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.

Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Jazz Pharmaceuticals said to...

Wednesday, 17 April 2019, 3:53 pm

TG Therapeutics, US-listed biopharmaceuticals company, has come under the spotlight amid vague takeover speculation.

However, it's not clear which company is interested in purchasing TG Therapeutics.

One person claiming to be familiar with the matter said the buyer for TG Therapeutics is Jazz Pharmaceuticals, an Ireland-based biopharmaceutical company which specializes of identifying, developing and commercializing pharmaceutical products...

Read more...

Is Cuisine de France for sale?

Tuesday, 16 April 2019, 9:06 am

No - is the answer to the question posited in the headline, according to a spokesperson for Aryzta, the ailing Swiss-Irish food company that owns Cuisine de France.

"Cuisine de France is not for sale," reiterated Mark Kenny, a spokesperson for Aryzta when Betaville got in touch last week...

Read more...

WELL-DONE ALERT: Skin testing firm poised to unveil £3 million takeover of RinoCloud

Thursday, 11 April 2019, 11:31 pm

Integumen, the company involved in developing non-animal skin testing technology Labskin, is poised to carry out a £3 million takeover of RinoCloud, a data management platform.

People claiming to be familiar with the matter said a £3 million purchase of RinoCloud will be unveiled alongside a £2.75 million equity fundraising in the next few days, possibly as early as tomorrow morning...

Read more...

Brexit...who cares, say French Canadians - Part 2

Thursday, 11 April 2019, 9:31 am

There is an old saying in (British) journalism: "three makes a trend".

I guess, then, we are half way there when it comes to the French Canadians and British businesses.

Several week's ago Saputo - based in Montreal, Canada - paid £1 billion for London-listed cheesemaker Dairy Crest.

And yesterday it emerged Garda World, whose headquarters are also in Montreal, is weighing a £3 billion takeover of accident-prone security company G4S...

Read more...

CCP - Part 2

Wednesday, 10 April 2019, 11:02 am

Betaville's CCP theme appears to be catching on.

According to the market report in the The Times today, JP Morgan downgraded Britain's water companies amid fears that once the Corbynistas get in power the whole of the listed water sector will be re-nationalized. Below is a link to the piece by Emily Gosden, a former colleague from my time at The Daily Telegraph:..

Read more...

RARE ALERT: Skin testing firm said to be plotting multi-million pound equity fundraising - sources

Monday, 8 April 2019, 11:43 am

Integumen, the company involved in developing non-animal skin testing technology Labskin, is preparing to tap equity investors for up to £3 million.

People claiming to be familiar with the matter said Integumen is looking to raise fresh capital by issuing new stock to investors at around 1.5p a share.

It's thought the fundraising deal is relatively advanced and could be announced imminently, said people claiming to be familiar with the matter...

Read more...

Tags: Integumen

REVEALED: Gaucho Grill in advanced talks to merge with M Restaurants - sources

Thursday, 4 April 2019, 10:55 am

Most people in the City of London have heard of Gaucho Grill. That's because the steak chain is frequented by bankers, brokers and private equity bucaneers looking to celebrate a deal with a slap up meal.

But last year the group was in peril after it fell into administration, with 500 Gaucho Grill employees losing their jobs in the process...

Read more...

CCP...

Wednesday, 3 April 2019, 10:16 pm

Readers will be more than aware of plans by the City of London's banks, brokers and investment funds to accommodate for Brexit.

Indeed, some of the City's traders and bankers have already been shifted to Paris and Frankfurt with others on standby to move in the event of a hard or disordely Brexit.

But now there is a new plan whipping around the market dubbed "CCP", which is also known as the "Corbyn Contigency Plan"...

Read more...

Friday fun: President Energy airs and denies its own bid rumour...

Friday, 29 March 2019, 3:26 pm

Here is an oddity that Betaville has never encountered before: a company disclosing a bid rumour about itself on its own website that hasn't yet been talked about in the market or been published by the media.

Yes, Aim-listed President Energy has done precisely that on its "Frequently Asked Questions" page, where it posits the question about Peter Levine, chairman and chief executive, taking the company private...

Read more...

Sports pages...

Friday, 29 March 2019, 9:15 am

Ping! An email arrives with what hedgies dub the "sports pages".

These "sports pages" are also known as HSBC's Hedge Weekly, which is a performance review of European hedge funds.

Last year, charming Crispin Odey - a leading City Brexiteer who runs Odey Asset Management - topped the leaderboard but this year it seems to be populated by a bunch of funds nobody has ever heard of, such as Muirfield GSE Partners, Golden China Fund and Tonga Partners...

Read more...

RARE ALERT: Gatwick Gusher said to be working on another multi-million pound equity fundraising - sources

Tuesday, 26 March 2019, 7:24 pm

Another year, another UKOG placing.

People claiming to be familiar with the matter UK Oil & Gas is said to be tapping up investors for fresh capital, again.

The Aim-listed company, which is developing the so-called Gatwick Gusher, is looking to raise between £3 million and £5 million at around 1p a share, said people claiming to be familiar with the matter.

The people added that brokers at WH Ireland are working on the deal for UK Oil & Gas...

Read more...

REVEALED: Drapers owner in advanced talks to buy Money Marketing publisher for up to £5 million - sources

Monday, 25 March 2019, 10:53 am

The owner of Drapers magazine is in talks to buy Centaur Media's financial division for up to £5 million.

Sources familiar with the matter said Metropolis International is closing in on the acquisition of titles such as Money Marketing and Mortgage Strategy after entering "advanced negotiations" with Centaur Media about the deal...

Read more...

[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].