A cheeky website about deals, dealmakers and anything else I find interesting. Edited by Ben Harrington. If you have a tip, want to discuss a story or have a subscription enquiry please feel free to email Betaville at [email protected]. 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.
Mocado, Markado and Ocamark. These are just some of the monikers being used to describe the latest Marks & Spencer / Ocado joint venture tie-up.
Anyway, hat tip to the Evening Standard's Russell Lynch for smoking out the latest iteration of the deal with his scoop today in the paper about the impending transaction. Below is a link to Russell Lynch's piece in case you missed it:..
Charming Crispin was gracious enough to talk to little old Betaville last week about the Wirecard shenanigans despite the ribbing over the past few years.
So, in you case missed it over the weekend I have pasted a link to the mini interview with Crispin - last year's pest performing hedge fund manager, according to HSBC - in yesterday's Mail on Sunday's excellent business section...
Reach 4 Entertainment confirmed Betaville's RARE ALERT yesterday but it would appear I only got hold of one aspect of the story.
Below is a link to the press release, which confirms a £3 million equity fundraising but also unveils the acquisition of Agency Press Limited:..
I see former The Sunday Times colleague, Simon Duke, is being rather mean to NM Rothschild banker Majid Ishaq in today's business diary in The Times.
Dukey gently mocks Ishaq, the man in charge of advising Asda on its merger with J Sainsbury, for a potential loss of a multi-million pound success fee after it became clear the CMA is likely to block the mega deal. Below is a link to Simon's piece:..
Reach 4 Entertainment, the London-listed marketing communications company, is said to be tapping the equity markets for capital.
People claiming to be familiar with the matter said Reach 4 Entertainment is looking to raise up to £4 million in fresh funds, possibly via a placing with investors.
It's not clear which broker is leading the equity fundraising but people claiming to be familiar with the matter said the new shares could be issued at around 1.1p...
Oh look - a group of Labour MPs led by Chuka Umanna have split from Labour and appear to be on the cusp of launching a new political party, thereby confirming a tale little old Betaville stumbled across just over two years ago.
In case you don't recall, below is a link to my original "exclusive" story:..
It would appear last Friday's post on Wirecard as part of a 6 part series of stories dating back from 2016 has got quite a few readers' knickers in a twist.
Clearly, many followers of the site didn't bother to read past the headline and just presumed Betaville was reporting the Chinese are in talks about taking a 25pc stake in Wirecard.....
An investment firm owned by Lloyds Banking Group is preparing to sell CitySprint, one of Britain's biggest same-day delivery companies.
People familiar with the matter said Lloyds Development Capital, the private equity arm of Lloyds, had recently appointed advisers from corporate finance firm Raymond James to look at offloading CitySprint...
Betaville's Wirecard series returns!
Why?
Well, after reading today's front page of the Companies & Markets section of the venerable Financial Times about Ant Financial's $700 million purchase of WorldFirst Betaville was struck by the fact that the timing of the deal is rather amusing given that the Chinese group was once suggested as a potential investor/acquirer of 25pc of Wirecard...
Well, Betaville has added Premier Foods's Ambrosia to the busted auction list.
Below is a link to this morning's RNS that says Ambrosia has been taken off the market because of "the present business climate the process will not result in a satisfactory financial outcome"...
City hacks are trying hard to dig up deal stories. This week, for example, Mark "The Kleinmanator" Kleinman of Sky News "revealed" that the owners of sandwhich chain Eat and department store Liberty had hired advisers to find purchasers for both businesses.
However, according to Betaville's well-placed sources, there are just as many, if not more, deals falling over in the UK during this period of extreme political uncertainty...
Tucked away in the Evening Standard's business section is a story from Laura Onita about how Mike Ashley's holding company has organised a £907 million revolving credit facility.
It was good a spot in the Mash Holdings's Companies House filings from the up-and-coming hackette and got Betaville pondering on why the maverick entrepreneur had organised such a big credit line...
The Irish punters - Dermot Desmond, John Magnier and JP McManus - behind Barchester Healthcare could be in luck.
Dealmaking has been tough in the last couple of months, with several sales processes falling over (more on that topic in another post) due to volatile markets and the dreaded Brexit...
Is anybody else wondering why Mike Ashley changed his mind about trying to buy Patisserie Valerie in the space of 48 hours?
The whole idea of Ashley buying the coffee chain seemed rather bizarre in the first place. Trainers, tracksuits and, er, French-themed croissant bars...
Take a bow Lucy White of the Daily Mail for completing nailing the "Mike Ashley to bid for Patisserie Valerie" story.
The business section of the Daily Mail splashed on the Lucy's scoop a couple of weeks ago. Below is a link to her original piece:..
The company that installs panic buttons and bed sensors in the homes of the elderly has been put up for sale by one of the City's most secretive private equity firms and its lenders for up to £500 million.
City sources said bankers at Jefferies have been appointed by Charterhouse and some of Tunstall's debt holders to find a buyer for the company following a financial restructuring a couple of years ago...
Hat tip to friend and occasional colleague John "The Ridge" Collingridge, deputy City editor of The Sunday Times, who revealed last summer that Thomas Cook was once again weighing a sale of its airline.
Below is a link to John's scoop:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/thomas-cook-eyes-break-up-with-airline-sale-xzkwhh2n3..
[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].