Misys, the UK-listed software company, has opened its doors to potential acquirers after receiving several indicative offers worth about £1bn (€1.5bn). Its shares immediately jumped 3.5%.

Sir Dominic Cadbury, chairman of an independent committee that has been studying offers for Misys with adviser JPMorgan Cazenove, said it was "in the best interests of shareholders to allow certain parties access to specific non-public information in order to carry out due diligence".