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.
Mark "The Kleinmanator" Kleinman of Sky News has been on a bit of roll in recent weeks (although not sure he can claim the bragging rights for the Banco de Sabadell takeover bid story - wink wink) so I thought it might be worth pointing out some of the most interesting nuggests from this week's City AM column...
There you go - in a highly unusual move Spanish lender BBVA has unveiled the full detail of its offer for smaller rival Banco de Sabadell on a public holiday.
BBVA is offering one share for every 4.83 Banco de Sabadell shares, valuing Sabadell at EURO 12.3 billion.
That represents a premium of 30pc above yesterday's closing price.
This bid situation looks like its about to kick off!..
It's been a while since little old Betaville has witnessed a hostile banking takeover in Europe.
But apparently BBVA is considering just that after little old Betaville smoked out its renewed interest in buying Banco de Sabadell yesterday morning...
Here is a reason why it's now almost impossible to believe anything European companies say publicly these days.
After little old Betaville's UNCOOKED Alert this morning about the takeover rumours surrounding Banco de Sabadell SA a spokesperson for the company "denied" to Mark "The Kleinmanator" Kleinman that it was in sale/merger talks with BBVA...
So, it turns out Viceroy is the latest big bear to attempt a mauling of Global Life, the US-listed insurance group.
The short selling activist has just released its own note, which Viceroy claims is its "longest investigation by far".
Now for legal reasons little old Betaville isn't able to air any of the allegations Viceroy has dug up in these pixels.
If you want to read the report to make your own mind up, I suggest you go to Viceroy's website...
Now BBVA appears to be confirming little old Betaville's UNCOOKED Alert from earlier this morning about the merger and takeover rumours surrounding Banco de Sabadell...
Oh look - the old Mark, "the Kleinmanator", Kleinman of Sky News appears to have picked up on little old Betaville's Banco de Sabadell UNCOOKED Alert from earlier today.
He hasn't written a full story but is out there on Twitter tweeting away. I have pasted the Tweets below in case you missed it them:..
As if every financial commentator wasn't enough, now Matt Moulding, founder of London-listed online retailer THG, has gone off on a rant about the Darktrace takeover bid.
It's his customary complaint about how the City of London gangs up on technology companies etc etc etc. Below is the full rant, which he has posted on Linked In...
There were two columns in The Times this morning suggesting that London-listed cyber security firm Darktrace may receive a counter offer to rival Thomas Bravo's £4.3 billion bid.
In his Business Commentary column little old Betaville's former The Daily Telegraph colleague and boss - Alistair 'Acebic' Osborne - writes: "who knows, Darktrace may yet lure a higher bid"...
It sounds like the bears haven't given up on Global Life, the US-listed insurer, despite the company's announcement of a $1.3 billion share buy back.
In case you don't recall, little old Betaville first alerted readers that bears were circling Global Life at the beginning of last month. Below is a link to that piece:
https://www.betaville.co.uk/news/bears-circle-global-life-inc/..
The race is on among financial commentators to call (or figure out, if you are a news hack) who will make a counter bid for Anglo American, the FTSE 100-listed mining company under siege from rival BHP Billiton.
Yesterday, Oliver "Shahsy" Shah of The Sunday Times went early with his bold prediction that Glencore will be the interloper to come up with a rival offer for Anglo American. Below is the link to Shahsy's piece:..
If you are wondering why shares in Elementis have perked up this morning then look no further than Gatemore, the activist investor.
This morning Gatemore published an open letter, calling for, among other things, "a strategic review of the portfolio with the aim of refocussing the business and making it more attractive for a strategic buyer". Anyway, below is a link to the full open letter if you want to read it:..
The British takeover frenzy continues unabated.
This time US private equity firm Thomas Bravo has agreed a deal to buy London-listed Darktrace for over $5.3 billion or around 620p a share. Below is a link to the announcement:
A peculiar takeover story has emerged in little old Betaville's former employer - The Daily Telegraph.
On the front page of the The Daily Telegraph's business section the newspaper reports that City analysts have warned that Burberry is 'at risk' of a takeover...
Arch rivals at Bloomberg have just broken a rather large story that little old Betaville was also chasing this late afternoon.
According to Bloomie, BHP Billiton has recently been "evaluating the possiblity" of takeover bid for FTSE 100-listed Anglo American. Below is a link to the story: ..
After last week's small sell off some market participants are claiming the 'new' bear market has arrived but that doesn't appear to be dampening dealmaking activity.
Indeed, Italian coffee maker Luigi Lavazza SpA just launched a cash offer for Italian vending machine maker IVS.
Lavazza will pay EURO 7.15 a share to other investors as part a complicated take private alongside IVS largest shareholder...
British business media commentators like to complain about how London-listed businesses are being gobbled up by 'foreign' predators.
But JD Sports, the London-listed sportswear retailer, has this morning shown it's not all one way traffic.
The company announced the acquisition of US-listed sporting goods retailer Hibbett for $87 a share or over $1 billion. Below is a link to the press release:..
[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].