UK stock preview: SSE, Prudential, Vodafone

• SSE share price dips on Monday morning (20 September 2021), after it clarified plans to keep the group in tact
• Prudential share price plunges over 7% after it announced a Hong Kong share sale
• Vodafone share price falls as much as 1% in early trading
• Feeling bullish or bearish about these UK stocks? Open an account with us to start trading them.

SSE (LON: SSE)

SSE has stated that there ‘has been no decision to break up’ the company, in response to recent media speculation regarding plans to split the group.

‘The board remains fully focused on strategic choices which will drive shareholder value from the wealth of net zero opportunities the company is creating,’ it added in a bourse filing on Monday.

The energy company further noted that it will provide an update on its plans to further accelerate growth in its portfolio with its Half Year Results in November.

This will include details of significantly increased capital investment for the period to 2026, sources of funding, the company's vision for further growth into the 2030s, ambitions for installed renewable and flexible capacity, as well as networks RAV projections.

Following recent reshaping of the group, SSE's current strategic focus is on renewables and regulated electricity networks.

Prudential (LON: PRU)

Prudential has announced its intention to raise up to 5% of its issued share capital, or up to approximately 130.8 million shares, on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through a concurrent Hong Kong public offer and international placing.

Proceeds of the share sale, which amounts to roughly £2 billion at an offer price of HK$172 a share, are expected to maintain and enhance Prudential's ‘financial flexibility in light of the breadth of opportunities to invest for growth in Asia and Africa’.

Specifically, US$2.25 billion (approximately £1.65 billion) is expected to be used to redeem existing high coupon debt, with the remaining net proceeds expected to contribute to Prudential's central stock of liquidity.

The public offer, which consists of up to approximately 6.5 million new shares initially to be issued in Hong Kong, is only available to Hong Kong residents, and includes a preferential offer to eligible employees and agents of up to approximately 1.3 million shares.

The share sale prospectus has been registered with the Registrar of Companies in Hong Kong.

Vodafone (LON: VOD)

Vodafone Group Plc and ITU, the United Nations' specialised agency for information and communication technologies, have launched a new initiative to address the global digital divide.

The aim of the initiative is to provide an additional 3.4 billion people with access to an internet-enabled smartphone by 2030.

‘As our societies become more digital, everyone should have the ability to find jobs, be able to get public services, financial services and critical information that are increasingly only available through the internet,’ said Nick Read, CEO of Vodafone Group.

‘This is such a complex challenge that no network operator, device manufacturer, financial services provider or national government can solve on their own - but working together we can break through the barriers.’

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