UNCOOKED ALERT: Countrywide plc said to .....
Wednesday, 7 August 2019, 3:59 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.
2+2=4 or 2+2=5? - Part 2
Wednesday, 7 August 2019, 9:05 am
So, for punters it would appear on this occasion 2+2 = 4.
Below is a link to the report by Muddy Waters, which is trashing Burford Capital.
http://www.muddywatersresearch.com/research/bur/mw-is-short/
But Burford Capital got the right hook in early, releasing a coruscating statement this morning on the Regulatory News Service:..
Tags: Burford Capital, Muddy Waters
RARE ALERT: Feedback plc said to be working on equity fundraising
Tuesday, 6 August 2019, 7:05 pm
Feedback plc, the Aim-listed medical imaging technology, company is said to be close to unveiling an equity fundraising.
People claiming to be familiar with the matter said Feedback is working on a placing of new stock with investors and brokers at Peterhouse are leading the deal.
However, it's not clear how much fresh capital Feedback is looking to raise...
Tags: Feedback plc
2+2=4 or 2+2=5?
Tuesday, 6 August 2019, 4:34 pm
Burford Capital, the litigation funder, has crashed by almost 20pc today to around £11.80 a share.
Now, there have been rumours doing the rounds that Neil Woodford has been looking to offload his shareholding via Peel Hunt but punters are today blaming another reason for the massive decline: Muddy Waters.
Yes, the famous (or infamous?) original short seller, run by Carson Block, today tweeted:..
Tags: Burford Capital
Sunday review on a Monday: the rainmaker, the Cobham deal and the house...
Monday, 5 August 2019, 2:47 pm
The mischevious scamp who pens the excellent Prufrock diary column in The Sunday Times gave Ravi Gupta, the top Rothschild banker running the Cobham deal, a bit of a shoeing this weekend.
Liam Kelly unveiled the expensive contents of Mr Gupta's rather large house in Hampstead, North London, and then noted he was responsible for selling off Britain's largest industrial businesses, such as Cobham, to any predator willing to pay a sum...
Interserve rumblings...
Saturday, 3 August 2019, 10:56 am
It sounds like the banks and hedgies that ended up owning the failed Interserve are already becoming fed up with being proprietors of the government contracting giant.
According to reliable City sources, Royal Bank of Scotland et al have asked advisers at Lazard to start drawing up plans for a sale of some or all of the group, which could kick off in earnest as early as this September...
An LSE/Refinitiv observation...
Friday, 2 August 2019, 6:15 pm
As a competitive deals hack it is rather galling to be scooped but once again I take my hat off the FT team that broke the $27 billion LSE/Refinitiv mega merger deal last Friday evening. It's possible that will be the M&A story of the year...
Tags: London Stock Exchange, Refinitiv
UNCOOKED ALERT: Del Taco Restaurants Inc said to ...
Wednesday, 31 July 2019, 8:33 pm
RARE ALERT: Amgen said to ... - Part 3
Wednesday, 31 July 2019, 5:32 pm
There are some Twitter users, namely Trinvest3, who are completely misrepresenting Betaville's content on the social media platform.
Once again, Trinvest3 (presumably from Spain), is talking BOLLOCKS claiming I wrote certain facts in an article involving Amgen that I didn't actually write.
I just thought I would clear that up!..
Tags: Amgen
A confirmation of sorts at BBA Aviation...
Tuesday, 30 July 2019, 8:35 pm
Sometimes confirmations come within hours of a report; sometimes they take months. Or, in the case of BBA Aviation: a year!
Today the FTSE 250-listed business anounced it is selling its Ontic division to CVC Capital Partners for almost $1.4 billion...
Tags: BBA Aviation
RARE ALERT: Amgen said to ... - Part 2..
Tuesday, 30 July 2019, 7:37 pm
RARE ALERT: Mercia Asset Management said to ... - Part 3
Monday, 29 July 2019, 8:40 pm
I see Mercia Asset Management has confirmed last week's RARE Alert about Woodford Patient Capital Trust selling out of the firm. Below is the link in case you missed it:
Tags: Mercia Asset Management
RARE ALERT: Future plc said to.....
Monday, 29 July 2019, 4:22 pm
A Cobham/Meggitt observation... - Part 2
Saturday, 27 July 2019, 11:49 pm
If you have a spare moment over the weekend and are interested in the Cobham / Advent bid situation then do click on the link below for a follow up piece in the Mail on Sunday's business section by yours truly and Jamie "Nimmers" Nimmo...
BREAKING: Just Eat in £9 billion merger talks with Takeaway.com, Sky News reports
Saturday, 27 July 2019, 1:55 pm
Today is quickly turning into a "Merger Saturday"!
The Kleinmanator of Sky News has just popped up with a corking jackanory about Just Eat merging with Takeaway.com. Below is the link:
https://news.sky.com/story/just-eat-delivers-9bn-merger-with-takeaway-com-11771635..
BREAKING: LSE in $40 billion merger talks to merger with Blackstone backed Refinitiv, according to the FT - Part 2
Saturday, 27 July 2019, 9:44 am
So, the Financial Times deals team nailed it.
Below is a link to the confirmation, which shows this mega merger is being structured with the LSE buying Refinitiv for $27 billion.
https://www.lseg.com/resources/media-centre/press-releases/statement-regarding-press-speculation..
Tags: Financial Times
BREAKING: LSE in $40 billion merger talks to merger with Blackstone backed Refinitiv, according to the FT
Friday, 26 July 2019, 7:20 pm
Wow!
The M&A chaps at the venerable Financial Times are on fire at the moment with another humdinger of a scoop about the LSE merging with Refinitiv as part of a $40 billion combination.
Below is the link:
https://www.ft.com/content/ddf40314-afc6-11e9-8030-530adfa879c2..
RARE ALERT: Mercia Asset Management said to ... - Part 2
Friday, 26 July 2019, 2:55 pm
I do wish Betaville's friends at Bloomberg would accurately aggregate content from my website.
To be clear, people claiming to be familiar with matter said Woodford has sold Woodford Patient Capital Trust's 5pc stake in Mercia Asset Management for around 30p but NOT the whole of the 24pc shareholding as suggested by the aggregated version of my story on Bloomberg...
Tags: Mercia Asset Management
RARE ALERT: Mercia Asset Management said to ...
Friday, 26 July 2019, 10:57 am
Hardly a week goes by now without Neil "Woody" Woodford dumping a load of illiquid stock into the London market.
Indeed, the latest exit is from Mercia Asset Management, a "specialist asset manager focused on high-growth SMEs"...
A Cobham/Meggitt observation...
Thursday, 25 July 2019, 5:08 pm
Hat tip the FT deals team hacks who stayed laid at work last night to dig out the Advent Cobham bid scoop ahead of this morning's announcement. Below is a link to the deal announcement:
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