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 IntelligenceTuesday, 12 September 2017, 3:47 pm
Gemalto, the digital security company, is once again at the centre of takeover speculation.
According to sources claiming to be familiar with the matter, Oracle has made fresh approach for Gemalto valuing the business at between EURO 56 and Euro 59 a share.
Atos, the French IT services company, is also said to be keeping an eye on Gemalto, said these sources claiming to be familiar with the matter...
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Tuesday, 12 September 2017, 11:28 am
This time it would appear the takeover target that is likely to change hands is Small World, a digital money transfer business.
That's because a private equity firm backed by the relatives of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, is weighing a sale or float of Small World...
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Friday, 8 September 2017, 1:35 pm
I see David Montgomery has today been edged out of the Express Newspaper deal by former employer and business partner Trinity Mirror, which is now looking to buy the Daily Express and Daily Star outright.
So what could Monty - who last year set up his National World venture to consolidate the national newspaper sector - be up to next?..
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Wednesday, 6 September 2017, 5:55 pm
Josh Kosman's tale in the New York Post (see the link below) about Goldman Sachs pitching Boeing to make a $30 billion counterbid for Rockwell Collins caught Betaville's eye today.
http://nypost.com/2017/09/05/goldman-sachs-wanted-boeing-to-bid-on-airplane-parts-maker/..
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Wednesday, 6 September 2017, 10:32 am
Brexit-supporting Crispin Odey might think that Betaville has got it in for him as this website has run a 20-part series highlighting the veteran hedgie's travails with his flagship Odey European Fund...
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Betaville IntelligenceMonday, 4 September 2017, 9:54 pm
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 ..
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Betaville IntelligenceMonday, 4 September 2017, 8:18 am
Central Asia Metals, a copper mining company, is in advanced discussions about carrying out a large M&A deal in Macedonia.
This morning the AIM-listed company suspended its shares following an enquiry from Betaville on Friday regarding the deal talks.
It's not clear which company Central Asia Metals is in talks with but industry sources suggested the takeover target could be the Sasa mine, a Lead and Zinc producer based in North East Macedonia...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersFriday, 1 September 2017, 7:16 pm
Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 1 September 2017, 11:16 am
Bloomberg last night reported that Indian billionaire Kumar Birla is evaluating a bid for aluminium company Constellium. Below is the link:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-08-31/billionaire-birla-is-said-to-evaluate-constellium-aleris-bids..
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Thursday, 31 August 2017, 5:44 pm
The Observer and The Guardian have been banging on about the commercial interests of Sir Lynton Crosby's "communications" wing for the last four years (see the link below).
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2013/jun/08/lynton-crosby-tory-strategy-lobbying-firm..
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Wednesday, 30 August 2017, 7:25 pm
The Chinese appeared to have lost some of their appetite for Western businesses after a couple of years of hoovering up some of America and Europe's largest companies. In fact, Betaville wrote a piece on the topic in the The Sunday Times a couple of weeks ago. Below is the link to that feature:..
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Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 29 August 2017, 11:24 am
I see the top brass at Estee Lauder yesterday sent an internal "memo" to employees to quash the rather detailed takeover speculation aired in recent days, including by yours truly in The Sunday Times this/last weekend. Unsurprisingly, some financial media organisations ate it up in the usual manner of a pissing contest...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersSunday, 27 August 2017, 12:30 am
Saturday, 26 August 2017, 7:53 pm
There is a third person chasing Thomas Ryan in the British courts to recover money invested in one the mystery property developer's (hairbrained?) schemes...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersFriday, 25 August 2017, 8:16 am
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersThursday, 24 August 2017, 8:52 pm
Thursday, 24 August 2017, 6:56 pm
So, it would appear this Hassan Gozal chap is a rather savvy punter after all!
The construction tycoon with ties to Turkey, Kurdistan and Azerbaijan has quietly been building a stake in Genel Energy via his vehicle Daax Corp, an Azeri conglomerate. Here is a link to Betaville's previous piece published in July:
https://www.www.betaville.co.uk/news/genel-shenanigans/..
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Wednesday, 23 August 2017, 9:50 am
Looking over today's coverage of the Provident Financial fiasco on the front pages of the UK business sections I was reminded of a piece written by my esteemed former boss - Richard, the "Fletch", Fletcher - in The Daily Telegraph six years ago. ..
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 22 August 2017, 8:09 pm
Tuesday, 22 August 2017, 7:34 pm
Hat tip to my old Telegraph colleague Harry Wilson, now City editor at The Times, who today landed a rather good scoop about Eric Daniels, chief executive of Lloyds during the bailout, suing his old employer for hundreds of thousands of pounds of unpaid bonuses.
Below is a link to Harry's story, which was splashed across the front page of the The Times business section:..
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[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].