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.
Sarah Syed, private equity hackette over Bloomberg, has dug up an decent story about how buy-out giants KKR and CVC are in talks to buy Akzo Nobel's speciality chemicals unit.
Below is the link:
It would appear little old Betaville's missive on Michael Kor's dealmaking intentions from late December was barking up the right tree after all.
In case you don't recall, little old Betaville published this controversial (I say controversial because I had quite a reaction to it from some readers) piece back on New Year's eve:..
If your following Glencore's paintakingly-slow-moving bear hug for grain merchant Bunge then this note (see below) from United First Partners might be of interest.
The broker reckons there is over a 50pc chance of the FTSE 100 giant buying Bunge...
BUNGE ▷▷▷ WE DIG IT – BUILD INITIAL POSITIONS
Trading Strategy: Build Initial Positions
..
Oh look - I see WebMD has announced it has struck a deal with US buy-out giant KKR to sell itself for around $2.8 billion.
Little old Betaville is particularly pleased that this deal has been announced. Why? Well, for a start it confirms a Betaville Intelligence piece published a couple of weeks ago. Here is a link to that piece:..
Little old Betaville is not a big fan of travelling on the London tube but it does tend to be a place where this website comes up with its best ideas, conspiracy theories and stories (you would never believe how many bankers read confidential deal documents on the underground and sometimes you can sneak a peek)...
And another one has been unveiled this morning. This time it's FTSE 250-listed Paysafe that's on the receiving end of a £2.8 billion/590p a share takeover approach from Blackstone and CVC Capital Partners. Here is the link:..
Things are looking up for Crispin Odey, the charming hedge fund manager and leading City Brexiteer.
Since little old Betaville's last update the old buffer's flaghsip Odey European fund has recovered slightly and is no longer on HSBC's top 20 hedge fund loserboard (which came out earlier this week)...
Here is a tale about a company many of little old Betaville's loyal readers are likely to be familiar with - punters' favourite ETX Capital.
Investment group JRJ Group, the ultimate owner of ETX Capital, has been holding secret talks with potential acquirers of the contracts for difference (CFD) broker and spreadbetting firm...
Hot deal scoops are thin on the ground at this time of the year but the hard working Daniel Dunkley over the at The Sunday Times still managed to dig one or two out.
Indeed, the one that caught little old Betaville's eye was Dan's piece about Unilever's interest in the Reckitt Benkiser mustard/sauce auction. Here is the link: ..
Little old Betaville has been watching Carillion's woes with great interest.
Indeed, subsribers to Betaville Intelligence wouldn't have been too surprised to learn the construction company is looking at "strategic options" following its shock profit warning on Monday...
I see my former Tip TV host Zak Mir, now co-founder of Wall Street Wires, has been trotting out some of the old bid tales that have been knocking about the London market for the last year or so.
This morning's morsel from Monsieur Mir was a rekindling of the Mediclinic for Spire Healthcare takeover story that was first aired on little Betaville some nine months ago. Here is the link: ..
What's Hassan Gozal up to with Genel Energy?
Gozal, a contruction tycoon with ties to Turkey, Kurdistan and Azerbaijan, has been quietly building a stake in Genel Energy, the controversial oil company via his investment vehicle Daax Corp and now owns around 15pc of the London-listed business...
The auction for WebMD, the US financial health publisher, is said to be entering the final stages and a deal may be announced soon.
Sources claiming to be familiar with the matter said the preferred bidder for the business could be made public in the next few weeks.
Dealreporter previously reported in March that WebMD had hired bankers from JP Morgan to run a strategic review, with the company seeking an offer 20pc higher than its valuation...
I realise this isn't exactly mega cap dealmaking but it's good to see another one of little old Betaville's scoopette's confirmed this morning. I have pasted the link below in case your interested:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/primorus-investments--prim-/rns/issue-of-equity/201707071020494496K/..
[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].