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.
Who says nothing happens in France during August?
Well, apparently CAC 40-listed hotels giant Accor is working on a multimillion pound "merger" with FTSE 100-listed Intercontinental Hotels Group...
OKYO Pharma today effectively confirmed the little snippet in last weekend's Mail on Sunday Stockwatch column, which I occasionally edit when Jamie "Nimmers" Nimmo is away on holiday.
Below is a link to today's announcement from OKYO Pharma, which has appointed Dr Napoleone Ferrara, MD, Professor at the University of California San Diego Medical Center to its scientific advisory board...
A loyal reader got in touch yesterday to point out that Matthew Freud has gobbling up shares in Reach4entertainment, the live events communications business that is quietly pursuing a de-listing from the Aim market.
Last week it emerged Freud - the uber spin doctor and former husband of Elizabeth Murdoch - had boosted his shareholding in Reach4entertainment to 18.67pc, according to regulatory filings. Click on the link below:..
The excellent Sabah Meddings of the The Sunday Times business section carried out an interview with Hugh Osmond this weekend and it made for extremely interesting reading. Below is the link to the piece:
The swashbuckling dealmaker has been running around setting up an acquistion vehicle - Broadstone - so the dealmaking community is watching his every step, especially as Osmond made his first fortune with Luke Johnson from Pizza Express...
Another week, another scoop confirmed for Neil "Neily" Craven, Deputy City at the Mail on Sunday.
On Sunday the intrepid retail hack revealed in the Mail on Sunday's business section that New Look was heading for a major restructuring by appointing advisers from Deloitte. Below is the link:..
No sooner than I had published my last post on Telit Communications than Richard "Griffo" Griffiths upped his stake in the internet of things provder.
Griffiths, a multi-millionaire small cap punter that co-founded City broker Evolution, now owns 6pc of Telit Communications. See the link below:..
Ping! An email arrives from the cash flow experts at Quest, a division of broker Canaccord Genuity.
Graham Simpson, an analyst at Quest, believes London-based bankers are trying to stay employed by running around pitching leveraged buy-out ideas to a variety of private equity houses, sovereign wealth funds and dealmakers. No surprises there, I guess...
Dbay has quietly increased its stake in Telit Communications, the internet of things provider that has courted its fair amount of controversy and takeover speculation.
According to recent filings, Dbay - run by ex Laxey Partners value investor Colin Kingsnorth - now owns around 11.57pc of Telit, making it one of the largest shareholders alongside the mysterious Chinese group Run Liang. Below is a link to the relevant RNS:..
Tucked away in the back of the venerable Financial Times is a rather interesting column by Bryce Elder about the "disconnect between public and private valuations" of commercial property companies listed in the UK.
Now, if you have been following Betaville Intelligence's alerts about Land Securities Group one might be able to see why Mr Elder's column is relevant! Do click on the link below if you haven't read the excellent piece:..
Jim Mellon has just dumped his entire stake in tiddler Okyo Pharma, which is developing therapies for inflammatory eye diseases and chronic pain management. Below is a link to the announcement that shows he went down from owning just over 4pc to almost 0.
Hat tip to Dom Walsh, veteran leisure hack supremo at The Times, for smoking out the private equity interest in roadside recovery group AA yesterday. Below is the link to Dom's story:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/aa-attracts-rival-private-equity-bids-w06l3wnrg..
Natixis has just booted out its chief executive.
Could this have anything to with the fact that the company's largest shareholder, BPCE, was/is plotting a takeover of the ailing investment bank?
One presumes yes.
Below is an important two paragraphs from tonight's Financial Times. ..
I see The Wall Street Journal has just "broken" an "exclusive" story about Global Insfrastructure Partners and Blackstone attempting to purchase Kansas City Southern, the US-listed railroad transportation operator. Below is the link:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/private-equity-firms-discuss-bid-for-kansas-city-southern-11596223106..
AA plc, the London-listed roadside recovery company, has come under the spotlight amid takeover talk.
People following the situation said a potential acquirer is circling AA and may have already expressed an interest in the business.
Readers should be aware that the AA is a highly leveraged company with a very small capitalisation...
I guess I can now strike IAG off the "cash calls - who is next?" list after it formally launched its near EURO 3 billion rights issue this morning. Below is the link to this morning's announcement:
I see rivals at Bloomberg have followed up Betaville's RARE ALERT from yesterday afternoon about the takeover bid for Italian machines company Industria Macchine Automatiche Spa. Below are the links:
[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].