Following the reports that Continental is in talks to sell off various parts of its wider group, analysts have responded positively to Siemens’ recent sale of its Energy division, saying it is good for Conti.

Upgrading their rating to “buy”, Jefferies analysts said: “Siemen’s recent spin-off of Energy gives confidence that Conti’s share price will benefit from its planned spin-off of Vitesco as the combined market cap of Siemens and Energy was up 7 per cent on the day of transaction (DAX +3%)” The implication, they explained, was that there was a discount in Siemens’ sum-of-the-parts valuation. That being the case, given Conti’s “more attractive transaction structure”, the analysts predicted that Conti’s “re-rating should be more pronounced.”