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Suitors are queuing up for a slice of Churchill Mining.
Shares in the AIM-listed, Indonesian-focused coal group hit a record high today, after the company said no fewer than three interested parties have come knocking.
One of the approaches is a potential offer for the entire group while the other two are hoping to acquire specific projects.
Churchill's shares shot up 13¼p to 98p on the news, valuing the company at £76 million.
Analysts reckoned that growing demand for coal had made the company attractive to possible bidders.
But Churchill also denied recent speculation it had won the attention of mining behemoth BHP Billiton.
Investors in London were in for a volatile day's trading.
Shares ended the day with a flourish, recovering from early losses as a £4 billion takeover by photocopier group Xerox lifted the mood.
The FTSE 100 index put on 70.64 points to 5152.84, while in New York the Dow shot up 113.9 points to 9779.09.
Building and plumbing goliath Wolseley claimed first place on the winners' board, 134p higher at 1443p, after its preliminary results were slightly less disastrous than feared.
With the rumour of Kraft bidding for Cadbury actually coming true, investors were speculating today about which other perennial takeover stories might have some substance in them - and drugs maker AstraZeneca was the beneficiary.
Its shares jumped 88p to 2839½p on talk that Swiss rival Novartis might be looking to pounce.
Astra was also helped higher by victory in the latest round of its fight against generic competitors to Seroquel, its treatment for bipolar disorder. A US court upheld its patent rights against generic drugs firm Teva Pharmaceuticals.
Meanwhile, fellow pharmaceuticals firm GlaxoSmithKline rose 21½p to 1249p as news that it was taking its Lucozade brand to China offset the disappointment that it has pulled its applications for vomiting-relief drug Zunrisa because further safety research was needed.
The spotlight also fell on Diageo and a possible offer for the two thirds of Moët Hennessy owned by luxury goods group LVMH.
Guinness and Smirnoff vodka owner Diageo already owns a 34% stake in the wine and spirits arm.
UBS reckons that a deal would fit in well with the drinks giants' strategy, but warns that it is likely to come with a hefty price tag.
Nomura, meanwhile, advised clients to snap up Diageo. It has upped its price target for the shares from 1100p to 1150p, sending them 10½p higher to 976½p.
Home Retail Group, the Argos and Homebase owner, was the FTSE's worst performer, diving 9¾p to 276¼p after Credit Suisse cut its rating on the shares from neutral to underperform.
Analysts at the Swiss bank warn that catalogues group Argos is struggling to compete with Tesco Direct and that its pricing model is therefore coming under pressure.
Car dealerships received a boost from Lord Mandelson, after the business secretary extending the Government's "cash for old bangers" car scrappage scheme. Inchcape put on 1½p to 29p and rival Pendragon added ¼p to 37¾p.
Miners recovered from early losses as metal prices rallied. Anglo American put on 8½p to 2067½p as chief executive Cynthia Carroll said the outlook for the industry is brightening, even though she predicts growth in demand from metal-hungry China will slow.
Speaking in Brisbane, Australia, Carroll said: "We have seen the worst of the downturn and we are starting to see the first signs of recovery."
The rally in copper and nickel prices has been particularly encouraging, she added.
There was also vague talk that BHP Billiton, 5½p stronger at 1698p, might step in if Xstrata walks away from a takeover of Anglo, and pursue either Anglo or Xstrata, 17½p stronger at 921½p.
Shares in Marks & Spencer, 1p dearer at 369p, have rallied by almost a third since May, and Pali International's retail expert Nick Bubb reckons this has left them looking dear.
While most analysts are expecting Sir Stuart Rose to unveil a substantially improved set of second-quarter figures on Wednesday, Bubb isn't convinced.
He is forecasting a 4.5% drop in like-for-likes in general merchandise and a 2.5% fall in food sales.
He advises dumping the shares and gives them a 315p price target.
