes after Currys confirmed that it had rejected a prior 62 pence per share offer from U.S. private equity group Elliot Advisors. Currys argued that the bid, which represented a steep premium to its closing share price on Friday, undervalued the business.

The Times newspaper in the U.K. has reported that Elliott is now eyeing potentially increasing their offer.

Over the weekend, a separate report in the Telegraph newspaper said that JD.com had contacted representatives from Currys and had conducted exploratory talks in recent weeks.

Currys, which sells items ranging from washing machines to mobile phones, has been attempting to restructure its operations to help strengthen its balance and enhance shareholder returns. Last November, it sold its Greek unit for an enterprise value of 175 million pounds, saying it will support a move to slash both debt and its pensions fund's net deficit.