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.
Another activist is trying to persuade London-listed estate agency Foxtons to sell itself.
According to a report in the Financial Times, Montreal-based Converium Capital has built up a stake of 2pc in Foxtons and is arguing the company should find a buyer after failing to take advantage of a red hot London property market. Below is a link to the piece in the FT:..
Betaville is adding Tilman Fertitta to the list of suitors lining up trying to buy Chelsea FC.
That's because, according to Mark "The Kleinmanator" Kleinman at Sky News, Fertitta is in the data room going over Chelsea FC's books.
Fertitta owns the Houston Rockets NBA team and runs Landry's, a gaming and hospitality group.
Anyway, below is updated list of Chelsea suitors:..
The venerable Wall Street Journal has just published a whopping deal scoop.
According the publication, a consortium of private equity firms that includes Elliott Management, the hedge fund giant led by Paul Singer, are in talks to take Nielsen Holdings, the TV ratings company, private for around $15 billion. Below is the link to the tale:..
Football hacks at The Times are reporting that a consortium headed up by US financier Todd Boehly and British property developer Jonathan Goldstein has emerged as the "leading contender" to buy Chelsea FC. Below is the link to that story:..
The Guardian have just published an intriguing article about the on-off sale of Chelsea Football Club.
Most of the market seemed to think the sale was off yesterday following the news about the British government sanctioning Roman Abramovich.
But now hacks at The Guardian are reporting that a select group of potential buyers are being considered as potential owners by the UK government (is that Nadine Dorries?)...
So, it turns out it was Apollo stalking Pearson, the FTSE 100-listed education publisher.
Below is the link to the press release:
Forget about days; it would appear there is a new bidder interested in buying Chelsea Football Club every hour.
Last night it emerged Josh Harris - the former Apollo dealmaker that owns a stake in Crystal Palace - and Jamie Reuben, the son and nephew of billionaire brothers David and Simon Reuben, have both thrown their hat in the ring to buy Chelsea FC from Roman Abramovich, the Russian oligarch...
This week the story confirmations for little old Betaville are emerging as quickly as the bidders for Chelsea Football Club.
Last Thursday Betaville published an UNCOOKED alert suggesting France-listed renewables company Albioma may have been in takeover talks, possibly with a private equity firm. Below is the link:..
Stagecoach this morning announced it has shunned National Express because it has had a cash offer of 105p a share from financial buyer DWS Infrastructure. Below is a link to the press release:
Another day, another bidder - or two - for Chelsea FC, the Premier League football club put on the block by Roman Abramovich.
Reports emerged yesterday that Robert 'Woody' Johnson, the owner of the New York Jets, is keen on taking a look at the winners of the Champions League.
Also, a shadowy Saudi group called Saudi Media is sniffing around Chelsea FC, according to football website Goal...
Well, it didn't take too long for rivals at Bloomberg to follow up little old Betaville's UNCOOKED alert about a potential takeover bid for France-listed renewable energy company Albioma.
This morning the financial media behemoth is reporting that KKR, the American private equity giant, is weighing an offer for Albioma. Below is a link the Bloomie piece and Betaville's alert from last week:..
The list of suitors for Chelsea Football Club is growing by the day.
Mark "the Kleinmanator" Kleinman of Sky News now claims British property entrepreneur Nick Candy, Conor McGregor, the Mixed Martial Arts star, investment firm Empowerment IP Capital, the American owners of the Chicago Cubs Major League Baseball team and, er, Ken Griffin, the founder of mega hedge fund Citdael are all involved in the Chelsea sale process.
Below is a link to Mark's piece:..
The Kleinmanator of Sky News was back to old tricks this weekend, digging out top takeover scoops, including one about a bid for social care company Caretech.
Below is a link to his piece and also the confirmation to Mark Kleinman's scoop:
https://news.sky.com/story/caretech-founders-plot-bid-to-take-social-care-group-private-12559267..
Another bidder for Chelsea FC has outed himself.
According to reports, Turkish "billionaire" Mushin Bayrak is circling the club, which was has been put up for sale by Roman Abramovich.
Mr Bayrak, the chairman of AB Grup, a construction company, signalled yesterday his desire to strike a deal. A representative, asked by the The Guardian about Bayrak’s interest, said: “Yes we definitely confirm. We have forwarded our offer regarding this to them.”..
You don't see this very often: a senior rainmaker talk on the record about a high profile deal he is working on.
Joe Ravitch, the co-founder of investment bank Raine Group LLC, has done just that in an interview with Reuters...
Word reaches little old Betaville that Mike Ashley's Frasers Group is in advanced talks to hire Brunswick, the so-called "Goldman Sachs" of "corporate communications", otherwise known as spin.
Now, that is surprise as maverick Mike is not usually a fan of stuffy corporate Square Mile types and hasn't had a "proper" City public relations firm on retainer for quite a while...
[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].