Market Report: Activist investors SpringOwl placed a bet and bought 6 per cent of Bwin

Activist investors at SpringOwl have swooped on the bookie Bwin.Party and are hoping they could be on to a winner.

SpringOwl Gibraltar placed a bet and bought a 6.1 per cent stake in the FTSE-250 listed online poker specialist and Bwin jumped more than 5 per cent on the news yesterday.

SpringOwl and its sister fund Owl Spring Asset Management was formed last year when former Wall Street gaming analyst Jason Ader's Ader Investment Management merged with activist investor Cumberland Associates. Cumberland traces its history back to 1970 and is one of the US's oldest hedge funds. SpringOwl snapped up shares from trusts associated with two of Bwin's founders – Ruth Parasol DeLeon and Russell DeLeon – who are divorcing. The pair agreed to sell their stakes as part of an agreement to secure a US gambling licence and make the process less complicated.

Bwin was 6p ahead at 119p on the news.

The FTSE 100 roared ahead for the third consecutive day and breached the 6800 level – up 66.61 points to 6,802.61.

Despite InterContinental Hotel announcing a 10 per cent profit jump, investors were disappointed about its cash return and it was the worst faller on the blue chip index, down 66p to 1,981p.

BT was top of the pile – up 13.8p to 418.1p – and still popular after a victory in court this week against rival BSkyB on pay TV.

Power producer Drax beat analysts' expectations after a good performance from its coal plants, but caution over the year ahead dropped it 2.5p to 803.5p.

Tate & Lyle left a bitter taste as Berenberg Bank cut its target price for the sweetener maker and it fell 12.5p to 644p.

Mid-cap chemical company AZ Electronic Materials reported full-year results, with profit for the year falling to $112.6m (£67.4m). Canaccord Genuity said the numbers were "encouraging at the operational level" and it was 2p better at 396p.

Aim-listed palm oil developer DekelOil said initial production had started ahead of schedule at its crude palm oil mill in the Ivory Coast – one of West Africa's largest – and it was 0.25p slicker at 1.55p.