Shares rose by up to 18% on Wednesday as rumours of bid by Nippon Sheet Glass circled the City.
Pilkington has denied that it is in £2bn takeover talks after feverish speculation on the stock markets yesterday.
Rumours that Nippon Sheet Glass, its biggest shareholder, was preparing to offer 150p a share for the company, sent Pilkington’s shares soaring yesterday morning. Shares peaked at 138.75p before falling back to 125.5p after a spokesman for the company denied the speculation.
He told the Bloomberg news agency: "We are not in any discussions regarding a potential takeover".
Nippon, which has a 20% stake in Pilkington, is one of the few rivals in a position to takeover the company. Larger competitors such as Saint-Gobain, PPG Industries and Visteon would find it difficult to get the deal past the regulators.
Analysts said that investors were looking for the next takeover target in the construction materials sector. RMC and Novar has received bids in the last six months and today Holcim announced a formal £1.8bn bid for Aggregate Industries.
