A cheeky website about deals, dealmakers and anything else I find interesting. Edited by Ben Harrington. If you have a tip or want to discuss a story please feel free to email Betaville at ben@betaville.co.uk. Betaville can also be reached at Whats App, Signal or Telegram. Betaville's Twitter handle is @bharringtonw11 and you can message me via Twitter with stories.
Thursday, 27 February 2020, 2:03 pm
I know this is starting to sound a bit hackneyed but: another day, another confirmation for little old Betaville.
You might recall that this website published a series of Betaville Intelligence articles about Gain Capital, owner of Michael Spencer's spread betting firm City Index, and then revealed INTL FCStone was the mystery suitor circling the business. Below are the links, including a follow up in Mail on Sunday's business section...
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Wednesday, 26 February 2020, 9:20 pm
Remember Circassia Pharmaceuticals? It was the Woodford-backed Aim darling that hit the headlines with its potential a treatment for people with cat allergies.
But that plan, along with Woodford's investment, went down the drain when the company discovered "its investigational house dust mite allergy immunotherapy failed to show a significant effect compared with placebo"...
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Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 25 February 2020, 11:36 am
Is Morgan Stanley advising/financing GKSD and Gruppo San Donato on their potential bid for NMC Health?
The reason I posit this question is that there have been a series of disclosures suggesting that's the case without it being explicitly laid out. See below:..
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Betaville IntelligenceMonday, 24 February 2020, 9:19 am
Avid followers of my work might have noticed over the weekend in the Mail on Sunday's business section that a colleague and I spotted that Richard Chandler, the Kiwi "billionaire" was behind Jasmine Capital Investments, which has been building a significant stake in beleguered NMC Health over the last few weeks. See the link below:..
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Betaville IntelligenceMonday, 24 February 2020, 8:58 am
Oh look - I see the mystery suitor that has been circling Countrywide for the last six months has finally decided to step out of the shadows via Mark, "the Kleinmanator", Kleinman of Sky News.
Below is a link to Mark's great scoop and the pieces I wrote last year about Countrywide (whose spinners were denying back then anything was afoot):..
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Friday, 21 February 2020, 9:39 am
Looking through today's business sections Betaville was surprised by how little coverage was given to Smith & Nephew, a FTSE 100-listed company that yesterday announced much better-than-expected figures.
The excellent The Times business section, run by my old boss Richard "Fletch" Fletcher, gave the Smith & Nephew earnings story a small slot while the Daily Mail led the market report with the orthopedics company...
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Friday, 21 February 2020, 8:06 am
Hat tip to John Lee, who writes an investing column for the venerable Financial Times.
Last summer Mr Lee, who wrote How to Make a Million - Slowly, suggested the politically incorrect Daejan Holdings should be taken private for around £80.00 a share in a piece in the Pink 'Un. Below is a link to the piece:
https://www.ft.com/content/b888c308-814a-11e9-a7f0-77d3101896ec..
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersThursday, 20 February 2020, 7:47 pm
Betaville IntelligenceWednesday, 19 February 2020, 7:20 am
I see rivals at Bloomberg yesterday afternoon attempted to disseminate Betaville's UNCOOKED Alert to its subscribers.
According to the Bloomberg report about yesterday's UNCOOKED Alert, Betaville Intelligence reported (I know this starting to sound really weird) that "an unidentified US company is weighing an offer for the company [Vodafone]"...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 18 February 2020, 2:42 pm
Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 18 February 2020, 1:13 pm
The Kleinmanator over at Sky News has just dug out a rather good angle on Acadia Healthcare's sale of Priory Group, the rehab centre well-known for treating British celebrities, such as Kate Moss.
According to Mark's report, Schoen Klinik, which is owned by Carlyle, is among a group of potential acquirers interested in buying the Priory Group for £1.2 billion. Below is a link to his piece:..
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Tuesday, 18 February 2020, 12:58 pm
Well that didn't take long. From one asset management deal to the next in just 24 hours. The latest is in the US with Franklin Templeton buying Legg Mason for $6.5 billion.
The venerable Wall Street Journal got the "scoop" although one is often suspicious when the actual deal is announced just a few hours after publication...
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Monday, 17 February 2020, 7:20 pm
So, Jupiter shares surged 8.3pc to close at 429.9p following today's announcements.
Clearly, the market is willing to look past mediocre results if you have a deal up your sleave.
I suspect that will encourage other asset managers to carry out similar measures.....
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersMonday, 17 February 2020, 2:22 pm
Monday, 17 February 2020, 7:45 am
This weekend's M&A scoop about Jupiter buying Richard Buxton's fund manager Merian from private equity group TA Associates was confirmed by both companies this morning. See the link below:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/jupiter-fund-mgmt--jup-/rns/acquisition/202002170700101791D/..
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Friday, 14 February 2020, 6:36 pm
Smoothy chops uber banker Andrea Orcel has lost his criminal case against Spanish bank Santander. Below is a link to the FT piece on the topic:
https://www.ft.com/content/b8d88544-4f32-11ea-95a0-43d18ec715f5..
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Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 13 February 2020, 5:01 pm
The confirmations are coming thick and fast for Betaville at the moment.
Last October this website identified that Germany's RIB Software was a takeover target for a mystery predator via a Betaville Intelligence alert. See the link below:
https://www.betaville.co.uk/betaville-intelligence/uncooked-alert-rib-software-said-to/..
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Wednesday, 12 February 2020, 5:44 pm
Another day, another confirmation for little old Betaville.
This time ICG, also known Intermediate Capital Group, sealed the deal to buy a signficant stake in Pageant Media.
Pageant Media is the publisher and owner of Hedge Fund Intelligence and EuroHedge, publications many of Betaville's readers know well...
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Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 11 February 2020, 3:57 pm
So KKR decided to finally make a statement regarding FTSE 100-listed NMC Health. I have pasted it below:
"Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. ("KKR") notes the announcement yesterday by NMC stating that it has received an approach from KKR regarding a possible offer for NMC.
KKR confirms that it has not made a proposal nor discussed with NMC the terms of any possible offer, and that it does not intend to make an offer for NMC."..
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Tuesday, 11 February 2020, 7:08 am
I see Reuters is reporting that China's HNA is looking to rekindle a sale of Swissport International, the baggage handling group. Below is a link to media group's story.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hna-swissport-m-a/chinas-hna-steps-up-efforts-to-sell-swissport-at-big-discount-sources-idUSKBN1ZZ1WM..
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[Disclaimer - the information on Betaville does not consitute any form of investment recommendation and is not intended to be relied upon by readers in making, or refraining from, any investment decisions].