A cheeky website about deals, dealmakers and anything else I find interesting. Edited by Ben Harrington. If you have a tip or want to discuss a story please feel free to email Betaville at ben@betaville.co.uk. 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.
This piece - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/09/21/hong-kong-enlists-help-banking-heavyweights-win-london-stock/ - in the Sunday Telegraph's business section about Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing hiring HSBC to bolster to its bid for the London Stock Exchange caught Betaville's eye...
Oh look - FirstGroup has confirmed Betaville's recent WELL-DONE ALERT - https://www.betaville.co.uk/betaville-intelligence/well-done-alert-firstgroup-said-to/ - by announcing that Robert Tchenguiz has built a 4.24pc shareholding (or has control over that amount of stock) in the company.
Below is a link to this afternoon's announcement:..
Capital & Counties, the UK-listed property company, has taken three companies interested in acquiring its Earls Court scheme into a final bidding round but predators interested in purchasing the whole company are starting to circle the business again.
Capital & Counties is in the process of demerging its assets in Covent Garden, London from the redevelopment scheme in Earls Court, London, into two separately listed businesses...
Betaville doesn't enjoy seeing any company collapse into administration but I note the fact that the Daily Mail and others are now reporting that Thomas Cook is on the verge of going under. Below is a link to the Daily Mail piece (which was splashed across the front page of the main book but I think was a follow from the Kleinmanator of Sky News)...
Robert Tchenguiz, the British property entrepreneur and activist investor, is said to be increasing his stake in FirstGroup, the FTSE 250-listed bus and rail company, to over 4pc.
People familiar with the situation said Tchenguiz, who previously declared he owned 3.2pc of FirstGroup, now owns just over 4.2pc of the bus and rail company, sparking speculation he may ask the company to consider further corporate activity...
Thank goodness the venerable Financial Times has temporarily lifted its paywall.
It's meant little old Betaville has been able to access a rather interesting piece about the sale of Thyssenkrup's lifts unit, which I have been following with great interest as there have been mutterings about another European lift business being "in play" over the last few weeks...
Take a bow Simon Duke, a former colleague from Betaville's jobbing freelancing days on The Sunday Times business section, and Katherine Griffiths, who I worked with on The Daily Telegraph some time ago, of The Times...
The London Stock Exchange finally swatted away Hong Kong's £32 billion takeover proposal. Below is the link:
Several weeks ago Betaville copped an earful from a person close to Thomas Cook on a rare Sunday off for a piece I wrote in the Mail on Sunday's business section about the tour operator's restructuring. Below is the link:..
It struck me as odd whilst re-reading this morning's press release from Hong Kong Exchange that Moelis & Company, a mid-sized American M&A advisory firm, is the sole advisor to the Asian bourse on its takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange...
Well, that didn't take long. Just a few days back from the summer holidays and Hong Kong Exchange launches a £32 billion pound takeover deal for the London Stock Exchange, which is itself trying to merge with Refinitiv.
Below is the link:
Another day, another confirmation for little old Betaville's RARE Alerts. This morning, ADM Energy - formerly known as MX Oil - announced an equity fundraising to raise over £800,000 at 7p a share. Below is the link:
Arthur J Gallagher & Co, the US-listed insurance broking giant, is negotiations to buy privately-owned Capsicum Re for around £200 million.
People following the situation said Arthur J Gallagher & Co has been holding talks with Graham "Chily" Chilton, the veteran insurance broker and founder of Capsicum Re about buying the business outright...
ADM Energy, the Aim-listed oil producer, is looking to raise around £500,000 via an equity fundraising.
People claiming to be familiar with the matter said broker Peel Hunt and a mystery investor are backing the fundraising for the business, which looks for oil off the coast of Nigeria.
Unusually, the new shares will be issued at a premium to the current share price of 6.38p, with one person following the situation suggesting it the fundraising could be priced at 7p...
The City of London should be cranking back into fourth gear this week as the summer holidays come to an end. I guess, then, it isn't surprising that there were plenty of compelling tales in the Sunday newspaper business sections today...
The merry-go-round of broking in the City of London, Canary Wharf and Mayfair continues unabated with Oliver Hemsley set to join Zeus Capital.
Hemsley, the son of a Rutland pig farmer, has joined Zeus Capital as a "strategic consultant" and started at the firm this week, according to sources familiar with the matter...
Simon Cawkwell, the bear raider known as Evil Knievil, has built up a substantial long position in Watchstone and is now claiming it could be worth up to 345p a share.
Now, regular readers might find that a bit surprising given the mischevious shorter was rather bearish on Quindell (Watchstone's former name) before it entered into talks with Slater & Gordon to sell most of the business for £637 million to the Aussie ambulance chasers...
Premier Foods, the London-listed food company, has hired advisers from Morgan Stanley to run a sale of all or some of the business.
Sources familiar with the matter said Premier Food's board recently appointed Morgan Stanley alongside D'Angelin & Co, an advisory boutique, to manage the sale of some of the company's flagship brands, such as Mr Kipling cakes...
[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].