RARE ALERT: Europcar Mobility Group said to .....
Friday, 6 March 2020, 3:29 pm
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.
Rayner Surgical Group said to be on the block for around £300 million - sources
Friday, 6 March 2020, 10:20 am
There are a few pieces out this week from Bloomberg about how recent market turbulence is starting to hit dealmaking.
But it's still pretty lively in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Take, for example, this week's announcement from US giant Thermo Fisher about its $11.5 billion acquisition of Qiagen, the Dutch diagnostics testing group...
REVEALED: KKR said to be vying with Carlyle to buy Dr Martens for over £300 million - sources
Thursday, 5 March 2020, 9:32 pm
KKR, the US-listed private equity giant, has emerged as a surprise frontrunner to buy Dr Martens for over £300 million.
Sources familiar with the matter said KKR - the former owner of pharmacy giant Boots that was immortalised in the bestselling book Barbarians At The Gate - is vying with Carlyle, another Wall Street buy-out firm, to buy Dr Martens from Permira, a European investment firm...
Agnelli family said to seek $7 billion exit for reinsurance giant PartnersRe, reveals The Insurance Insider - Part 3
Wednesday, 4 March 2020, 7:20 am
So, the Agnelli family vehicle Exor finally confirms it has sold PartnersRe for $9 billion to France's mutual insurer Covea, effectively confirming The Insurance Insider's scoop from several weeks ago. Below is the link to the confirmation from Exor...
RARE ALERT: Medtronic said to ... - Part 2
Tuesday, 3 March 2020, 5:19 pm
The potential takeover of Intersect ENT by Medtronic may have been delayed following interest from a rival party.
Some people following the situation expected Intersect ENT - which manufactures drug-delivery devices used by Ear, Nose & Throat clinicians in the treatment of sinusitis - to unveil a deal last week but an announcement failed to materialise.
Since then, Intersect ENT's shares have dropped signiticantly amid a wider stockmarket sell off...
Tags: Intersect ENT
RARE ALERT: Tullow Oil said to .....
Tuesday, 3 March 2020, 2:35 pm
Vega finally hangs up his hedgie boots...
Tuesday, 3 March 2020, 9:16 am
A career in hedge funds looks to be over for former Tottenham Hotspur centre back Ramon Vega.
According to intrepid hack and Financial News City diarist, Tom Teodorczuk, Mayfair-based Vega Swiss Asset Management has finally gone into liquidation. Below is a link to Tom's piece about the former Switzerland international football player:..
UNCOOKED ALERT: NMC Health said to ... - Part 6
Saturday, 29 February 2020, 9:33 am
It's been a torrid week for global stock markets but have a guess at which company was the best performing stock in the FTSE 100?
Yes, it was the gulf-based hospital operator Muddy Waters loves to hate: NMC Health.
According to Bloomberg data, NMC Health's shares were up 9.73pc on the week, making it the best performing stock in the blue chip index. HSBC was the second best performer, losing 4pc on the week...
UNCOOKED ALERT: Gain Capital said to ... - Part 4
Thursday, 27 February 2020, 2:03 pm
I know this is starting to sound a bit hackneyed but: another day, another confirmation for little old Betaville.
You might recall that this website published a series of Betaville Intelligence articles about Gain Capital, owner of Michael Spencer's spread betting firm City Index, and then revealed INTL FCStone was the mystery suitor circling the business. Below are the links, including a follow up in Mail on Sunday's business section...
Tags: Gain Capital, INTL FCStone
The cat is out of the bag at Circassia Pharmaceuticals...
Wednesday, 26 February 2020, 9:20 pm
Remember Circassia Pharmaceuticals? It was the Woodford-backed Aim darling that hit the headlines with its potential a treatment for people with cat allergies.
But that plan, along with Woodford's investment, went down the drain when the company discovered "its investigational house dust mite allergy immunotherapy failed to show a significant effect compared with placebo"...
