UK Stocks-Factors to watch on May 8

May 8 (Reuters) - Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE index is seen opening 13 points higher at 7,580 on Tuesday, according to financial bookmakers.

* VIRGIN MONEY: Virgin Money VM.L said on Monday it had received an all-stock takeover offer from rival CYBG Plc CYBGC.L , a proposal that values the British lender at about 1.6 billion pounds ($2.17 billion). TAKEDA-SHIRE: Takeda Pharmaceutical 4502.T is nearing an agreement to buy rival drugmaker Shire Plc SHP.L , a deal which could be announced on Tuesday, the deadline set by U.K. regulators for Takeda to make a firm offer for Shire, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. https://bloom.bg/2I0D92e

* SHELL: Royal Dutch Shell Plc's Shell Gas B.V. RDSa.L unit said on Monday it was selling its entire stake in Canadian Natural Resources Ltd CNQ.TO for $3.3 billion. BP: Iraq's state-run North Oil Company signed an agreement with BP BP.L on Monday to triple output from the Kirkuk fields in the north of the country, Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said. SKY: U.S. cable operator Comcast CMCSA.O has formally notified the European Commission of its intention to bid for Britain's pay-TV group Sky SKYB.L , starting the clock on a review, a regulatory source told Reuters on Monday. GOLD: Gold prices remained subdued on Tuesday as the dollar held steady near its 2018 high on the relative strength of the U.S. economy. OIL: Oil prices retreated from 3-1/2 year highs on Tuesday as investors waited on an announcement by President Donald Trump on whether the United States will reimpose sanctions on Iran. The UK blue chip index closed 0.86 percent higher at 7,567.14 points on Friday, helped by strong results from British Airways owner IAG (LON: ICAG ), while HSBC joined French banks in reporting weaker profit which hit its shares. For more on the factors affecting European stocks, please click on: cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets