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.
Friday, 21 July 2017, 5:25 pm
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)...
Read more...
Friday, 21 July 2017, 7:42 am
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:..
Read more...
Thursday, 20 July 2017, 9:31 am
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)...
Read more...
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersWednesday, 19 July 2017, 4:34 pm
Tuesday, 18 July 2017, 4:51 pm
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...
Read more...
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersMonday, 17 July 2017, 2:28 pm
Monday, 17 July 2017, 10:02 am
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: ..
Read more...
Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 14 July 2017, 12:24 pm
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...
Read more...
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersWednesday, 12 July 2017, 6:53 pm
Wednesday, 12 July 2017, 6:11 pm
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: ..
Read more...
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 11 July 2017, 6:42 pm
Monday, 10 July 2017, 3:35 pm
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...
Read more...
Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 7 July 2017, 8:30 pm
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...
Read more...
Friday, 7 July 2017, 1:04 pm
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/..
Read more...
Thursday, 6 July 2017, 12:33 pm
Here is an interesting snippet about a listed tiddler that has an investment in Horse Hill, the oil exploration site just a few miles away from Gatwick Airport just outside London.
Little old Betaville has been told by savvy types that Primorus Investments, which has a 10pc stake in Horse Hill alongside UK Oil and Gas, has been tapping up investors for an extra £500,000.
Apparently, the equity fundraising is almost done and priced at around 0.15 a share...
Read more...
Betaville IntelligenceWednesday, 5 July 2017, 6:21 am
The mystery company circling Aveva is said to be weighing a deal that could value the London-listed business at as much as £24.50 a share.
Several different sources claiming to be familiar with the matter have heard the potential offeror for Aveva, the software engineering company, is looking at pitching an indicative approach at precisely £24.50 a share...
Read more...
Tuesday, 4 July 2017, 8:08 pm
Take a huge bow Zak Mir.
The erudite Mir, now editor and co-founder of financial website Wall Street Wires, has just landed two gigantic M&A scoops in the space of 48 (trading) hours.
Last Friday morning Zak broke the rumour of a potential bid interest in Danish payment company Nets, which was subsequently confirmed by the company on Saturday evening. ..
Read more...
Betaville IntelligenceMonday, 3 July 2017, 4:25 pm
Another day, another confirmation for a Betaville Intelligence story.
Today, it emerged private equity backed Red Ventures is buying Bankrate, the US personal finance website, for around $1.3 billion.
In case you missed it, here is a link to last week's Betaville Intelligence piece on Bankrate:
https://www.www.betaville.co.uk/exclusive/..
Read more...
Sunday, 2 July 2017, 12:59 pm
And today Ben Martin of The Sunday Telegraph writes Northgate's largest shareholders are piling pressure on the company to hold a formal sale process.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2017/07/01/northgate-investors-push-800m-sale-profits-dip/
That's more wishful thinking from Richard Bernstein, I suspect.....
Read more...
Friday, 30 June 2017, 5:56 pm
I see wily Richard Bernstein was in the market this week talking up the prospects of a bid for van hire company Northgate, in which his Crystal Amber fund owns just over 4pc.
In a Bloomberg interview Bernstein is reported to have said he has won support for a sale of Northgate from shareholders owning 20pc of the company...
Read more...
[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].