Dairy Crest surged 23.6 to 372.6p after Germany's Theo Mueller Group, which makes M�ller yoghurts, said it had acquired a 3pc stake in the London-listed company. The move triggered speculation the secretive German dairy giant may be lining up a bid for Dairy Crest.
Damian McNeela, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, told Bloomberg: "This indicates that Mueller may make a formal offer for Dairy Crest � they might be looking to widen their product base in the UK".