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.
Tuesday, 18 April 2023, 8:20 am
New deals are being announced on a daily basis at the moment, with the pharmaceutical sector one of the most buoyant for dealmaking.
The latest deal is GlaxoSmithKline's takeover of Canadian biopharmaceutical company Bellus Health for $14.75 a share or around £1.6 billion.
That price is double Bellus Health's closing price of $7.26!
Below is a link to the press release if you want to read all the detail of the deal:..
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Monday, 17 April 2023, 10:39 am
So, it looks like there really is something to Patrick Tooher's THG story from this weekend's Mail on Sunday.
The company has just confirmed it has received a takeover approach from Apollo, which is also pursuing Wood Group. Below is a link to the confirmation:..
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Monday, 17 April 2023, 8:07 am
The British newspapers and American wire services were jammed packed with corking deal scoops this weekend.
The Mail on Sunday, for example, carried a line about a possible take private of embattled online retail group THG by founder and chief executive Matthew Moulding, the company's chief executive...
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Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 14 April 2023, 7:59 am
Dominic "Dom" Walsh, veteran leisure hack on The Times business section, appears to be hearing similar things to little old Betaville on the M&G takeover situation.
This morning Dom reports that Macquarie is rumoured to be talking to multiple insurance companies, such as Phoenix, about mounting a joint bid for M&G, the FTSE 100-listed asset manager.
Fancy that!
Below is a link to Dom's piece:..
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Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 13 April 2023, 6:35 pm
Having completely missed the Network International takeover story broken by Bloomberg at lunch time little old Betaville was glad to see FTSE 250-listed Dechra Pharmaceuticals, Scandinavian private equity house EQT and the Abu Dbabi Investment Authority confirm today's UNCOOKED alert. Below is the link to that piece:
https://www.betaville.co.uk/betaville-intelligence/sfs3j57c/ ..
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersThursday, 13 April 2023, 3:15 pm
Thursday, 13 April 2023, 3:08 pm
Arch rivals at Bloomberg have dug out a rather good deals scoop.
Earlier this afternoon hacks at the newswire revealed that CVC Capital Partners, the UK-based private equity firm, was in talks with FTSE 250-listed Network International about a takeover of the Middle Eastern payments company and credit card processor. Below is the link:..
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Betaville IntelligenceWednesday, 12 April 2023, 8:06 am
American rivals reported overnight that industrial conglomerate Emerson Electric is set to clinch National Instruments Corporation for around $8 billion...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 11 April 2023, 4:32 pm
Thursday, 6 April 2023, 11:49 am
Bloomberg's top commodity writer, Javier Blas, appears to be suggesting that mining giant Glencore might have put itself "in play".
In case you don't recall, Glencore launched a hostile bid for Canadian rival Teck Resources ahead of the latter's demerger of its coal assets...
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Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 6 April 2023, 11:25 am
Hacks at Bloomberg have dug out a tale about how Temenos is attempting to rekindle talks with private equity firms about a leveraged buy-out. Below is a link to the piece:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-05/temenos-is-seeking-fresh-interest-from-private-equity-firms?leadSource=uverify%20wall..
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Wednesday, 5 April 2023, 6:51 pm
Another day, another deal that involves Peel Hunt, the City of London stockbroker and advisory firm.
This morning it emerged Peel Hunt advised London-listed Fulham Shore, the operator Franco Manca and The Real Greek, on its £93.4 - or 14.15p a share - sale Japanese outfit Toridoll. Below is a link to the announcement:..
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 4 April 2023, 3:42 pm
Tuesday, 4 April 2023, 10:47 am
I see some of London's top stockbrokers have been whining about the lack of dealmaking.
Indeed, yesterday Peel Hunt warned it would be marginally loss-making in the twelve months to the end of March because it hasn't worked on enough floatations and takeovers.
But this morning FTSE 250-listed Rathbones announced a deal to buy Investec's wealth management company for £839 million. Below is a link to the announcement:..
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Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 4 April 2023, 9:20 am
French cosmetics giant L'Oreal has won the auction for Aesop, the upmarket soap brand being sold off by Brazilian group Natura & Co.
L'Oreal is reportedly paying $2.5 billion for Aesop. Below is a link to announcement from L'Oreal:
https://www.loreal.com/en/press-release/group/l-oreal-signs-an-agreement-with-natura-and-co-to-acquire-aesop/..
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Monday, 3 April 2023, 2:13 pm
Today is turning into another Merger Monday. So far this morning it's been announced that:
1. Glencore has made a $23 billion hostile all-stock takeover offer for Canadian mining company Teck Resources Ltd. Below is a link to the Glencore announcement:..
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Monday, 3 April 2023, 1:53 pm
So, perhaps Merve Metcalfe of Dean Street Advisors has a point after all.
His interview about cheap valuations and take privates of British conmpanies on the Powerscourt Friday Fix podcast series went out on a Friday and by Monday morning American private equity giant Blackstone had announced the £500 million purchase of London-listed property company Industrials REIT.
Metcalfe, though, doesn't appear to have any involvement with that deal...
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Saturday, 1 April 2023, 9:46 am
Here is something you don't see very often: a senior City investment banker talking openly ON THE RECORD about dealmaking in Britain and abroad, regulation and a smattering of politics via a podcast hosted by financial flacks at Powerscourt...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersFriday, 31 March 2023, 4:19 pm
Thursday, 30 March 2023, 11:08 am
Most of the world's merger arbitrage community would probably prefer to see the back of insurance broking giant Aon after it's deal to merge with Willis Towers Watson collapsed in the summer of 2021.
But now there is a serious suggestion that the sleeping insurance giant is awakening again and on the prowl for another takeover deal...
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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].