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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.

Unilever may be a target for activist such as Nelson Peltz, reports FT - Part 4

Tuesday, 31 May 2022, 7:39 am

Unilever has finally confirmed feared American activist investor Nelson Peltz has a stake in the consumer goods giant and also that he is set to become a non-executive director at the FTSE 100-listed business.

Below is a link a to the confirmation after months of reports in the Financial Times Peltz was looking to accumulate a shareholding in Unilever. Below are the links to the relevant announcements:..

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Tags: Unilever, Nelson Peltz, Trian

Weekend review on a Monday: Ultra Electronics, Ted Baker and THG

Monday, 30 May 2022, 9:04 am

Con Coughlin turned up in The Daily Telegraph's Saturday business section with a story about Ultra Electronics, the London-listed defence company that is in the process of being acquired by Advent International-backed Cobham for over £2.6 billion.

The piece caught Betaville's eye because The Daily Telegraph's longstanding foreign editor rarely writes in the newspaper's business section about corporate stories...

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Tags: Ultra Electronics, Ted Baker, THG
Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: FirstGroup said to ...

Thursday, 26 May 2022, 8:22 am

Speculation is mounting FirstGroup, the London-listed transport company, has attracted takeover interest.

People following the situation have heard rumours a mystery party is circling FirstGroup with a view to purchasing the business.

However, the indentity of the company interested in FirstGroup remains unclear, said these people following the situation...

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Tags: FirstGroup

Broadcom in talks to buy VMWare for over $50 billion, reveal Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal

Monday, 23 May 2022, 8:52 am

A big deal story broke yesterday evening in the US - Broadcom, the US-listed chipmaker, is said to be in talks to buy VMWare, a cloud computing company.

Well, that's according to reports at Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal, which seem to suggest talks about a cash and stock deal are "advanced".

Below are the links to their pieces:..

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Tags: Broadcom, VM Ware, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal

Sunday review on a Monday: THG, er, and that's it ...

Monday, 23 May 2022, 7:56 am

Neil "Neily" Craven dug out one of the most interesting weekend lines on THG, the London-listed online retailer.

The hardworking Mail on Sunday deputy business editor and colleague wrote yesterday that Matt Moulding, the founder of THG, would back an offer for THG of 250p a share.

That is some premium to where the shares closed on Friday - 145p a share...

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Tags: THG, Mail on Sunday
Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: THG said to ... - Part 14

Thursday, 19 May 2022, 3:47 pm

THG, the London-listed e-commerce company also known as The Hut Group, has come back under the spotlight amid a renewed round of takeover talk.

People following the situation have heard speculation THG has received fresh proposals since the company announced it had received several takeover approaches last month.

However, it's not clear which potential acquirer has submitted a recent proposal...

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Tags: THG
Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A said to ... - Part 4

Wednesday, 18 May 2022, 7:33 am

It would appear arch rivals over at Bloomberg have finally decided to follow up little old Betaville's UNCOOKED alerts about Spanish wind turbine company Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy SA.

According to Bloomie, Siemens Energy - which is the largest shareholder in Siemens Gamesa - is preparing to make an all-cash offer in the next week with a view to delisting the firm. Below is a link to the Bloomie piece:..

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Tags: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy S.A

KKR splashes out £1.6 billion on ContourGlobal

Tuesday, 17 May 2022, 9:19 am

It would appear the buy-out the buccaneers at KKR have got their bit between the teeth for European renewable energy companies.

Today, KKR has agreed a take private for London-listed CounterGlobal, the owner and operator of contracted power generation plants, for 263.3p a share or around £1.6 billion.

That deal comes soon after KKR's $1.7 billion purchase of Albioma, a France-listed solar and biomass producer...

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Tags: KKR, ContourGlobal

Etisalat buys 10pc stake in Vodafone...

Saturday, 14 May 2022, 12:02 pm

There is some big stakebuilding news breaking this morning.

Etisalat, the United Arab Emirates-based telecoms operator, has just revealed it has bought a near 10pc stake in FTSE 100-listed giant Vodafone for $4.4 billion.

The swoop makes Etisalat Vodafone's largest shareholder but the company says it won't make a bid for the company (usual caveats apply one assumes)...

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Tags: vodafone, Etisalat

[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].