A cheeky website about deals, dealmakers and anything else I find interesting. Edited by Ben Harrington. If you have a tip, want to discuss a story or have a subscription enquiry please feel free to email Betaville at [email protected]. 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.
Chelsea FC on the block; Abramovich said to be seeking £3 billion, according to reports - Part 5
The list of suitors for Chelsea Football Club is growing by the day.
Mark "the Kleinmanator" Kleinman of Sky News now claims British property entrepreneur Nick Candy, Conor McGregor, the Mixed Martial Arts star, investment firm Empowerment IP Capital, the American owners of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball team and, er, Ken Griffin, the founder of mega hedge fund Citdael are all involved in the Chelsea sale process.
Below is a link to Mark's piece:..
Sunday review on a Monday: Caretech, DoorDash and Deliveroo
The Kleinmanator of Sky News was back to old tricks this weekend, digging out top takeover scoops, including one about a bid for social care company Caretech.
Below is a link to his piece and also the confirmation to Mark Kleinman's scoop:
https://news.sky.com/story/caretech-founders-plot-bid-to-take-social-care-group-private-12559267..
Chelsea FC on the block; Abramovich said to be seeking £3 billion, according to reports - Part 4
Another bidder for Chelsea FC has outed himself.
According to reports, Turkish "billionaire" Mushin Bayrak is circling the club, which was has been put up for sale by Roman Abramovich.
Mr Bayrak, the chairman of AB Grup, a construction company, signalled yesterday his desire to strike a deal. A representative, asked by the The Guardian about Bayrak’s interest, said: “Yes we definitely confirm. We have forwarded our offer regarding this to them.”..
Chelsea FC on the block; Abramovich said to be seeking £3 billion, according to reports - Part 3
You don't see this very often: a senior rainmaker talk on the record about a high profile deal he is working on.
Joe Ravitch, the co-founder of investment bank Raine Group LLC, has done just that in an interview with Reuters...
The retail tycoon, the City spinners and the mandate...
Word reaches little old Betaville that Mike Ashley's Frasers Group is in advanced talks to hire Brunswick, the so-called "Goldman Sachs" of "corporate communications", otherwise known as spin.
Now, that is surprise as maverick Mike is not usually a fan of stuffy corporate Square Mile types and hasn't had a "proper" City public relations firm on retainer for quite a while...
UNCOOKED ALERT: Albioma said to .....
UNCOOKED AERT: Ontex said to ... - Part 4
I see Bloomberg has decided to follow up little old Betaville's UNCOOKED Alert from a couple of weeks ago about Ontex, the Belgian diaper maker. Below is the link to the Bloomie piece:..
Chelsea FC on the block; Abramovich said to be seeking £3 billion, according to reports - Part 2
Wow that was quick - now the rumours have been confirmed by Mr Abramovich himself in a are public statement. See below:..
Chelsea FC on the block; Abramovich said to be seeking £3 billion, according to reports
You know the rumours about a potential sale of Chelsea FC are serious when the venerable Wall Street Journal finally decides to get on the story.
The WSJ has just published a piece claiming Roman Abramovich is seeking takeover bids for Chelsea FC, which has won the European champions league twice, ahead of the Russian tycoon being hit by financial sanctions. Below is the link:..
UNCOOKED ALERT: Oxford Instruments said to ... - Part 4
It sounds like Spectris and Oxford Instruments are trying to get the £1.7 billion takeover deal wrapped up as quickly as possible.
People following the situation have heard the board of Oxford Instruments is set to formally recommend Spectris's £1.7 billion takeover offer in the next few days.
Quite why everybody is moving so quickly to get this deal done is a bit of a mystery. Perhaps the parties involved are worried about an interloper? ..
UNCOOKED ALERT: Oxford Instruments said to ... - Part 3
Spectris has now confirmed its interest in purchasing Oxford Instruments for over £1.5 billion. Below is the announcement:
And it all looks very friendly to Betaville.....
UNCOOKED ALERT: Oxford Instruments said to ... - Part 2
Oh look - Oxford Instruments has confirmed little old Betaville's UNCOOKED Alert from earlier today and outed London-listed rival Spectris as its potential suitor.
Click on the link below to read the details of the takeover approach from Spectris:..
UNCOOKED ALERT: Oxford Instruments said to .....
Sunday review: BP, Ultra Electronics and Boohoo
The Mail on Sunday's business section splash was rather well timed.
Luke Barr and Francesca Washtell, two hard working young Mail hacks, ran a piece about how BP had come under fire from all quarters about its 20pc holding in Russian oil group Rosneft. Then several hours later the FTSE 100 oil giant announced its going to sell its whole stake in the business. Below is a link to Barr and Washtell's piece:..
Saturday review: Maravai LifeSciences Holdings Inc, Renewable Energy Group and Chevron
Clearly there are more important things going on in the world at the moment than corporate mergers & acquisitions.
But for readers obsessed with deals, there were a few stories that cropped up over the last twenty four hours that piqued Betaville's interest...
Healthcare Trust of America Inc in talks to buy Healthcare Realty Trust Inc to create $10 billion property giant, reveals the Wall Street Journal
Another cracking tale from the deals team at the venerable Wall Street Journal.
Cara Lombardo and Liz Hoffman report Healthcare Trust of America Inc., which owns and operates medical-office buildings around the country, is in advanced talks to combine with smaller rival Healthcare Realty Trust Inc. in a deal that could create a company worth more than $10 billion...
UNCOOKED ALERT: THG said to ... - Part 10
There is a suggestion circulating that beleguered THG, the London-listed online retailer, is weighing the appointment of a heavyweight chairman in the next couple of weeks.
According to people following the situation, the company - run by the controversial Matt Moulding - has narrowed its shortlist of chairman candidates to two senior City types...
UNCOOKED ALERT: Indivior said to ...
Indivior, the FTSE 250-listed opiod addiction treatment company, is rumoured to be the mystery bidder circling Opiant Pharmaceuticals, the US-listed developer of medicines for drug addiction.
People following the situation have heard rumours Indivior has been talking to Opiant since December last year year about a possible offer for the company.
These people following the situation claimed Indivior is being advised by bankers at Centreview...
UNCOOKED ALERT: THG said to ... - Part 9
THG, the London-listed e-commerce business, has this morning released what appears to be a full force denial of The Sunday Telegraph's report about how beauty product suppliers are restricting the flow stock to the company.
Below is a link to THG's categorical denial:..
[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].