A cheeky website about deals, dealmakers and anything else I find interesting. Edited by Ben Harrington. If you have a tip or want to discuss a story please feel free to email Betaville at ben@betaville.co.uk. 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.
It seems some readers were paying attention to Monday's note on Tiziana Life Sciences, the Aim-listed biotechnology company.
The shares have almost closed the gap with the US line, up over 20pc in the last couple of days......
Clinigen shares took a bit of a battering today (down 10pc) following a mini profit warning from the company that 2021's profits will be at the "lower end" of guidance.
This is, according to the company, because of the impact of COVID-19 and an expected launch of a generic Foscavir in the Eruopean Union...
Remember Tiziana Life Sciences, the biotechnology company?
For some reason the Aim-listed shares are trading at around 30pc discount to the US-listed ADRs.
I'm not sure why but presumably that discount won't last for too long?.....
The rumoured transaction involving Natixis is said to be a takeover offer from the company's largest shareholder.
Two weeks ago, Betaville Intelligence reported that Natixis could soon see a corporate transaction that could be seen to be beneficial for the company's stock price...
So, it would appear yesterday's talk about Boohoo buying back shares was barking up the right tree. This morning the embattled Boohoo announced its Employee Benefit Trust bought 9.9 million shares at 255.8p. Below is the link to the announcement:..
There is talk circuclating the London market that Boohoo or its directors are currently buying a load of the embattled company's shares.
Perhaps, then, that's why the stock - which has been hammered over the last couple of days following allegations about the treatment of its workers - has leapt over 30pc at pixel time.
Either that or the shorts, such as Matt Earl's Shadowfall, are taking profit...
I see Bloomberg reported overnight that Medtronic has approached smaller medical devices maker Intersect about a takeover deal. Below is the link to a piece on Bloomie.
You may have missed last weekend's Mail on Sunday business section, so I have pasted the link below to a piece I wrote about The Analyst, a small but growing research firm that claims to have been the first to identify issues at Wirecard.
https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-8490357/Briton-spot-fall-Wirecard.html..
RockRose Energy is being taken out for £18.50 a share in what is one of the first outright takeover deals of a London-listed business since the pandemic began.
The purchaser is Viaro Energy, a privately-owned commodity trading group run by an Italian entrepreneur called Francesco Mazzagatti.
RockRose Energy, run by Andrew Austin, traded up £22.30 a share in mid January, so I guess the offer from Viaro doesn't look too bad...
Rolls-Royce has finally confirmed it is considering an equity capital raising of up to £2 billion and this "news" has made the front pages of national newspaper business sections, such as The Times. Below is the link to the piece in The Times:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rolls-royce-plummets-as-it-seeks-to-boost-finances-z8w58g0v6..
Remember when Vin Murria unveiled in early May a 13.25pc stake in M&C Saatchi?
Recently reports emerged via the Kleinmanator of Sky News that the tech entrepreneur had been refused a board seat for "corporate governance reasons".
Well, Betaville hears Murria may come to regret building that shareholding in the advertising agency, which has been beset by accounting problems over the last twelve months...
Charming Crispin Odey told a former Telegraph colleague, Katherine Griffiths of The Times, yesterday that he now plans to sue the German regulator for introducing a short selling ban on Wirecard last year. Below is the link to Katherine's excellent piece:..
I thought I would let the venerable Financial Times bathe in the glory of its Wirecard investigation for a few days before publishing this post.
I have to admit the FT's series of articles on Wirecard is one of the finest pieces of financial journalism I have witnessed since I began my career on The Daily Telegraph's City desk all those years ago...
Natixis, the French banking group, announced after the market closed that it had signed an agreement with La Banque Postale to combine their fixed-income and insurance-related asset management businesses to create a powerhouse with EURO 415 billion under management. Below is the link to the press release:..
Global Infrastructure Partners is said to be the financial investor interested in purchasing Kansas City Southern, the US-listed railroad transportation company.
People following the situation have heard rumours GIP - which used to own Gatwick Airport and London City Airport in the United Kingdom - has been "running the numbers" on Kansas City Southern...
I see El Negocio has jumped on the Kansas City Southern bid rumour. Below is the link:
https://elnegocio.es/guerra-de-private-equities-por-comprar-kansas-city-southern/
The general thrust of El Negocio's piece is that Blackstone, the US private equity giant, is circling the transportation group.
Let's see.....
So, it looks like Betaville will have to remove easyJet from the "cash calls - who is next?" list after the low cost airline announced an emergency placing to raise up to £450 million this evening...
[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].