UK Stocks-Factors to watch on May 23

May 23 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 27 points lower at 7,307 on Thursday, according to financial bookmakers.

* MERLIN: Activist investor ValueAct confirmed an earlier Financial Times report which stated that it urged Merlin Entertainments MERL.L, the owner of Madame Tussauds, the London Eye, Alton Towers, to go private.

* ACACIA: Barrick Gold Corp's ABX.TO proposal to take full control of its Acacia Mining Plc ACAA.L unit to resolve a long-standing tax dispute with Tanzania has drawn the ire of Acacia's minority shareholders, who may have the ultimate vote on a deal.

* LLOYD'S OF LONDON: Lloyd's of London SOLYD.UL is proposing merging two of its governance bodies, the council and the board which together oversee the insurance market, to reduce overlap, a source familiar with the matter said.

* ARCADIA: British retail tycoon Philip Green's Arcadia Group said on Wednesday it planned to close 23 of its 566 stores in the UK and Ireland in a major restructuring of the fashion business that could also see its Topshop/Topman stores close in the U.S.

* EX-DIVS: Bunzl BNZL.L, Carnival CCL.L, DCC DCC.L, Imperial Brands IMB.L and Morrison MRW.L will trade without entitlement to their latest dividend pay-out on Thursday, trimming 3.02 points off the FTSE 100 according to Reuters calculations.

* The UK blue chip index closed 0.1% higher on Wednesday. Brexit sensitive housebuilders and airlines slid as rumours circulated that ministers could oust Theresa May after her latest EU exit plan failed to win support, while exporters lifted the FTSE 100 as the pound weakened.

* For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: LIVE/

* UK CORPORATE DIARY:

Mediclinic

MDCM.L

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United Utilities

UU.L

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Intertek

ITRK.L

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Tate & Lyle

TATE.L

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Mitchells & Butlers

MAB.L

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Great Portland

GPOR.L

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Dairy Crest

DCG.L

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Essentra

ESNT.L

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Mothercare

MTC.L

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TalkTalk

TALK.L

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TODAY'S UK PAPERS > Financial Times PRESS/FT > Other business headlines PRESS/GB

(Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru)

((justin.varghese@thomsonreuters.com; Tel: +91 80 6749 3486; Reuters Messaging: justin.varghese.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

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