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.
Wednesday, 28 February 2018, 9:43 am
Does anybody else think it odd that Mike Turner went on holiday to the Caribbean in January after the opening scuffle in the GKN/Melrose bid battle?
Betaville realises that everybody is entitled to a holiday. However, according to reliable senior banking sources who aren't advising on this takeover battle (as far as Betaville is aware) Turner, chairman of GKN, headed off to the Sandy Lane Hotel in Barbados after Melrose made its approach in early January...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 27 February 2018, 2:47 pm
Tuesday, 27 February 2018, 8:05 am
So, the London market is buzzing as Comcast has made a £22 billion counterbid for Sky pitched at £12.50 a share.
Hat tip to the CNBC and Matt Oliver of the Daily Mail who both broke the story of a potential counterbid from Comcast for Sky back in early December last year. I have pasted a link to the Daily Mail's story below:..
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Monday, 26 February 2018, 10:58 am
This morning's business comment column by the excellent Katherine Griffiths, a former colleague from our days at The Daily Telegraph, caught Betaville's eye.
That's because top bankers suggested to Betaville last week that the London Stock Exchange - whose chairman has been having a bruising row with TCI's Sir Christopher Hohn, the exchange's biggest shareholder - may soon announce the appointment of a new chief executive, possibly as soon as this week...
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Sunday, 25 February 2018, 9:36 pm
Take a bow Oliver Shah, City Editor at the The Sunday Times...
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Thursday, 22 February 2018, 10:08 pm
Hat tip to Bryce Elder. The FT market reporter who last year broke the story about Warren Buffett and 3G's $140 billion takeover bid for FTSE 100-listed Unilever smoked out another bid this morning. This time the flying Scotsman fleshed out Stobart's £100 million tilt at regional airline Flybe...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersWednesday, 21 February 2018, 9:40 pm
Tuesday, 20 February 2018, 5:34 pm
£100,000.
Apparently, that's how much it costs to become a super, uber premium member to Richard Caring's members' clubs and restaurants, such as Mayfair-based Annabels, George and Harry's Bar.
It's not clear, though, whether the super, uber membership - which supposedly guarantees no queues and immediate tables - is for a year, a decade or a lifetime...
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Monday, 19 February 2018, 6:51 pm
Tongues are wagging after BCA Marketplace sacked corporate brokers at JP Morgan and HSBC and replaced them with Goldman Sachs and Numis in one fell swoop.
https://www.investegate.co.uk/bca-marketplace-plc--bca-/rns/change-of-adviser/201802190726502352F/..
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Friday, 16 February 2018, 10:06 pm
Reabold Resources is said to be working on another equity fundraising.
According to sources claiming to be familiar with the matter, Reabold and its advisers have been talking to investors about raising up to £10 million.
The potential fundraising, which could be done via a placing, comes just a few months after the company raised almost £4 million last September...
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Wednesday, 14 February 2018, 7:00 pm
Ping! An email arrives from a friendly market participant containing one of Exane BNP Paribas notes. Now, in the old days Betaville would have just copied and pasted the broker's note below, so that the wider world could share in Exane's thoughts on a company...
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Tuesday, 13 February 2018, 7:34 pm
That's supposed to be the name of Richard Caring's latest restaurant venture.
Yes, you read it correctly - Sexy Elephant. According to top sources, Caring - the British retail tycoon behind Mayfair eaterie Sexy Fish, where I suspect many of Betaville's loyal readers regularly dine out - is rumoured to be planning to open an Indian food-themed restaurant...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersMonday, 12 February 2018, 12:14 am
Friday, 9 February 2018, 6:39 am
US-based Woodward has finally released a statement regarding the Wall Street Journal's "scoop" (Betaville seems to remember reading a very similar story on FT Alphaville the day before the venerable American paper published) about Boeing being in takeover talks to buy the aircraft parts maker. I have pasted the Woodward statement below:..
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Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 8 February 2018, 7:36 am
This piece (see below) by FT hackette Harriet Agnew predicting large scale M&A among consultancies and advertising agencies is worth a read given the noises around WPP towards the back end of last year. I have pasted the link below:
https://www.ft.com/content/5d189bca-0c0b-11e8-839d-41ca06376bf2..
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersWednesday, 7 February 2018, 5:40 pm
Wednesday, 7 February 2018, 6:57 am
There seems to be only one story the world's financial press cares about this week: the rout and rallies of global equity markets.
So, if your looking for a bit of perspective on the whole affair Betaville suggests reading this piece (link below) published in The Sunday Times late last year...
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Monday, 5 February 2018, 7:24 pm
Apologies for the delayed Sunday review delay Betavillers - I have been rather busy.
Anyway, I was pleased to see Sunday journalism is still alive, well and kicking in the UK as all of the business sections were packed with some excellent scoops, investigative features and interviews...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersMonday, 5 February 2018, 6:51 am
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersFriday, 2 February 2018, 8:30 pm
[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].