Mark, the "Kleinmanator", Kleinman of Sky News has gone for a Saturday afternoon wind up with a story about BT Group hiring Goldman Sachs and, maybe, Robey Warshaw to work on a defence ahead of a £15 billion takeover approach. Below is the link:
https://news.sky.com/story/bt-group-board-on-alert-for-15bn-takeover-approaches-12054366..
Remember when Vin Murria unveiled in early May a 13.25pc stake in M&C Saatchi?
Recently reports emerged via the Kleinmanator of Sky News that the tech entrepreneur had been refused a board seat for "corporate governance reasons".
Well, Betaville hears Murria may come to regret building that shareholding in the advertising agency, which has been beset by accounting problems over the last twelve months...
Betaville doesn't enjoy seeing any company collapse into administration but I note the fact that the Daily Mail and others are now reporting that Thomas Cook is on the verge of going under. Below is a link to the Daily Mail piece (which was splashed across the front page of the main book but I think was a follow from the Kleinmanator of Sky News)...
Several weeks ago Betaville copped an earful from a person close to Thomas Cook on a rare Sunday off for a piece I wrote in the Mail on Sunday's business section about the tour operator's restructuring. Below is the link:..
I see former colleague Mark, "the Kleinmanator", Kleinman of Sky News has just published a rather interesting piece about Interserve, a company I have written about recently on Betaville and in the Mail on Sunday's business section (below are the links).
https://www.betaville.co.uk/news/interserve-poised-to-be-put-on-the-block-sources/..
Today is quickly turning into a "Merger Saturday"!
The Kleinmanator of Sky News has just popped up with a corking jackanory about Just Eat merging with Takeaway.com. Below is the link:
https://news.sky.com/story/just-eat-delivers-9bn-merger-with-takeaway-com-11771635..
Betaville is in a bad mood.
Readers might be wondering why. Well, after stumbling across a fun little scoopette over a sumptuous lunch this week Betaville got cracking with the proper journalistic protocol of calling the relevant parties this morning to provide the customary "opportunity to comment"...
City hacks are trying hard to dig up deal stories. This week, for example, Mark "The Kleinmanator" Kleinman of Sky News "revealed" that the owners of sandwhich chain Eat and department store Liberty had hired advisers to find purchasers for both businesses.
However, according to Betaville's well-placed sources, there are just as many, if not more, deals falling over in the UK during this period of extreme political uncertainty...
The Kleinmanator of Sky News landed a good tale yesterday about Schroders and Lloyds Banking Group looking at tie up of their wealth management units. And this morning the scoop was confirmed. Below is a link to the confirmation:
Hat tip the to the Kleinmanator for tonight's Aveva / Schneider merger scoop. Kleinman and I didn't always get along when we worked together at The Daily Telegraph but credit where credit is due. Here is a link to his piece:
http://news.sky.com/story/ftse-250-software-group-aveva-to-unveil-3bn-schneider-merger-11020604 ..
It would appear Mike Ashley isn't the only bidder still trying to get hold of BHS - or parts of it, at least.
Well-placed sources have told me the Portuguese consortium, led by Greg Tufnell (Phil Tufnell's brother) and backed by the dos Santos family, was also contacted by administrators on Sunday about whether it would still be interested in buying BHS...