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.

An observation on European M&A...

Wednesday, 24 November 2021, 10:06 am

Loyal readers will know that Betaville's has recently dug out a string of corking UNCOOKED and RARE alerts about European takeover situations, such as ICA Gruppen, CNP Assurance and Telecom Italia.

There is something that struck me about this recent spate of deals on the European continent: many of them involve their largest strategic shareholder taking the company private.

And Betaville suspects there could be a few more of this ilk.....

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Betaville Intelligence

RARE ALERT: Intertrust N.V. said to ...

Monday, 22 November 2021, 4:11 pm

Speculation is mounting Intertrust N.V., the trust and fund administration company, has received a higher offer.

People following the situation have heard rumours Intertrust may have received an offer of as much as EURO 20 a share.

The talk comes after Intertrust agreed to enter into exclusive talks with CVC Capital Partners about a deal that would see the private equity firm buy the business for EURO 18 a share...

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Betaville Intelligence

RARE ALERT: TIM S.p.A said to ... - Part 2

Friday, 19 November 2021, 3:51 pm

An American private equity firm is rumoured to be in talks with a local trade buyer about a possible deal for TIM, S.p.A.

People following the situation have heard talk KKR, the US-listed private equity giant, is in talks with a trade buyer from Italy about a possible offer for all or some of TIM, S.p.A, which was formerly known as Telecom Italia...

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Swedish Match AB said to ...

Friday, 19 November 2021, 2:33 pm

Swedish Match AB, the Sweden-listed tobacco company, has come under the spotlight amid speculation it could soon be involved in a significant corporate transaction, such as a takeover of the entire business.

People following the situation have heard rumours Swedish Match AB, the company behind Snus may be a takeover target, possibly for a US-based company interested in acquiring the business...

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: TIM S.p.A. said to ...

Thursday, 18 November 2021, 3:00 pm

TIM S.p.A, the Italy-listed telecoms company, has come under the spotlight amid a fresh round of speculation the company may soon be involved in a corporate transaction, such as a sale of a sizeable division or even a takeover.

People following the situation have heard talk TIM S.p.A, also known as Telecom Italia, is in live talks about a deal although the specific nature of the transaction remains unclear...

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Tags: TIM S.p.A

FT Alphaville editor rumoured to be offski - sources - Part 2

Thursday, 18 November 2021, 8:11 am

Lord Rothermere's announcement about the departure of Geordie Greig as editor of the Daily Mail wasn't the only big media industry news story announced yesterday.

The super talented Izabella Kaminska, the editor of FT Alphaville, announced on Twitter her formal departure from the venerable Financial Times, thereby confirming a tale on, er, little Betaville from a couple of weeks ago. Below is the link if you don't recall:..

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The Michelin starred chef, the ex Bloomberg hack and the blog...

Monday, 15 November 2021, 9:32 pm

Anybody who knows Betaville well knows I like a good lunch (dinner and breakfast, too) with a chatty chum from Mayfair or the City of London.

That's because a top quality feed often leads to an excellent lead, tip or even outright scoop.

So, Betaville was particularly excited to see a former Bloomberg food writer, Richard Vines, team up with a Michelin starred chef, Pierre Koffmann, to launch a new food and restaurant blog - Koffmann & Vines...

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Sunday review: Vodafone, BT Group and IAG ...

Sunday, 14 November 2021, 3:12 pm

There were quite a few articles that caught Betaville's in the Sunday newspaper business sections this week.

Indeed, one of the most interesting pieces was an on the record, set piece interview by Jim "Armo" Armitage, The Sunday Times business editor, with Nick Read, chief executive of Vodafone...

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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].