Investing.com -- British stocks opened higher on Monday, kickstarting the week on a positive note, with online food delivery platform Deliveroo (OTC: DROOF ) shares sky rocketing after receiving a takeover offer last week.

As of 0710 GMT, the blue-chip index FTSE 100 gained 0.4%, while the British pound fell 0.07% against the dollar to 1.33.

Meanwhile, DAX index in Germany rose 0.4%, the CAC 40 in France gained 0.5%.

Deliveroo shares soar after DoorDash bid, halts buyback

Shares of Deliveroo Holdings PLC (LON: ROO ) rose 16.8% at Monday’s open following a takeover offer from U.S.-based DoorDash Inc (NASDAQ: DASH ) last week, prompting the company to suspend its $133.13 million share buyback program.

On Friday, the online food delivery company disclosed it had received a £2.7 billion ($3.59 billion) acquisition proposal from DoorDash on April 5.

The company said it is inclined to recommend the 180 pence-per-share offer to shareholders, pending agreement on other terms.

Plus500 upgrades full-year forecast

Online trading platform Plus500 Ltd (LON: PLUSP ) projected on Monday that its full-year results will outperform current market expectations, citing an excellent start to the year.

In the first quarter of 2025, Plus500 reported a 13% increase in revenue, amounting to $205.8 million. This figure, however, represents a 5% decline compared to the same period a year ago.

RBC starts coverage on U.K. defense stocks

RBC Capital Markets has begun coverage of several U.K.-listed defense and security technology companies, naming Cohort (LON: CHRT ), Chemring Group PLC (LON: CHG ), and Qinetiq Group PLC (LON: QQ ) among them.

Cohort and Chemring were both rated Outperform, while QinetiQ received a Sector Perform rating.

RBC views all three as well-positioned to benefit from a potential surge in NATO defense spending, which could more than double by 2030 if targets rise to 3.5% of GDP.