PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - April 24

April 24 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

Headlines

- Ithaca Energy agrees 750 million stg deal for most of Eni's UK oil and gasfields

- Pendragon owner to cut hundreds of jobs in used car overhaul

- Two UK water companies lack complete maps of sewage networks

- JD Sports to deepen US reach with $1 billion bid for Hibbett

Overview

- Ithaca Energy has agreed on a deal to acquire almost all of Eni's UK oil and gas fields in a transaction worth about £750mn that will turn the London-listed company into one of the North Sea's largest producers.

- US group Lithia, which recently acquired Stratstone and Evans Halshaw dealerships from Pendragon, is preparing to cut hundreds of jobs due to a plunge in the supply of used cars post-pandemic.

- Thames Water and Southern Water, two of Britain's biggest water companies have failed to map large parts of their sewage networks, underscoring the challenge facing privatised utilities as they try to fix their poor environmental record and reduce spills.

- British sportswear chain JD Sports is accelerating its push into the U.S. by snapping up New York-listed rival Hibbett in a $1.1 billion deal, its biggest acquisition to date.

(Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)