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.
Shares in Atos have surged this afternoon almost 8pc amid a report there could be a multi-billion Euro takeover bid for the IT group.
Now, I can't link to the article as the publication that published the article, Dealreporter, is behind a strong and expensive paywall.
Some might see some irony in that!..
Sometimes deals take a few days to get done; at other times they can take few weeks or even months.
Occsaionally, though, it takes a year for the transaction to be signed.
Well, that's the case with Medtronic's $1 billion plus purchase of Intertsect ENT, which has just been announced this morning...
Charming Crispin's firm has just taken out a short bet against AMC Entertainment Holdings, the meme stock driven to astronomical highs by the Wallstreetbets retail punter crowd.
Well, it isn't the famous Brexiteer himself taking the short position but rather his colleague, James Hanbury, one of the fund managers at Odey Asset Management. Below is the the link to the FT piece on the move...
One of the world's largest activist investors is said to be building up a stake in SSE, sparking speculation the company may eventually become a takeover target.
People following the situation said the activist shareholder has been accumulating a sizeable shareholding over the last few weeks and and may soon announce its position...
It's been almost eighteen months since Betaville has enjoyed a good old fashioned knees up with fellow hacks (basically alcoholic drinks in a dingy pub in the backstreets of London).
So, it was great to catch up with old colleagues and friends from The Sunday Times and the Mail on Sunday tonight for John "The Ridge" Collingridge's leaving do before he heads of to become head of business at The Guardian...
I see Smiths Group has finally confirmed it is selling its medical division to TA Associates for almost £2 billion.
Betaville was just having a nosey about Shorttracker.co.uk and it would appear Ken Griffin's Citadel recently built up a sizeable short position in Meggitt.
According to Shorttracker, as of July 27th Citadel's short position in Meggitt was just over 1pc of the company but this morning Meggitt's shares are up around 60pc after agreening to a 800p a share offer from Parker-Hannifin Corporation. Ouch!..
Sanne finally confirmed this morning what loyal Betaville readers should have already read on this website - that it has received a counter offer.
The rival bid has come from Apex and pitched at 920p a share. Below is the link:..
So, Meggitt has decided to finally come clean, revealing it is recommending an 800p a share bid from Parker-Hannafin Corporation. Below is the link:
Oliver "Shahsy" Shah was talking up the prospect of a takeover bid for FTSE 100-listed BT Group takeover in his column in today's The Sunday Times business section. Below is the link:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/a-takeover-bid-for-battered-bt-is-only-a-matter-of-time-3bzlt8d92..
Old Kleiny of Sky News has just delivered a follow up to yesterday's scoop on the Keepmoat deal.
Indeed, Mark appears to have rustled a couple of other names involved in the process. They are: Aermont Capital and Patron Capital, two less well known faceless private equity firms. Below is a link to the Kleinmanator's tale:..
You would think bidding for supermarket giant WM Morrison would be enough to keep the uber Wall Street dealmakers at Apollo occupied for a few months.
But Betaville's moles have revealed that Apollo, set up by controversial American financier Leon Black, is also in the running to buy Keepmoat, the homebuilder that sponsors Doncaster Rovers...
U-blox, the Switzerland-based semiconductor group, is said to have made a last-minute takeover approach to Telit Communications.
People following the situation said U-blox has submitted a fresh offer for Telit valuing the company at 260p a share in cash.
It's believed U-blox's offer is dependent on the the Swiss company getting approval from its own investors to raise the cash via an equity capital raising, said people following the situation...
Cerner Corporation, the US-listed healthcare information services provider, is said to remain "in play" but the announcement of a deal may take longer than expected.
In May, Betaville Intelligence revealed that Cerner was at the centre of takeover speculation.
The identity of the acquirer is still unclear, said people following the situation...
Another day, another private equity bid rumour for a London-listed company.
This evening Tom Howard of The Times is reporting that Meggitt has received a takeover approach from a mystery private equity firm. Below is a link to Howard's market report column with the rumour:..
Oh look - Carrier Global Corporation has finally completed and confirmed Betaville's RARE Alerts from earlier this year about a sale of its massive Chubb Fire & Safety unit.
The US-listed industrial giant is selling Chubb Fire & Safety to APi Group Corporation for $3.1 billion. Below is the link to the press release:..
The Telit Communications takeover saga is poised to draw to a close this week thanks to the hedge funds that recently bought up almost 8pc of the 'internet of things' company...
Loyal readers of little old Betaville won't be too surprised to read this morning that Ultra Electronics is in talks to be bought by Advent International-backed Cobham for over £2 billion.
That's because this website consistently highlighted the prospect of a deal through a series of UNCOOKED Alerts published over the last few weeks before the release of any announcements of news reports. Below are the links in case you have forgotten:..
[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].