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.
It's been over six months since Wizz Air abandoned its takeover bid for rival budget airline easyJet, so I guess it isn't a surprise that brokers are pushing the idea again.
According to scribblers over at Davy, an easyJet - Wizz Air merger should be "revisited". That's an interesting opinion!
Anyway, I have pasted the main thrust of the analyst at Davy's argument below in case you are interested:..
Betaville is rather grumpy this morning.
That's because arch rivals at Bloomberg scooped little old Betaville on a story I was chasing late last week.
The tale was about French video games publisher Ubisoft Entertainment, which is attracting takeover interest from a variety of buyers.
According to hacks at Bloomberg US buy-out giants Blackstone and KRR are two of the big private equity funds circling Ubisoft...
There was some cracking work done by friends and former colleagues at The Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday this weekend.
Jamie "Nimmers" Nimmo dug out multiple decent lines on the Bulb situation, including a scoop about British Gas owner weighing a takeover bid for ailing energy...
Mark "The Kleinmanator" Kleinman has taken a break from reporting every twist and turn of the Chelsea FC sale (which is Betaville is genuinly fascinated by) and has got a good new line on the Ted Baker sale...
A fourth US-based private equity firm is circling THG, the e-commerce company.
People following the situation have heard Carlyle has been studying THG, which is led by Matt Moulding, with a view to making an offer for the business.
Carlyle is rumoured to be working with advisers from Bank of America on the potential deal, said these people following the situation.
However, it's not clear whether Carlyle has made a formal approach for THG...
Bain Capital, the private equity firm founded by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is "weighing a deal" for Solutions 30.
Well, that's according to Bloomberg hacks, who this evening revealed that the buy-out firm has been speaking with advisers about the potential investment in the embatted European technology services company, which been targeted by some the short seller types amid some very fruity allegations...
Another day, another confirmation for little old Betaville's UNCOOKED Alerts.
This time Baring Private Equity Asia has confirmed it is considering a takeover offer for RWS Holdings, the London-listed content management and intellectual property services provider. Below is the link to the confirmation and the original UNCOOKED alert by yours truly:..
Several weeks ago Betaville and some rivals reported that THG, the controversial London-listed company formerly known as The Hut Group, has received takeover interest from several private equity firms, including Advent International and Leonard Green.
That was met by silence on all sides, giving the usual Betaville sceptics an opportunity to sling mud...
Just Eat Takeaway has this morning announced it is looking at a full or partial sale of Grubhub.
In case you don't recall Just Eat Takeaway bought the US-based online food delivery two years ago for £5.75 billion, which is almost the same amount as the London-listed company's market capitalisation. Below is the link to this morning's annoucement about the sale alongside a trading update:..
Gordon Haskett was yesterday piggybacking of little old Betaville's hard work.
Don Bilson at the "research advisor" set off a round of speculation about Goldman Sachs taking an interest in Affirm Holdings Inc, the US-listed lender, after publishing a note pointing out that David Vinlar is stepping down from the Block board "due to increasing potential for competitive overlap with other boards"...
Apparently, George Osborne has landed a role for uber dealmakers Robey Warshaw on the £3 billion Chelsea Football Club deal...
I see Cinven has finally confirmed it is weighing a takeover bid for Ideagen, the London-listed software compliance business. Below is the link:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/cinven/rns/possible-offer-for-ideagen-plc/202204141726004802I/..
So, it was good call by my old boss at The Daily Telegraph - Richard Fletcher, now business editor of The Times - to splash on the Elon Musk Twitter bid rumours the other day.
Musk's announcement about his $41 billion ($54.20 a share) offer for Twitter has sent the Twittersphere into total meltdown about what might happen next...
Ideagen, the London-listed compliance software company, remains at the centre of takeover speculation amid talk at least one private equity firm is interested in buying the business.
People following the situation have heard talk Cinven has been studying the possiblity of buying Ideagen, possibly as part of a consortium with another private equity firm...
I see Sir Simon Robey is attempting to deal with the fact that the former Chancellor of the Exchequer he hired almost a year ago has so far failed to land a role on an announced takeover deal.
In a rare interview with Aaron Kirchfeld, Bloomberg's global deals editor, Sir Simon - one of the City of London's top dealmakers - says: "There is no point in having someone like George in the building unless you support them in winning new business."..
There has been plenty of coverage over the last few days about Elon Musk's stakebuilding in Twitter and what it could mean for the micro-blogging website.
Several newspapers, including the Daily Mail, even went so far to report rumours that he may interested in launching a hostile takeover. Below are the links to their articles:..
Ideagen, the London-listed compliance software company, has come under the spotlight amid takeover talk.
People following the situation have heard rumours Ideagen may have attracted a suitor interested in purchasing the business.
However, people following the situation said the identity the company interested in acquiring Ideagen is unclear...
[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].