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.
I see Imaginatik, in which Rob Terry has been re-building a substantial stake, has announced the details of its cash call today, effectively confirming my tales from last week and yesterday. Here is the link:
http://www.investegate.co.uk/imaginatik-plc--imtk-/rns/fundraising/201605250700111980Z/..
Remember this piece (see below) that I published when little old Betaville kicked off in February 2014?
http://betaville123.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/predator-circles-sweett-group.html
In case you don't, it was about how Canadian group WSP had been "circling" Sweett Group after holding formal talks with the company about a deal...
Controversial businessman Rob Terry doesn't plan to participate in Imaginatik's £2 million cash call.
Readers will remember that last week I broke the story about how AIM-listed tiddler Imaginatik was plotting a £2 million fundraising via a placing and open offer...
Another piece of random RARE has landed on my desk.
Word is Gazit Globe, the Tel Aviv-based shopping centre giant, is keen on buying out the remainder of Atrium European Real Esate Limited that it doesn't own.
Gazit Globe currently owns around 55pc of of Atrium, a Jersey-domiciled owner and operator of shopping centres in Central and Eastern Europe...
Hat tip to Neil Hume over at the Financial Times for landing the final twist in the tale of the sale of Argus Media and congratulations to all the journalists who work at the information service as many will soon become multi-millionaires. Here is the link to Neil's story:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8646d45c-20d1-11e6-aa98-db1e01fabc0c.html#axzz49UVqPBH7..
Hacks over at FT Alphaville have pulled the trigger on the Swedish Orphan Biovitrum takeover tale. Here is a link to the piece:
http://ftalphaville.ft.com/2016/05/20/2162592/friday-raw-are-bidders-circling-sobi-again/..
Loyal readers will have picked up on my scepticism about the recent Restaurant Group bid rumours in my "Burnt fingers" series. However, perhaps too much time in journalism (over a decade now) can make you too cynical...
Just when you thought it couldn't get any more bizarre, little old Betaville can add another intriguing twist to the BHS saga...
Great to see another Betaville scoopette confirmed this morning on the UK's regulatory news service.
Here are the links to the confirmations to this morning's jackanory.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/imaginatik-plc--imtk-/rns/press-speculation/201605171051584715Y/..
Imaginatik, in which controversial businessman Rob Terry has been re-building a substantial stake, is preparing a £2 million equity fundraising.
City sources told little old Betaville that Finn Cap, Imaginatik's brokers, is working on a plan to raise £1.5 million via a placing and £500,000 via an open offer to investors.
Apparently, the software consulting company wants the extra cash to spend on sales, marketing and technology and rest will be used for working capital...
There were a couple of pieces in the Saturday business sections that caught my eye...
The former buy-out arm of ABN Amro is weighing a £100 million plus sale of one of Britain's oldest manufacturing businesses...
Strange - Bloomberg hacks are now arguing the dealmaking boom isn't over. Here is the link:
I'm confused.....
It never ceases to amaze me how quickly things can change in mega cap dealmaking...
Tom Hayes, the imprisoned Libor trader, has seen a huge response to his fundraising efforts for his appeal.
So far, according to the website, Hayes has raised £16,890. Here is the link if you want to make a donation.
https://fundrazr.com/tomhayesliborscapegoat..
It's pretty quiet in private equity land (thanks to the Brexit referendum) but here's a little update on the Radley auction I wrote about last week.
I just picked up from good sources that Bregal Freshstream, a newish buy-out firm, is also participating in the sale process of the handbag maker...
It's funny how in dealmaking in certain sectors suddenly becomes fashionable. And this week it's popcorn that is in vogue...
Deal watchers interested in understanding how M&A reporting works might be interested in signing up to an event being held by the Cass Business School's "M&A Research Centre"...
I see Imagination Technologies has just disclosed that Chinese outfit Tsinghua Unigroup International has bought a 3pc stake in the chip designer...
There weren't many large cap M&A scoops in the Sunday business sections this weekend but I guess that's to be expected in the run up to the Brexit referendum. ..
[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].