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.
REVEALED: David Cameron lined up for a senior role with at ex Morgan Stanley banker's Greensill Capital
Here is a juicy snippet: David Cameron, former prime minister of the United Kingdom, is said to be in talks to join Lex Greensill's financial services group.
According to sources claiming to be familiar with the matter, Mr Cameron has been holding discussions with Mr Greensill over the last twelve months about working for his firm in a senior advisory role...
Just Eat backer in talks to buy Travel Counsellors for £250 million - sources
The deals are coming thick and fast in this febrile M&A market.
Indeed, Betaville undestands Travel Counsellors, a travel agent that uses 1700 "freelance advisers", is close to being sold to Vitruvian Partners for around £250 million.
Vitruvian Partners has previously backed Just Eat, Farfetch and Skyscanner...
Quelle Surprise: ITE buys Ascential's exhibitions business...
Oh look - ITE has announced it is buying Ascential's exhibitions business for £300 million. Below is the press release:
RARE ALERT: Huntsworth said to .....
REVEALED: Chandaria family put Scotland's Emtelle on the block for £300 million - sources
Have you ever heard of the Chandaria family?
Well, Betaville hadn't until he started investigating a story about one of the companies owned by family - Emtelle, a pipe and cable manufacturer.
Anyway, it turns out the Chandarias are serious players but somewhat secretive with holdings companies in Panama, Luxembourg and Switzerland...
UNCOOKED, RARE AND WELL-DONE.....
RARE ALERT: On The Beach Group said to ... - part 2
Goodbye Richard Segal, non-executive chairman of On The Beach Group. It emerged yesterday he is moving on from the holiday booking firm after five years as non-executive chairman.
Good riddance is all Betaville can say.
That's because Segal went beserko after Betaville got hold of a legimate story about the company hiring NM Rothschild as a "defence advisor" last year...
Bull markets, activists and deals - part 2
Exane BNP Paribas are jumping on the Wienerberger bid talk band wagon by adding it to its "M&A targets list". I guess that's not exactly a surprise given Betaville noted activist Petrus had turned up on the shareholder register of the Austrian brickmaker last week.
The other company the broker is touting as a target is, wait for it...ITV. Betaville has pasted some of the note below.....
That Clydesdale Bank bid for Virgin Money...
Oh look - Clydesdale Bank has finally made a takeover approach for Virgin Money, saying it submitted an offer for the challenger bank on May 7 (yesterday).
That comes after a rather prescient comment piece by Iain Dey, the outgoing business editor of The Sunday Times. Below is a link to Iain's article:..
RARE ALERT: Shire said to ... - part 4..
As(s?)bury - part 4
Now it has become clear why J Sainsbury and Walmart's Asda are attempting to come together: Amazon is having a serious sniff around the UK for a potential acquisition target.
Oliver Shah over The Sunday Times has the skinny on what the giant american tech giant has been looking at, so click on the link below if you missed yesterday's scoop from the intrepid hack:..
Bull markets, activists and deals
You can tell it's a bull market (and maybe the top of the market?) when an activist emerges on a company register, pushes for new independent board members and hardly anyone in the London market blinks.
The latest is Petrus Advisors, which has reportedly bought a 3pc stake in the listed German brick maker Weinerberger, and has proposed two new independent directors for the company's supervisory board...
As(s?)bury - part 3
Betaville assumes the venerable merchant bank NM Rothschild no longer works for long-time client Wm Morrison after emerging as the sole and lead adviser to Asda/Walmart on its £15 billion merger with J Sainsbury...
As(s?)bury - part 2
Oooops...click on the link below to watch Mike Coupe, chief executive of J Sainsbury, sing "were in the money" on ITV ahead of an interview.
As(s?)bury
So ... it turns out J Sainsbury is in merger talks with Walmart's Asda to create a £15 billion supermarket giant.
But who "broke" story, arguably one of the biggest UK deal scoops of the year?..
RARE ALERT: Wm Morrison said to .....
Sorrell (s?) back in the spotlight...sort of
Farewell, Sir Martin. The round the clock media coverage of the deal junkie ad man appears to have halted now that he has stepped down as chief executive of WPP, the marketing services giant he built over the last thirty years...
Damaged Goods: The Inside Story Of...-part 3
It's out!
Yes, that's the book being penned by a certain hack at The Sunday Times about a well-known retail tycoon.
For legal reasons, Betaville can't really get into the nitty gritty of the book but click on the link below if you want to know who the tome is about and how to order it on Kindle:..
That Sosei Group denial of the FT report about a bid for Vectura...
I see the Sosei Group has responded to Bryce Elder's report in the FT about a potential bid for asthma inhaler maker Vectura. Below is a link to it:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/sosei-group-corp/rns/statement-re-press-comment/201804241223349524L/..
[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].