STOCKS NEWS UK-Micro Focus falls on renewed Borland battle

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08:20GMT 26Jun2009-Micro Focus falls on Borland battle

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Shares in Micro Focus (MCRO.L) fall 2 percent as bid target Borland says it has received a counter-offer from a unnamed bidder at a higher price than the British software firm's $1.15 per share offer.

Piper Jaffrey says the return of the previous bidder with an offer of $1.25 per share increases the risk that Micro Focus will walk away from the deal.

"While the core Micro Focus business remains strong, as evidenced by Thursday's results, clearly an increased Micro Focus bid would eat into this accretion and impact the pace of potential earnings growth," the analysts write in a note.

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08:07GMT 26Jun2009-Inchcape weak; HSBC downgrades