Aug 11 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening down 43 points, or 0.6 percent, on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers. The UK blue chip index closed up 15.12 points, or 0.2 percent, on Wednesday at 6866.42 points, its fifth straight day of gains as stronger financial stocks offset weaker energy shares which tracked a pullback in oil prices. LSE/DEUTSCHE BOERSE : Deutsche Boerse (DE:DB1Gn) DB1Gn.DE said on Wednesday that more than 75 percent of its shares have been tendered for its agreed $29 billion merger with the London Stock Exchange Group LSE.L . WILLIAM HILL/ RANK GROUP: Casino and bingo hall operator Rank Group Plc RNK.L and online gambling company 888 Holdings Plc 888.L said they would welcome an opportunity to talk with the board of William Hill Plc WMH.L over their goal of a merger, after their joint takeover offer was rejected. CALEDONIA INVESTMENTS: Caledonia Investments PLC CLDN.L has agreed to pay $480,000 to resolve charges that it failed to report to the government share purchases made in 2014, the Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday. TUI GROUP: Europe's largest tour operator TUI Group TUIT.L confirmed its full-year forecasts as a focus on long-haul destinations, and Spain helped make up for a drop in customers choosing Turkey and North Africa for their holidays this year. EX-DIVS: Ashtead Group AHT.L , AstraZeneca AZN.L , Barclays BARC.L , Berkeley Group BKGH.L , BT Group BT.L , Diageo DGE.L , Direct Line DLGD.L , Fresnillo FRES.L , GKN GKN.L , GlaxoSmithKline GSK.L , HSBC Holdings HSBA.L , Informa INF.L , Lloyds Banking Group LLOY.L , Merlin MERL.L , RDS'A RDSa.L , Royal Dutch Shell B RDSb.L , Rio Tinto RIO.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 37 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets
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