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.
Tuesday, 5 May 2020, 4:33 pm
Citigroup is today telling clients easyJet will have to launch a major cash call to raise between £700 million and a £1 billion.
Mark Manduca - airlines analyst at Citigroup, and son of City grandee and Prudential chairman Paul Manduca - reckons there is now a "high" probability the budget airline will have to carry out a rights issue in the coming weeks or months...
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Tuesday, 5 May 2020, 7:44 am
Vin Murria has just announced she and her family own a sizeable shareholding in M&C Saatchi, the advertising agency that has been beset by accountancy issues since last year.
According to this morning's statement, Indian-born Murria - who made millions when Advanced Computer Software Group was sold to Vista Equity Partners in 2015 - now has a 13.25pc shareholding in M&C Saatchi, which was founded by adworld celebrities Maurice and Charles Saatchi. Below is the link:..
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Monday, 4 May 2020, 10:15 pm
City wags reckon Kingfisher is working with bankers at Credit Suisse on "liquidity options".
What that means exactly remains unclear but one can presume it would involve the owner of B&Q, Screwfix and Castorama raising cash in some shape or form...
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Friday, 1 May 2020, 6:48 am
Does anybody else think the juxtoposition of Sir Chris Hohn taking a short position in Wirecard and his very public call for the removal of the German company's chief executive a bit odd?
You could understand why the German company's surpervisory board might acquiesce to The Childrens' Investment Fund if the firm had pursued its usual method of buying a sizeable stake in the company...
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Thursday, 30 April 2020, 4:52 pm
Hat tip to Phil Aldrick to landing another cracking economics scoop in The Times business section today about how a Gilt auction almost failed during the March stockmarket sell off. Below is the link:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bank-of-england-rode-to-government-s-rescue-as-gilt-markets-froze-w8dkqvvkg..
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Wednesday, 29 April 2020, 7:10 pm
Quelle surprise: Tim Martin's JD Wetherspoon is issuing new stock to raise £141 million ahead of a move to reopen the pub business. Below is the link:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/wetherspoon--jd--plc--jdw-/rns/proposed-placing-of-ordinary-shares/202004291645043831L/..
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Wednesday, 29 April 2020, 8:09 am
I have had a few enquiries about whether Tiziana's new new combinational therapy was the one announced just a few hours after the publication of Betaville's piece on Monday.
People familiar with the matter have confirmed the announcement on Monday lunchtime is the new combinational therapy referred to in my piece on Monday. I have pasted the link to the company announcement below:..
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Wednesday, 29 April 2020, 7:10 am
There is talk circulating the London market that one of Britain's biggest companies is set to launch a large cash call.
Reliable people familiar with the matter said the mystery company, thought to be in the FTSE 100 index, said the equity capital fundraising could be imminent.
However, it's not clear which blue chip company is going to kick off the rights issue or placing. If you think you have an idea, do get in touch via the usual channels, such as [email protected]...
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Tuesday, 28 April 2020, 7:47 am
Sir Stelios is WILLING to back a cash call at easyJet IF the airline cancels the £4.5 billion Airbus order, and throws out its chairman and chief executive.
I just needed to clear that point up following last week's Betaville piece, which suggested Sir Stelios might not be happy about a potential equity capital raising at easyJet...
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Monday, 27 April 2020, 6:37 am
Investors in funds run by Lansdowne Partners can sleep a little easier.
A corporate communicator for the hedgie got in touch with little old Betaville to claim the The Sunday Telegraph's line about Lansdowne's interest in buying Virgin Atlantic is "wrong".
Mmmmmmmm...I have pasted the statetment from the Lansdowne lackey below so dear reader you can make your own mind up...
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Monday, 27 April 2020, 6:29 am
Betaville is expecting another update from Tiziana Life Sciences in the next couple of days about its product for the fight against Covid-19
People following the situation said Tiziana is due to unveil a new combinational therapy to treat Covid-19 using a well-known FDA approved drug.
Still watching...
..
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Sunday, 26 April 2020, 7:53 pm
If you weren't able to pick up a copy of the Mail on Sunday today you may not have noticed I had a chat with Sir Stelios about the company's board, the airline's precarious financial position and the possiblity of a cash call.
Sir Stelios was on rumbustious form, so I have pasted the link to the piece below if you missed piece:..
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Saturday, 25 April 2020, 9:30 am
Sir Paul Tucker told Radio 4 this morning that highly-paid investment bankers twiddling their thumbs during the crisis driven deal drought should go to work in the high street branches.
When asked by Mishal Hussein if was there anything he would be doing differently if he were in a policy making role today Sir Paul said:..
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Thursday, 23 April 2020, 8:56 am
Several years ago The Sunday Times business section used to run little stories under the banner of "Pants on Fire" when the newspaper discovered it had been lied to by a company or its public relation advisers about a big scoop it had been trying to stand up for publication...
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Wednesday, 22 April 2020, 7:47 am
Menoshi Shina, the owner of Crew Clothing, is trying to back out of his £22 million takeover bid for Moss Bros, the menswear retailer. See the link below:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/moss-bros-group--mosb-/rns/offer-update/202004220700024199K/..
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Tuesday, 21 April 2020, 7:38 pm
It appears Betaville isn't the only City watcher thinking the likes of International Consolidated Airlines Group is weighing an equity capital raising.
Word reaches me that Mark Manduca, a scribbler at Citigroup, has written a note to clients saying: "we cannot wholly rule out an equity capital raise at either IAG or easyJet."..
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Monday, 20 April 2020, 9:52 am
I see DFS Furniture has confirmed the piece in this weekend's Mail on Sunday by Neil "Neily" Craven and I about a potential equity capital fundraising. See the link below:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/dfs-furniture-plc--dfs-/rns/statement-re-press-comment/202004200700061164K/..
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Sunday, 19 April 2020, 5:28 pm
The cash calls are coming thick and fast. Indeed, if you read the Sunday papers' business sections today you may have noticed that Neil "Neily" Craven and I unveiled DFS Furniture's plan to tap equity investors for fresh funds.
Mark "The Kleinmanator" Kleinman has today followed up our tale, tweeting the furniture retailer plans to ask investors for £50 million via a placing alongside raising some £70 million of fresh debt...
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Friday, 17 April 2020, 3:30 pm
Aston Martin has been a dog of stock since its flotation eighteen months ago but that hasn't stopped billionaires quietly accumulating stakes in the business.
The latest to gobble up the shares in the luxry marque are Swiss-Italian billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli and Totto Wolff, the Austrian investor, former racing driver and 30pc shareholder in the Mercedes Formula One team. Below are the links:..
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Friday, 17 April 2020, 8:09 am
Betaville is in a bit of a grump.
Now, you might ask why given what's going on in the world. Well, yes, that's fair enough - there are more important things happening in the world than the daily cut and thrust of unveiling the secret deals going down in the City of London...
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Tags:
Informa,
IAG,
InterContinental Hotels Group,
Compass,
JD Wetherspoon,
Mitchells & Butlers,
International Consolidated Airlines Group,
Kingfisher,
Travis Perkins,
Provident Financial,
Marstons[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].