UNCOOKED ALERT: B&G Foods said to.....
Friday, 31 May 2019, 7:02 am
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.
The broker, the former employees and the row
Thursday, 30 May 2019, 9:58 am
A date for the diary: city brokerage Vantage Capital Markets is being dragged to the High Court next week to defend a six figure claim brought by two former employees.
John Thitchener and Gavin Masters are suing VCM for losses they say they suffered after the company refused to pay them out under a partnership agreement...
Tags: Vantage Capital Markets
A Cypress Semiconductor update: company said to be working with Goldman Sachs on strategic options; three private equity firms circling - sources - The Series Returns
Wednesday, 29 May 2019, 5:10 pm
I see Betaville's rivals at Bloomberg have just revealed that Cypress Semiconductors is weighing a sale after receiving takeover interest. Below is a link to the Bloomie piece broken this afternoon:
Tags: Cypress Semiconductors
The British business hack and the £27 billion European mega-merger...
Wednesday, 29 May 2019, 9:50 am
The British aren't exactly popular on the continent at the moment thanks to the interminable Brexit negotiations.
There is, though, one Brit who has had a hand shaping one of the largest Franco-Italian corporate mergers of 2019.
Baroness Wheatcroft of Blackheath, also known as Patience Wheathcroft, is a non executive director of Fiat Chrysler, which this weekend was outed by the Financial Times as in merger discussions with France's Renault...
NM Rothschild's move to "conquer Wall Street"...
Tuesday, 28 May 2019, 7:21 pm
This piece in The Daily Telegraph's business section - https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/05/27/rothschild-chasing-big-dollars-across-pond/ - about the venerable NM Rothschild expanding in the US caught Betaville's eye.
Why?..
Tags: NM Rothschild, US
Overseas rival said to be eyeing FTSE 100-listed Centrica, suggests The Sunday Times
Sunday, 26 May 2019, 11:34 am
Tucked away in the middle of The Sunday Times business section is a rather intriguing line in Oliver Shah's excellent commentary column.
"With Centrica’s shares trading at 92.8p, a price also reminiscent of another era (they last sunk to that level in the late 1990s), City scuttlebutt suggests at least one overseas rival is eyeing the FTSE 100 stalwart with a view to gaining a foothold in the British market."..
Tags: The Sunday Times
RARE ALERT: Tate & Lyle said to... - Part 2..
Friday, 24 May 2019, 3:00 pm
Blue Motor Finance said to have hired Lazard to sell £200 million for car finance firm
Thursday, 23 May 2019, 11:27 pm
The private equity owners of Blue Motor Finance are preparing to sell the car finance company for up to £200 million.
To be fair, it was the venerable Financial Times that first revealed Blue Motor Finance was talking to bankers about a sale. Below is the link:
https://www.ft.com/content/36e71840-2a33-11e9-9222-7024d72222bc..
Tags: Blue Motor Finance
Is Waggott being lined up as Thomas Cook's new chief executive?
Wednesday, 22 May 2019, 11:32 pm
Thomas Cook is under seige with City brokers, such as Citigroup, speculating the company's shares are worthless.
That has prompted a sharp sell off of the company's shares and bonds, which are now trading at distressed levels.
So, senior bankers have begun to speculate about what the company's tough chairman, Frank Meysman, might do to dig the company out of the hole it finds itself in...
RARE ALERT: Inmarsat said to...- Part 3
Tuesday, 21 May 2019, 7:21 pm
Arbitrageurs breathed a huge sigh of relief after the Scheme of Arrangement to take Inmarsat private scraped through with just 78.9pc of shareholders giving it the green light.
So who was it that voted against the deal completing?
According to one mole, Norges - the Norwegiant investor that owns around 3pc of Inmarsat - voted against approving the Scheme.
There is also talk a well-known British institutional investor also disapproved although it's not clear why...
Middle Eastern investors said to be in talks to buy 25pc stake Annabel's, reports The Sunday Times
Monday, 20 May 2019, 5:20 pm
Betaville was having a rather good weekend until I came across a story in yesterday's business section of The Sunday Times...
Horlick threatens to upset truce at Pathfinder Minerals
Friday, 17 May 2019, 7:11 pm
A fresh row is brewing at controversial mining company Pathfinder Minerals after the ex-husband of "City superwoman" Nicola Horlick launched a multi-million pound legal claim that the company has failed to disclose...
Tags: Pathfinder Minerals, Tim Horlick
Pret to gobble up Eat, according to The Evening Standard
Thursday, 16 May 2019, 6:54 pm
Hat tip to the young dynamic duo at the Evening Standard for landing a rather good scoop about Pret a Manger buying rival Eat.
Indeed, it was Mark Shapland and Laura Onita from the Evening Standard's business section broke the news about Pret's plans to turn Eat locations into vegetarian-only sandwich shops and here is a link to their tale:..
UNCOOKED ALERT: Arkema said to .....
Wednesday, 15 May 2019, 4:39 pm
Boatman Capital launches fresh tirade on Babcock International
Wednesday, 15 May 2019, 11:23 am
It would appear FTSE 250-listed Babcock International hasn't managed to scare off mysterious research house Boatman Capital.
The anonymous scribbler has just realsed a fresh negative note on Babcock International, arguing the company has to write down Defence Support Group (DSG) subsidiary, which was acquired for £148 million. Below is a link to the Boatman Capital wesbite:
UNCOOKED ALERT: Iofina said to be working on multi-million pound equity fundraising - sources - Part 2
Tuesday, 14 May 2019, 11:13 pm
Another day, another confirmation for little old Betaville.
This time Iofina confirmed Betaville's scoopette from yesterday about the business plotting a discounted equity fundraising. Below is a link to the confirmation:
Tags: Iofina
UNCOOKED ALERT: Iofina said to be working on a major equity fundraising - sources
Monday, 13 May 2019, 6:57 pm
Iofina, the Iodine and natural gas exploration company, is said to be working an equity fundraising.
People claiming to be familiar with the matter said Iofina is working on placing and the deal could be "imminent".
One person claimed new shares in Iofina, which today saw its stock jump almost 30pc to 32p, could be issued to investors at around 22p a share.
However, it's not clear how much capital Iodina is looking to raise...
Tags: Iofina
Sunday review on a...er...Saturday: SoftBank said to...- Part 2
Monday, 13 May 2019, 11:29 am
Oh look - I see yesterday's scoop about SoftBank Vision Fund investing in Greensill has now been officially confirmed. Below is a link to the confirmation on PR Newswire:
Sunday review on a...er...Saturday: SoftBank said to...
Saturday, 11 May 2019, 11:02 pm
I think this might be a first: a review of the Sunday paper business sections on a Saturday night.
Well, first off I hope you don't mind if I blow my own trumpet about a rather good tale I'm breaking tomorrow in the Mail on Sunday's business section...
RARE ALERT: Inmarsat said to...- Part 2
Friday, 10 May 2019, 6:36 pm
So, that was close: just 78.9pc of Inmarsat shareholders voted to approve the Scheme of Arrangement at today's court meeting.
The private equity consortium led by Apax and Warburg Pincus needed 75pc of Inmarsat shareholders to approve the Scheme and allow the $3.3 billion takeover to complete...
[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].