Back on Tip TV talking about Wood Group, Swiss Re and Hartford Financial Services
Here is a link to today's shenanigans with my old chum Zak.
http://tiptv.co.uk/canadas-snc-lavalin-eyes-woodamec-assets-betaville/..
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Here is a link to today's shenanigans with my old chum Zak.
http://tiptv.co.uk/canadas-snc-lavalin-eyes-woodamec-assets-betaville/..
I rekindled my "top of the market?" series back in late December 2016 as the FTSE 100 index began to flirt with a recod high of 7100. Here is the link to that piece in case you don't recall:
https://www.www.betaville.co.uk/news/top-of-the-market-the-series-returns/
But since then the blue-chip index has powered on, closing yesterday at just over 7400...
Refinancing stories aren't exactly front page news but I have stumbled across one that is vaguely interesting.
I understand that London-based private equity firm Phoenix Equity Partners has got bankers over at Evercore working on a major refinancing of Key Retirement...
Congratulations to Oliver Shah, City Editor over at The Sunday Times.
Olly, a sometime colleague, last night got his just deserves for his series of brilliant scoops about Sir Philip Greed, the strange sale of BHS to Dominic Chappell for a £1 and the evenutal collapse of the business.
Most importantly, Olly's scoops, stories and investigative features played a large part in Sir Philip coughing up £363 million for the BHS pension scheme...
It's good to see the chaps at Omers and Wren House finally pull off a water deal yesterday.
In case you don't recall, I broke the story back in 2013 about how Canada's Borealis, a division of Omers, and the Kuwaiti Investment Authority (which is now operating the Wren House guise) teamed up to mount a joint £5 billion plus bid for FTSE 100-listed Severn Trent. Here is the link to that piece:..
French gas utility Engie has been working with bankers at Rothschild on a potential acquisiton of Suez.
Earlier this week, Bloomberg reported that Engie is talking to certain banks about a potential $19.8 billion purchase of German renewable energy company Innogy. French reports have subsequently played down the Bloomberg report, with BFM claiming Engie has no interest in being a minority shareholder. German utility company RWE owns a 76.8pc stake in Engie...
To the AIM bulletin boards where investors appear to have got rather excited about China Africa Resources's proposal to change its name to Pembridge Resources.
The move to change the company's name comes after David Linsley - one of the founders of Cross Asset Management (older readers might recall the investment firm was one of first London-based event driven hedge funds set up in the City) - was appointed as chief executive in February...
An airport lounge company founded by an award-winning theatre producer is poised to sell a stake in the business as part of a deal that could value the group at around £50 million.
City sources said No 1 Lounges, which was founded by Phil Cameron, has hired corporate finance advisers from DC Advisory to look at “strategic options” for the group...
There is plenty going on in M & A land at the moment but below is today's clip looking back over the weekend's scoops and, potentially, some other deals coming down the pipeline...
http://tiptv.co.uk/bovis-homes-unofficially-sale-betaville/..
German broadcasting giant Prosiebensat1 has appointed investment bankers to work on a potental sale of online travel agent Etraveli.
Sources familiar with the matter said Prosiebesat1 has asked Goldman Sachs run a potential auction, which may include a disposal of all or part of Etraveli.
According to one source, Goldman Sachs has already prepared a short information memorandum on Etraveli for potential buyers containing some financial information...
I see Premier Oil is this morning claiming in its final results that its $2.8 billion jumbo refinancing will complete in late May. Here is the link:
http://www.investegate.co.uk/premier-oil-plc--pmo-/rns/final-results/201703090701079381Y/..
The long running dust up between the management of vodka distiller Stock Spirits and Luis Amaral, the Portuguese billionaire who owns 10pc of the business, continues unabated.
London-listed Stock Spirits announced preliminary results this morning that didn't seem to worry the market too much (shares up a 1pc or so in morning trade). In case you missed it, here is a link to the company's statement:..
American kitchenwear company Williams-Sonoma is said to be interesting in combining with US rival Restoration Hardware.
City sources claim that since the beginning of this year Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware have had discussions about a deal that could value the latter at $39.50.
However, the chief executive of Restoration Hardware, Gary Friedman, is thought to have rejected Williams-Sonoma's advances, according to these sources...
Why do so many of the world's most powerful hedge fund managers end up in nasty spats in the Bahamas?
For most people the Bahamas is an idyllic Caribbean island that they can only dream of visiting. But for some of the world's wealthiest hedgies that own houses on the Bahamas it would appear to be an island that eventually causes profound angst...
Has Crispin Odey stopped publishing a monthly letter to investors?
The old buffer's monthly report containing (terrible?) performance and his predictions of doom would normally have leaked into the media by now but it would appear nobody can get hold of the hedge fund manager's latest mutterings...
Sorry for the delay in publishing the link to today's Tip TV session but I have had some rather important meetings this morning...
Anyway, here is the link:
http://tiptv.co.uk/standard-life-aberdeen-announce-11-billion-merger-betaville/..
Unsurprisingly, the news about Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life's £11 billion merger dominated today's business sections in the British newspapers.
Hat tip, though, to the Kleinmanator of Sky News for breaking that story on Saturday afternoon - although Bryce Elder's mega scoop about Kraft Heinz's $150 billion takeover bid for Unilever on FT Alphaville from a few weeks ago will still take some beating...
I see one of my favourite ex-Telegraph colleagues, Harry Wilson of The Times, has also noted GVC appears to be preparing for its next major deal by putting debt financing in place.
In case you missed it, here is a link to Harry Wilson's excellent market report column in today's The Times:..
Oh look - Pyrrho Investments has confirmed my tale from earlier on in the day and last week. In case you missed it, I have pasted the announcement below:
Pyrrho Investments Limited ("Pyrrho"), an investment fund, notes the Refinancing update announcements made by Premier Oil ("the Company") from February 2017 to date.
Pyrrho is one of the 3 largest convertible bondholders in Premier Oil with approximately 10% of the total convertible bonds in issuance...
Premier Oil this morning attempted to present a deal with its convertible bond holders as a fait accompli. See the link below:
http://www.investegate.co.uk/premier-oil-plc--pmo-/rns/refinancing-update/201703010700211406Y/..
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