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, 9 October 2023, 8:40 am
Little old Betaville has been following the weekend reports about takeover interest in Metro Bank with great interest.
Why?
Well, back in May this year this website revealed in UNCOOKED Alert that Metro Bank was attracting takeover interest, with some people following the situation suggesting private equity-onwed Shawbrook was/is the bidder. Below is the link to that story:..
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Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 6 October 2023, 8:18 am
Dominic, "Dom", Walshhas followed up on little old Betaville's UNCOOKED about Aviva earlier this week.
In his market report colum today Dom, a veteran business hack at The Times, writes that "chatter surrounding Aviva refused to die down", suggesting also that an American company may be looking at purchasing the FTSE 100-listed insurance business. Below is a link to Dom's column:..
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Friday, 6 October 2023, 7:40 am
Hacks at the Wall Street Journal landed another jumbo scoop overnight about, potentially, one of the biggest US takeover deals of the year.
According to the WSJ, Exxon Mobil is in advanced talks to buy Pioneer Natural Resources, the US-listed shale oil producer, and a deal could be soon. Below is a link to the WSJ scoop:..
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Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 5 October 2023, 8:34 pm
It took three stories but Euronav NV, the Belgian shipping company, finally confirmed little old Betaville's series of UNCOOKED alerts.
In case you don't recall, little old Betaville published its first UNCOOKED alert about the takeover rumours surrounding Euronav in June. Below are the links:
https://www.betaville.co.uk/betaville-intelligence/8ytoegep/..
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersThursday, 5 October 2023, 10:54 am
Wednesday, 4 October 2023, 8:31 pm
It was good to see - or hear, rather - Simon English on the LBC Money Podcast hosted by David Buik and Michael Wilson.
English is one of little old Betaville's favourite City commentators as he is able to combine fine writing with incisive analysis - and wit.
Now, it would appear English is getting involved in the Podcast game.
Anyway, below is a link to the LBC Podcast...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersWednesday, 4 October 2023, 3:37 pm
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 3 October 2023, 4:08 pm
Tuesday, 3 October 2023, 11:01 am
Congratulations to Graham "Ruddy" Ruddick.
Little old Betaville's old chum and former colleague from our time on The Daily Telegraph's City desk has struck a deal with Richard Harpin to sell his excellent news letter Off to Lunch to Business Leader, a magazine and events company backed by the multi-millionaire founder of HomeServe.
This morning Ruddy writes:..
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Monday, 2 October 2023, 10:28 pm
George Osborne just can't help dropping little investment banking secrets into his new "Political Currency" podcast.
In his latest podcast with Ed Balls, the former Labour front bencher, Osborne refers to how code words such as "Redwood" and "Cedar" are used to disguise super secret takeover deals being worked on at investment banks in the City of London...
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Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 29 September 2023, 11:21 am
Mike Ashley's Frasers Group is back at it.
After a brief pause Frasers Group has increased his stake in London-listed fashion retailer Asos to 19.1pc. Below is the link:
https://otp.tools.investis.com/clients/uk/sports_direct1/rns/regulatory-story.aspx?cid=723&newsid=1718287..
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Thursday, 28 September 2023, 12:02 pm
Little old Betaville reads everyday in the newspaper business sections how there has been a drop off in dealmaking but it does seem to quite tally with whats happening on the ground in the London market.
Today, for example, Macquarie - the Australian infrastructure investor - has just announced it wants to buy London-listed waste management company Renewi for 775p a share. Below is a link to the press release:..
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersThursday, 28 September 2023, 8:55 am
Betaville IntelligenceWednesday, 27 September 2023, 6:16 pm
Another day, another confirmation for little old Betaville.
In case you missed it this morning Alfa Financial Software Holdings, the London-listed asset finance software company, confirmed little old Betaville's earlier UNCOOKED alert. Below is the link:
https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/alfa_financial_soft/news/json_news/story/x8mmv9w..
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersWednesday, 27 September 2023, 10:12 am
Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 26 September 2023, 2:21 pm
Betaville IntelligenceMonday, 25 September 2023, 8:42 pm
Helen Cahill, a hack on the business section of The Times, landed on the front page of the business section with a decent new line on the Elementis story. Below is the link to it:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/investors-back-franklin-mutual-calls-for-elementis-sale-3mzm2z97l..
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Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 22 September 2023, 10:07 am
I see Adevinta has confirmed little old Betaville's UNCOOKED Alert about the takeover rumours.
Off course arch rivals at Bloomberg are trying to claim the scoop because the financial media behemoth published its tale last night about Blackstone and Permira's interest a couple of hours before Adevinta released its statement. Below are the relevant links:..
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Thursday, 21 September 2023, 12:58 pm
Cisco has just announced a deal to buy Splunk, the US-listed software and cybersecurity company, for $28 billion.
The details are Cisco, who were advised by Tidal Parners, is paying $157 a share in cash for Splunk. Below is a link to the press release:..
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Thursday, 21 September 2023, 10:42 am
George Osborne's new podcast show - Political Currency - has received a lot of media attention but little old Betaville was more interested in another podcast the former Chancellor of the Exchequer was involved with recently.
That podcast was the BBC's media show in which interviewer Katie Razzall asks a punch of pundits about sale of the The Daily Telegraph, which as loyal readers well know used to be little old Betaville's former employer...
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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].