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.
Monday, 10 July 2023, 5:42 pm
The Genteel Hustler is returning to national newspaper business journalism.
Genteel, also known as Will Turvill, has just been snapped up by chums and colleagues at The Sunday Times business section, and will be covering media amongst other things.
In case you don't recall, Genteel picked up his moniker during our time working on the Mail on Sunday's business section for his extremely polite but persistent story-hustling style...
Read more...
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersFriday, 7 July 2023, 3:16 pm
Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 6 July 2023, 4:31 pm
Fidelity National Information Services has just announced the sale of a 55pc stake in Worldpay for almost $12 billion to Chicago-based buy out house GTCR. Below is a link to the press release:..
Read more...
Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 6 July 2023, 1:01 pm
Loyal Betaville subscribers will know that Saras SpA, the Italy-listed oil refining company, has been on this website's radar for several months (see UNCOOKED Alerts part 1 and part 2).
So, little old Betaville was intrigued to see Trafigura, the Switzerland-based commodity trading group, increase its shareholding in Saras to just below 14pc.
Still watching (wink wink).....
Read more...
Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 4 July 2023, 9:03 pm
Another day, another confirmation for little old Betaville.
This time little old Betaville published UNCOOKED Alert this afternoon about rumours of a Dutch company holding talks to buy Impellam Group, the Aim-listed staffing group whose largest shareholder is Lord Ashcroft, the controversial British businessman and former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Below is a link to that UNCOOKED Alert:..
Read more...
Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 4 July 2023, 2:47 pm
A Dutch company is rumoured to be in advanced talks to buy Impellam Group, the Aim-listed staffing whose majority shareholder is Lord Ashcroft, the British businessman and former deputy chairman of the Convervative Party.
Impellam has been in an "offer period" since April last year. Impellam appointed bankers from Houlihan Lokey to act as a financial advisor after Lord Ashcroft, who owns 62pc of the company, said he is weighing a sale of his shareholding...
Read more...
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersMonday, 3 July 2023, 3:32 pm
Monday, 3 July 2023, 9:09 am
Last week's scoopette about the takeover of privately-owned Anthesis Group has now been confirmed.
Carlyle, one of the private equity firms suggested in little old Betaville's orignal report as a potential purchaser, is paying around £400 million for Anthesis, the UK-based sustainability consultancy.
Below is the link to the confirmation and little old Betaville's original story:..
Read more...
Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 30 June 2023, 11:08 am
It's taken almost a year but Aurinia Pharmaceuticals, the US-listed biopharmaceutical company, has finally acquiesced to MKT Capital's demands and formally put itself up for sale. Below is a link to the press release that was issued last night:..
Read more...
Thursday, 29 June 2023, 5:20 pm
Well, it turns out there was no formal "denial" from Amazon to CNBC after all about it's interest in Ocado, the London-listed online food retailer.
According to Bloomberg, CNBC said it“inaccurately stated in an on-air graphic the current status of Amazon’s engagement with Ocado"...
Read more...
Wednesday, 28 June 2023, 12:38 pm
Shares in London-listed online food grocer Ocado have dropped like a stone, sliding almost 10pc at pixel time.
The trigger for the decline appears to be a piece out on American business news channel CNBC, suggesting Amazon has denied any interest in purchasing Ocado.
The whole piece on CNBC is a bit odd because the main item is based on Zoom interview with James Lockyer, a Peel Hunt analyst...
Read more...
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 27 June 2023, 9:36 am
Monday, 26 June 2023, 4:23 pm
A sustainability consultancy firm that works for technology giants such as Amazon, FTSE 100-listed retailer Tesco and the British government could be about to change hands for around £400 million.
People following the situation said Anthesis Group has hired advisers from Lazard to work on a "strategic review", which could lead to a sale of the business...
Read more...
Friday, 23 June 2023, 7:28 am
Drum roll...
It would appear Gotham City's return to the European short selling begins with: SES-imagotag, a French company that sells electronic labels and retail management systems.
The shares have surged almost 125pc over the last year.
Anyway, for legal reasons little old Betaville can't reproduce Gotham City's allegations but I have pasted the link below if you are interested in reading what the activist short seller has got to say about the business:..
Read more...
Thursday, 22 June 2023, 10:28 am
Ocado shares are currently up around 43pc at pixel time.
There has been no confirmation, yet, of Dom Walsh's takeover story in today's The Times so little old Betaville assumes there could be a bit of short squeeze going on here, especially as Ocado is one of the most shorted stocks in the London market.
According to data provider Shortracker.co.uk, around 6.1pc of Ocado's stock is on loan to short sellers. Below is a link to Shortracker.co.uk:..
Read more...
Thursday, 22 June 2023, 7:10 am
Remember Gotham City?
No, little old Betaville isn't referring to the fictional city from the Batman comic books and films.
This Gotham City is the short seller that almost a decade ago had some success identifying corporate malfeasance-related short investment ideas, such as Gowex, the Spain-listed WiFi provider that turned out to be a fraud...
Read more...
Wednesday, 21 June 2023, 9:37 pm
Dom Walsh, veteran retail hack over on the The Times business section, has dug up an interesting takeover tale about another London-listed online retailer.
According to Dom's piece, Ocado - whose shares have collapsed almost 50pc over the last year - might be of interest to an American suitor, possibly even Amazon.
Now, that's not the first time such a theory has been aired but you never know perhaps 2023 will be the year it actually happens.....
Read more...
Betaville IntelligenceWednesday, 21 June 2023, 9:27 pm
I see EQT has finally confirmed it is in talk to buy Alfa Financial Software Holdings, the London-listed asset finance software company, after little old Betaville's UNCOOKED alert from a couple of weeks ago...
Read more...
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersWednesday, 21 June 2023, 2:10 pm
Tuesday, 20 June 2023, 1:41 pm
There is some big merger & acquisition news breaking across in the (European) continent right now.
Adnoc, the Abu Dhabi-backed energy company, has made a takeover approach for German chemicals giant Covestro, according to Bloomberg.
I would provide the link but Bloomberg hasn't made it available, yet...
UPDATE: Below is a link to the Bloomberg piece that has been picked up by the Financial Post:..
Read more...
[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].