UNCOOKED ALERT: J Sainsbury said to .....
Friday, 22 January 2021, 4:26 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.
RARE ALERT: Sierra Wireless said to ... - Part 4..
Friday, 22 January 2021, 3:19 pm
UNCOOKED ALERT: Kering said to ...
Friday, 22 January 2021, 10:00 am
Kering, the France-listed luxury retail giant, is rumoured to weighing a large takeover deal, with both Compagnie Financiere Richemont and Ralph Lauren suggested as potential takeover targets.
Since late last year people following the situation have heard rumours Kering, led by Francois-Henri Pinault, has been eyeing Compagnie Financiere Richemont, the Switzerland-listed luxury goods company controlled by the billionaire Johann Rupert...
Tags: Kering
IG splashes out $1 billion on Tastytrade
Thursday, 21 January 2021, 8:11 am
Consolidation among some of the racier brokers is heating up: IG, London's largest spreadbetting firm, is buying US rival Tastytrade for $1 billion in cash and shares. Below is the link to IG's announcement:
Tags: IG, Tastytrade
RARE ALERT: Telit Communications said to ... - Part 20
Wednesday, 20 January 2021, 8:39 pm
I note that shares in Telit Communications, the Aim-listed 'internet of things' provider, have hardly moved since U-blox pulled out of its offer for the business earlier in the week.
Does anybody else find this strange?
Typically after deal talks are called off the target company's share price drops signficicantly or in some cases collapses by as much as 30pc...
Tags: Telit Communications, U-blox
Cash calls, AGAIN - who is next?
Tuesday, 19 January 2021, 10:24 pm
There has been plenty of talk over the last few weeks in the London market that some of the big London-listed companies that raised cash on the equity markets last year will be going back to shareholders in the next few weeks or months for fresh funds.
Indeed, JD Wetherspoons last night declared it is looking to raise up to £93 million after receiving £137 million from investors last year...
Supermarket sweep... - Part 2
Tuesday, 19 January 2021, 12:11 pm
Will Canadian retail giant Couche-Tard take a look at a British grocer after being spurned by the French?
That's the question I asked myself, and a few investment banker chums after it emerged over the weekend that Couche-Tard's attempt to buy Carrefour had spectacularly failed within a few days of it being launched...
Panmure Gordon stung by £28 million loss...
Monday, 18 January 2021, 7:46 pm
Things are going from bad to worse at Panmure Gordon, one of the City of London's oldest stockbrokers.
According to the accounts filed at Companies House last week, the storied company posted a post tax loss of £27.4 million in 2019 (in 2018 losses came in at £24.3 million). Ouch!..
UNCOOKED ALERT: Dialog Semiconductor said to ... - Part 3
Friday, 15 January 2021, 2:43 pm
Dialog Semiconductor, the Frankfurt-listed chip designer, is said to be conducting an auction and is rumoured to be close to picking to a winner of a sale process.
People following the situation suggested Dialog Semiconductor has been been reviewing "strategic options" since late last year after receiving an approach from a potential acquirer...
Tags: Dialog Semiconductor
RARE ALERT: Telit Communications said to ... - Part 19
Friday, 15 January 2021, 8:47 am
So, it would appear the chaps at Dbay weren't the only investors hoovering stock in Telit Communications, the Aim-listed 'internet of things provider' last week.
Richard Griffiths - one of the savviest small cap punters in London market who is also known as the "Welsh Wizard" - also took advantage of last week's shortlived dip in the share price following the company's decision to end talks with U-blox, the Swiss chip group...
Tags: Telit Communications, Dbay
RARE ALERT: Telit Communications said to ... - Part 18
Wednesday, 13 January 2021, 5:31 pm
Activist fund Dbay has just increased its stake in Telit Communications to 18.52pc after backing out of making an offer for the business in December. Below is a link to yesterday's RNS with the details.
Tags: Telit Communications, Dbay
UNCOOKED ALERT: Ralph Lauren Corp said to .....
Tuesday, 12 January 2021, 8:18 pm
OKYO Pharma returns ...
Tuesday, 12 January 2021, 2:27 pm
There was a bit of a buzz around small cap OKYO Pharma last summer and that excitement could be about to return.
Last week the company appointed Dr Gary S Jacob as its new chief executive. Dr Jacob has worked in the biopharmaceutical industry for 35 years, including a 10-year stint as the boss of Callisto Pharmaceuticals...
Tags: OKYO Pharma
Sir Martin said to be cooking up a mega deal... - Part 3
Monday, 11 January 2021, 6:47 pm
It would appear Betaville's snouts were onto something when they suggested deal hungry Sir Martin was eyeing up a deal in the Far East as this morning S4 Capital announced it was acquiring China-based creative agency Tomorrow. Below is a link to today's deal announcement and the piece containing the titbit about Sir Martin's next deal:..
Tags: S4 Capital
RARE ALERT: Natixis said to ... - Part 8
Monday, 11 January 2021, 3:34 pm
Natixis, the France-listed financial services company, has come under the spotlight amid a fresh round of takeover talk.
Natixis has been in and out of discussions with Groupe BPCE, the company's largest shareholder, about a deal since last summer.
That's because BPCE, France's second largest banking group, has been studying the possiblity of buying the remainder of Natixis it doesn't own since last summer...
Tags: Natixis
Weekend review: Entain, MGM Resorts International and Next...
Sunday, 10 January 2021, 7:23 pm
Olly Gill, a quality business hack at The Sunday Telegraph, dug out some decent corporate scoops this weekend.
One of his tales was based on some on the record quotes from one of Entain's largest shareholders - Aberdeen Standard. The investor, according to Olly's piece, is arguing the £8.1 billion takeover offer from MGM is 'not in the right postcode'. Below is the link:..
Publicis Groupe targeted by private equity, reveals Campaign
Friday, 8 January 2021, 2:26 pm
Publicis Groupe's shares are sharply up 5pc following reports from well respected industry trade rag Campaign that buy out firms are circling the French advertising giant about a potential multibillion deal.
Gideon Spanier, veteran media hack, reports that Publicis, run by Maurice Levy, has held talks with private equity houses, including - well, possibly - CVC Capital Partners. Below is a link to Spanier's piece:..
UNCOOKED ALERT: DXC Technology said to ... - Part 2
Thursday, 7 January 2021, 9:15 pm
Apologies Betavillers for this rather late self congratulatory missive; I have been running around a bit today.
Anyway, it would appear rivals at Reuters have finally cottoned on to the fact that DXC Technology is a takeover target and produced a line about France's Atos making an approach for the business. Below is the link:..
Tags: DXC Technology, Reuters
UNCOOKED ALERT: Signature Aviation said ... - Part 5
Thursday, 7 January 2021, 8:19 pm
So, Mark "the Kleinmanator" Kleinman just dug out a decent line about Blackstone teaming up with Bill Gates's fund to launching a joint £3.5 billion takeover bid for Signature Aviation. Below is a link to Mark's scoop with all the gory detail:
https://news.sky.com/story/bill-gates-and-blackstone-team-up-for-3-5bn-signature-bid-12181809..
UNCOOKED ALERT: Signature Aviation said to ... - Part 4
Thursday, 7 January 2021, 10:50 am
Signature Aviation, the London-listed aviation services group, is said to have attracted a "third bidder".
Last month, Signature Aviation confirmed Betaville's intelligence alert about the possibility of takeover interest by disclosing both Blackstone and Global Infrastructure Partners, the owner of Edinburgh airport, had made approaches for the company...
Tags: Signature Aviation
[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].