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.
One of the largest shareholders in Telit Communications is preparing to vote against Dbay's £300 million takeover offer for the Aim-listed 'internet of things' provider.
Betaville understands Oozi Cats, the founder of Telit who still owns around 12pc of the company, isn't going to vote for the sheme of arrangement at next week's shareholder meeting...
This morning Dbay Advisers, the activist private equity firm trying to buy Telit Communications, said that Compass Asset Management is no longer supporting its 220p a share offer for the Aim-listed 'internet of things' company.
Dbay added that Compass - a little known fund manager based in Lugano, Switzerland - said it now plans to abstain in voting for the scheme of arrangement next week. Below is the link to the statement:..
Dealmaking continues despite skittish stock markets, with Philip Morris International coming over the top for London-listed inhaler group Vectura.
Philip Morris is paying 150p a share for Vectura - that's 14p a share more than what Carlyle offered for the £1 billion company. Below is the link to this morning's announcement...
Smiths Group, the London-listed engineering conglomerate, is said to have appointed a heavyweight investment bank on the possible sale of its medical division to private equity firm TA Associates.
People following the situation said Smiths Group is working with advisers from Goldman Sachs on the disposal of the medical unit.
Talks between Smiths Group and TA Associates have been rekindled but a deal is by no means a certainty, said people following the situation...
I see my former boss and colleague Alistair "Acerbic" Osborne is today in The Times talking up the prospects of a potential takeover bid for J Sainsbury following the private equity bid battle for rival WM Morrison...
It sounds like Dbay is a tad worried about a potential interloper coming in for Telit Communications, the Aim-listed 'internet of things' designer.
That's because word reaches Betaville that the activist investor and private equity firm may have struck an agreement with Telit to be able to sell the due dligence it carried out on the company to a rival acquirer should one emerge from the shadows...
GCP Student Living confirmed Betaville's UNCOOKED ALERT from Friday afternoon. Below is a link to the statement, which reveals the company has received a takeover offer from a consortium of funds that include Blackstone.
Betaville realises there are probably bigger and more high profile deals going on at the moment but Fletcher King confirmed last week's RARE ALERT about Elliott Bernerd's move on the small cap surveyor. Below is the link:
It appears The Sunday Telegraph was bang on the money with it's weekend line about Apollo Global Management coming in for WM Morrison.
So who would have thought it: a potential three-way tussle for Morrisons! Below is the link to the Apollo statement:..
The British Sunday newspaper business sections were really talking up the prospects of a bidding war for WM Morrison now that it has agreed to a £6 billion plus offer from a consortium led by SoftBank-backed Fortress and the Koch family. ..
WM Morrison's has just agreed to a counter offer from a consortium comprising the billionaire Koch family and Softbank's Fortress.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment board has also joined the group, who have offered 254p a share for Morrisons. Below are some of the highlights from the press release:
Summary and highlights..
Mast Energy Developments has hit the radar as some of Betaville's snouts have suggested this could be a small cap stock that is worth keeping an eye on over the coming weeks and months.
In part, that's because the reserve power provider may be about to land a milestone contract that will generate around £50,000 a month from a business linked to FTSE 100-listed giant National Grid.
Developing.....
British property tycoon Elliott Bernerd is circling Fletcher King as part of a move that could see the Aim-listed chartered surveyor combine with Chelsfield.
People following the situation said Mr Bernerd has been holding negotiations with Fletcher King and some of its investors about buying a sizeable shareholding, possibly as much as 29.9pc, in the property company...
McKinsey and Company today released an on the record interview with Simon Pryce, the chief executive of Ultra Electronics Holdings...
Betaville notes Richard Griffiths, dubbed the "Welsh Wizard" in London's Square Mile, has in recent days been converting his derivative position in Telit Communications into phyiscal equity.
One assumes the canny investor has done this so that he can vote the stock at the upcoming shareholder meeting on whether to accept Dbay's controversial 220p a share offer for the company...
Well, perhaps little old Betaville made the right not to publish the IWG bid rumour after all - CC Capital has just said it doesn't plan to make an offer for IWG (with all the usual caveats). Below is the link:
The old Kleinmanator of Sky News is at it again - digging out a corking scoop.
This time Mark, a former colleague and boss during our time at the The Daily Telegraph, has sniffed out a top story about CC Capital's interest in buying IWG, the serviced office company controlled by entrepreneur Mark Dixon. Below is a link to Mark's piece:..
[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].