UNCOOKED ALERT: NMC Health said to ... -Part 5
Tuesday, 25 February 2020, 11:36 am
Is Morgan Stanley advising/financing GKSD and Gruppo San Donato on their potential bid for NMC Health?
The reason I posit this question is that there have been a series of disclosures suggesting that's the case without it being explicitly laid out. See below:..
UNCOOKED ALERT: NMC Health said to ... - Part 4
Monday, 24 February 2020, 9:19 am
Avid followers of my work might have noticed over the weekend in the Mail on Sunday's business section that a colleague and I spotted that Richard Chandler, the Kiwi "billionaire" was behind Jasmine Capital Investments, which has been building a significant stake in beleguered NMC Health over the last few weeks. See the link below:..
Tags: NMC Health
UNCOOKED ALERT: Countrywide said to ... - Part 2
Monday, 24 February 2020, 8:58 am
Oh look - I see the mystery suitor that has been circling Countrywide for the last six months has finally decided to step out of the shadows via Mark, "the Kleinmanator", Kleinman of Sky News.
Below is a link to Mark's great scoop and the pieces I wrote last year about Countrywide (whose spinners were denying back then anything was afoot):..
Tags: Countrywide, LSL Property Services
Sometimes an earnings call can be interesting...
Friday, 21 February 2020, 9:39 am
Looking through today's business sections Betaville was surprised by how little coverage was given to Smith & Nephew, a FTSE 100-listed company that yesterday announced much better-than-expected figures.
The excellent The Times business section, run by my old boss Richard "Fletch" Fletcher, gave the Smith & Nephew earnings story a small slot while the Daily Mail led the market report with the orthopedics company...
Tags: Smith & Nephew
The property company takeover, the Pink 'Un and the author of "How to Make a Million - Slowly"
Friday, 21 February 2020, 8:06 am
Hat tip to John Lee, who writes an investing column for the venerable Financial Times.
Last summer Mr Lee, who wrote How to Make a Million - Slowly, suggested the politically incorrect Daejan Holdings should be taken private for around £80.00 a share in a piece in the Pink 'Un. Below is a link to the piece:
https://www.ft.com/content/b888c308-814a-11e9-a7f0-77d3101896ec..
RARE ALERT: Medtronic said to ...
Thursday, 20 February 2020, 7:47 pm
Intersect ENT, the US-listed medical equipment company, has been at the centre of takeover speculation.
Readers should be aware speculation about a takeover of Intersect has been circulating the market since late last year when the company's shares were trading at between $24 and $25 a share.
Some people following the situation suggested Medtronic, another US-listed medical devices group, is one of companies interested in buying Intersect...
Tags: Intersect
UNCOOKED ALERT: Vodafone said to ... - Part 2
Wednesday, 19 February 2020, 7:20 am
I see rivals at Bloomberg yesterday afternoon attempted to disseminate Betaville's UNCOOKED Alert to its subscribers.
According to the Bloomberg report about yesterday's UNCOOKED Alert, Betaville Intelligence reported (I know this starting to sound really weird) that "an unidentified US company is weighing an offer for the company [Vodafone]"...
UNCOOKED ALERT: Vodafone said to .....
Tuesday, 18 February 2020, 2:42 pm
RARE ALERT: Acadia Healthcare said to... - Part 10
Tuesday, 18 February 2020, 1:13 pm
The Kleinmanator over at Sky News has just dug out a rather good angle on Acadia Healthcare's sale of Priory Group, the rehab centre well-known for treating British celebrities, such as Kate Moss.
According to Mark's report, Schoen Klinik, which is owned by Carlyle, is among a group of potential acquirers interested in buying the Priory Group for £1.2 billion. Below is a link to his piece:..
The Jupiter / Merian deal ... - Part 3
Tuesday, 18 February 2020, 12:58 pm
Well that didn't take long. From one asset management deal to the next in just 24 hours. The latest is in the US with Franklin Templeton buying Legg Mason for $6.5 billion.
The venerable Wall Street Journal got the "scoop" although one is often suspicious when the actual deal is announced just a few hours after publication...
[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].