Rosebank Industries has announced its first acquisition since the vehicle listed in London last year. Rosebank has acquired Electrical Components International (ECI), a leading US electrical distribution systems company, in a deal valued at around $1.9 billion enterprise value.

The acquisition, which marks Rosebank’s first under its “Buy, Improve, Sell” strategy, is being financed through a fully underwritten institutional capital raise of approximately £1.14 billion at £3.00 per share, alongside $900 million in new debt facilities.

“The effective Melrose 2.0 has found its first target for a ‘buy, improve, sell’ strategy,” said Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“Rosebank was launched by former Melrose directors with the aim of replicating previous success in finding businesses that were battered, bruised or had simply lost their way, and sprucing them up before flipping at a premium.”

ECI, which generates around $1.3 billion in annual revenues with an adjusted operating margin of approximately 13%, is a leader positions in wire harnesses and controls across industrial, electrification, HVAC and appliance sectors. North America accounts for roughly 80% of the company’s revenues.

Rosebank’s goal is to improve operations, aiming to boost ECI’s operating margin by five percentage points to at least 18%, which would lift adjusted EBITDA margins to at least 20%. The plan is to launch a wave of cost-saving initiatives, restructuring, and working capital optimisation.

The company also intends to continue ECI’s acquisition strategy of purchasing smaller, complementary high-margin businesses.

“This is the first step on the journey and we are very confident that we can help ECI to fully realise its potential for the benefit of its employees, customers and our shareholders,” said Simon Peckham, Rosebank CEO.

The acquisition represents approximately 9x expected 2025 adjusted EBITDA, with Rosebank targeting a doubling of its investment over three to five years.

“Rosebank is certainly not buying electrical components business ECI on the cheap,” Russ Mould said.

“It is paying nine times adjusted earnings which is fine for a company that is running smoothly, but twice as much as you might find with acquisitions of a broken business. Rosebank hopes to improve ECI’s margins, improve working capital and reduce leverage so servicing debt doesn’t consume so much of its cash flow. This sounds like fine-tuning the engine rather than chucking in a new one.”

The FTSE 100 ticked higher on Friday as investors digested a fight between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful man that played out on social media overnight.

Donald Trump and Elon Musk fired shots at each other on the social media platforms they own, with Musk claiming that Donald Trump is in the Epstein files, and Trump suggesting that he will cancel billions in government contracts with Musk’s companies.

Time to drop the really big bomb:@realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files. That is the real reason they have not been made public.

Have a nice day, DJT!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025

Tesla shares fell 14% overnight, and Musk said Trump should be impeached. Elon Musk also said that Donald Trump’s tariffs will push the US into recession.

“We all knew it would end like this. Two big beasts in the White House were unlikely to last long, and the bromance has turned sour. Tesla shares are the big loser from the fallout, after their nosedive yesterday, while markets patiently await the latest payroll report,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief Market Analyst at global trading platform IG.

The Trump tariffs will cause a recession in the second half of this year https://t.co/rbBC11iynE

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 5, 2025

While the spat makes for very interesting reading for traders, it’s yet to have a major impact on UK markets. The S&P 500 closed down 0.5%, but futures are pointing to a higher open.

“The FTSE looks unlikely to move much this morning with little scheduled in the way of corporate news for investors to hang their hat on. That sentiment reflects an unremarkable 24 hours on markets across the globe,” said Derren Nathan, head of equity research, Hargreaves Lansdown.

“But world markets remain at close to all-time highs, despite the reality of higher tariffs and diminishing confidence for both businesses and consumers. So, it’s little surprise investors are taking their foot off the gas.”

There were slightly more FTSE 100 gainers than losers at the time of writing, with 58 of the 100 constituents trading higher.

SSE was the FTSE 100’s top riser with a gain of 1.5%.

Housebuilders were higher after Halifax released data showing the average UK house price fell 0.4% in the month to May. Persimmon rose 1% and Taylor Wimpey added 0.7%.

The UK arm of US low-cost broker Robinhood has released the top stocks traded by its clients in May.

The data highlights ongoing interest in the world’s leading technology shares, with Nvidia topping the list and companies such as Tesla and Palantir claiming a spot.

Robinhood UK’s top ten stocks traded in May:

1. NVIDIA (NVDA)
2. Tesla (TSLA)
3. Hims & Hers Health (HIMS)
4. Strategy (MSTR)
5. Super Micro Computer (SMCI)
6. Robinhood (HOOD)
7. Coinbase (COIN)
8. Palantir (PLTR)
9. CoreWeave (CRWV)
10. Apple (AAPL)

“The tech-dominant team sheet got a few new names in May’s buy list. AI and crypto were still the leading themes behind the top 10 stock buys last month on Robinhood UK, but the mix looks a bit different with Palantir dropping down the ranks, Tempus AI dropping out, and Apple sneaking into the party,” said Dan Lane, Lead Analyst at Robinhood UK.

“Strong Q1 earnings and continued demand for AI chips boosted NVIDIA’s stock through May. The month wasn’t without its challenges though and US export restrictions prompted the company to write down its inventory by $5.5bn. Still, a $40bn deal with Oracle to supply NVIDIA chips for a giant US data centre in Texas, as part of the Stargate AI project, kept investors on board.

“Tesla stock picked up at the end of April and powered through May, even with European sales suffering. April marked the fourth consecutive month of declining sales in the region, down by 49% year on year, with EV fans opting for cheaper brands. But, it’s the robotaxi rollout investors are clearly more interested in – the market will be on the lookout for the new Model Y this summer too.”

The FTSE 100 struggled for direction on Thursday as nagging concerns about trade and ex-dividend prevented the index from attacking all-time highs, while improving optimism around the TACO trade kept investors in the market.

London’s leading index was trading up 0.1% at the time of writing. 

“UK markets are in a holding pattern, with the FTSE 100 patiently waiting for a fresh catalyst to deliver the final push toward new all-time highs. The UK-US trade deal appears to be doing enough to insulate UK markets from excessive Trump-related volatility, though it remains to be seen how long this relative calm will last,” said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.

With the FTSE 100 so close to record highs, the psychological element to trading starts to creep in, and investors will start to question whether we’re in the right environment for the UK’s benchmark equity index to trade at fresh records. 

Traders will also be conscious that the sharp recovery for Trump’s Liberation Day announcement leaves the index vulnerable to a wave of profit taking on the slightest of negative developments. 

Investors will also have one eye on the ECB and their rate decision. As always, the press conference will likely provide the most potential for a market move with rates expected to be cut again for the 8th time in a row.

“Inflation isn’t a problem, but sluggish economic growth is. That points to further monetary easing to encourage more borrowing and spending by consumers and businesses,” AJ Bell’s Russ Mould said.

Although the FTSE 100 was fairly flat on an index level, there were underlying signs of caution. There was again a bid in safe haven stocks such as precious metals miners, pharmaceutical firms, and consumer staples that suggested investors weren’t entirely convinced about the immediate outlook for stocks. 

Precious metals miner Fresnillo enjoyed buying interest with gold and silver prices trading near recent highs. 

WPP was the top faller as the stock traded ex-dividend. Sainsbury’s shares were in the same boat.