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.

Tech entrepreneur unveils multi-million pound stake in ailing M&C Saatchi - Part 5

Friday, 7 January 2022, 8:09 am

Vin Murria, the multi-millionaire technology entrepreneur, has finally put her cards on the table at M&C Saatchi, the London-listed advertising agency that has been on little old Betaville's radar since 2020.

Below is a link to an announcement confirming an interesting in her buying the whole company via her new (ish) investment vehicle AdvancedAdvT Limited:..

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Alimentation Couche-Tard said to ... - Part 6

Thursday, 6 January 2022, 10:01 pm

Loyal readers won't be too surprised to see reports about Auchan and its owners, the Mulliez family, once again working on a fresh bid for Carrefour, the France-listed supermarket giant.

Back in early December little old Betaville reported on Betaville Intelligence that Carrefour remains "in play", with Auchan rumoured to be one of the parties interested in the business. Below is the link:..

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The former Chancellor of the Exchequer, the boutique investment bank firm and, er, insert anything they are both involved with here... - Part 5

Tuesday, 4 January 2022, 7:35 pm

It's been almost a year since the former Chancellor of the Exchequer joined London-based deals advisory firm Robey Warshaw to much fanfare but that doesn't seem to have led to much confirmed dealmaking, so far.

According to data provider Refinitiv, Robey Warshaw - set up by ex Mogan Stanley uber rainmaker Sir Simon Robey and former UBS banker Simon Warshaw - last year came 13th in the annual UK merger and acquisitions rankings (also known as league tables)...

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: THG said to ... - Part 3

Monday, 3 January 2022, 1:52 pm

It would appear there is an interesting game of poker being played by THG's controversial management and stock market bears, with the latter willing to call the former's bluff.

In case you missed it over the weekend, my old chum Neil "Neily" Craven had a tale on the front page of the Mail on Sunday's business section about how short sellers had increased their bets against the company in recent days. Below is a link to Neily's splash story:..

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Boys from Brazil buy Hunter Douglas for $7.1 billion

Friday, 31 December 2021, 10:30 am

It's the final day of the year but the dealmaking goes on.

This time 3G - the giant private equity firm led by Brazilian billionaires - is buying a 75pc stake in Dutch window blinds maker Hunter Douglas from the Sonnenberg family for EURO 175 a share.

That means 3G - which a few years ago attempted to purchase Unilever alongside Warren Buffett - is buying Hunter Douglas at a 73pc premium...

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Deals, Deals, Deals ... in a bear market - Part 20

Thursday, 23 December 2021, 8:05 pm

It's December 23rd but yet the deals keep on coming.

Indeed, this morning London-listed Flutter Entertainment, the parent company of Paddy Power and Sky Bet, announced the £1.6 billion purchase of Italian gambling company Sisal and this afternoon it emerged Quidel Corporation, the US-listed testing group, is paying $6 billion in cash and stock offer for Ortho Clinical Diagnostics...

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Small cap corner - Pensana - Part 2

Wednesday, 22 December 2021, 11:39 am

Shares in Pensana, the London-listed rare earth minerals supplier, are up almost 10pc stoday after the company issued shares via placing at a premium to a blue chip investment house.

M&G Investment Management is paying 81p a share, or £10 million, for just over 12.3 million shares (around 5pc of the company) in Pensana. Below is a link to the company's press release:..

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: THG said to ... - Part 2

Tuesday, 21 December 2021, 9:15 am

It would appear rivals at Bloomberg have finally decided to follow up little old Betaville's uncooked alert about THG from a week ago.

Today, Bloomie published a long piece on Matt Moulding's THG, formerly known as The Hut Group. I have pasted the key paragraphs below if you can't be bothered to read the long introduction and also a link to the whole piece:..

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Tags: THG, Bloomberg

The former Chancellor of the Exchequer, the boutique investment bank firm and, er, insert anything they are both involved with here... - Part 4

Monday, 20 December 2021, 4:59 pm

George Osborne's new (ish) corporate finance firm received some generous press with reports suggesting Robey Warshaw partners shared £30 million over the last year.

Well, that's what the latest set of accounts show, according to Jim "Armo" Armitage piece in yesterday's The Sunday Times. Below is the link to his piece in yesterday's newspaper:..

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Alimentation Couche-Tard said to ... - Part 5

Monday, 13 December 2021, 7:39 pm

It would appear France's BFM news channel has decided to follow up on little old Betaville's UNCOOKED Alert from last week about the Carrefour SA.

BFM is suggesting that Auchan and the Mulliez family, who control Auchan, are still keen to do a deal that could involve of a takeover of / or merger with Carrefour. Below is a link to the piece if you missed it:..

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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].