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.
Thursday, 8 July 2021, 10:20 am
Smiths Group, the London-listed engineering conglomerate, is said to have appointed a heavyweight investment bank on the possible sale of its medical division to private equity firm TA Associates.
People following the situation said Smiths Group is working with advisers from Goldman Sachs on the disposal of the medical unit.
Talks between Smiths Group and TA Associates have been rekindled but a deal is by no means a certainty, said people following the situation...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersWednesday, 7 July 2021, 12:53 pm
Wednesday, 7 July 2021, 8:01 am
I see my former boss and colleague Alistair "Acerbic" Osborne is today in The Times talking up the prospects of a potential takeover bid for J Sainsbury following the private equity bid battle for rival WM Morrison...
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersTuesday, 6 July 2021, 3:54 pm
Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 6 July 2021, 1:17 pm
It sounds like Dbay is a tad worried about a potential interloper coming in for Telit Communications, the Aim-listed 'internet of things' designer.
That's because word reaches Betaville that the activist investor and private equity firm may have struck an agreement with Telit to be able to sell the due dligence it carried out on the company to a rival acquirer should one emerge from the shadows...
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Betaville IntelligenceMonday, 5 July 2021, 2:45 pm
GCP Student Living confirmed Betaville's UNCOOKED ALERT from Friday afternoon. Below is a link to the statement, which reveals the company has received a takeover offer from a consortium of funds that include Blackstone.
https://www.investegate.co.uk/gcp-student-living--digs-/rns/statement-regarding-press-speculation/202107021708540751E/..
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Betaville IntelligenceMonday, 5 July 2021, 9:30 am
Betaville realises there are probably bigger and more high profile deals going on at the moment but Fletcher King confirmed last week's RARE ALERT about Elliott Bernerd's move on the small cap surveyor. Below is the link:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/fletcher-king-plc--flk-/rns/statement-re.-press-speculation/202107021250240476E/..
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Monday, 5 July 2021, 8:39 am
It appears The Sunday Telegraph was bang on the money with it's weekend line about Apollo Global Management coming in for WM Morrison.
So who would have thought it: a potential three-way tussle for Morrisons! Below is the link to the Apollo statement:..
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Sunday, 4 July 2021, 11:15 am
The British Sunday newspaper business sections were really talking up the prospects of a bidding war for WM Morrison now that it has agreed to a £6 billion plus offer from a consortium led by SoftBank-backed Fortress and the Koch family. ..
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Saturday, 3 July 2021, 8:54 am
WM Morrison's has just agreed to a counter offer from a consortium comprising the billionaire Koch family and Softbank's Fortress.
The Canada Pension Plan Investment board has also joined the group, who have offered 254p a share for Morrisons. Below are some of the highlights from the press release:
Summary and highlights..
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Exclusive to Betaville Intelligence subscribersFriday, 2 July 2021, 3:19 pm
Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 1 July 2021, 4:48 pm
Zynga, the US-listed game developer, is said to have drawn a fresh round of takeover interest.
People following the situation have heard rumours a predator may once again be circling the company with a view to making a takeover offer for the company.
However, the identity of company interested in Zynga is unknown, said people following the situation.
This wouldn't be the first time Zynga, whose games include FarmVille, has attracted a suitor...
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Thursday, 1 July 2021, 4:18 pm
Mast Energy Developments has hit the radar as some of Betaville's snouts have suggested this could be a small cap stock that is worth keeping an eye on over the coming weeks and months.
In part, that's because the reserve power provider may be about to land a milestone contract that will generate around £50,000 a month from a business linked to FTSE 100-listed giant National Grid.
Developing.....
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Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 1 July 2021, 8:53 am
British property tycoon Elliott Bernerd is circling Fletcher King as part of a move that could see the Aim-listed chartered surveyor combine with Chelsfield.
People following the situation said Mr Bernerd has been holding negotiations with Fletcher King and some of its investors about buying a sizeable shareholding, possibly as much as 29.9pc, in the property company...
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Betaville IntelligenceWednesday, 30 June 2021, 10:10 pm
McKinsey and Company today released an on the record interview with Simon Pryce, the chief executive of Ultra Electronics Holdings...
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Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 29 June 2021, 3:46 pm
Betaville notes Richard Griffiths, dubbed the "Welsh Wizard" in London's Square Mile, has in recent days been converting his derivative position in Telit Communications into phyiscal equity.
One assumes the canny investor has done this so that he can vote the stock at the upcoming shareholder meeting on whether to accept Dbay's controversial 220p a share offer for the company...
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Tuesday, 29 June 2021, 9:28 am
Well, perhaps little old Betaville made the right not to publish the IWG bid rumour after all - CC Capital has just said it doesn't plan to make an offer for IWG (with all the usual caveats). Below is the link:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/cc-capital-partners/rns/statement-regarding-iwg-plc/202106290918334708D/..
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Monday, 28 June 2021, 11:26 pm
The old Kleinmanator of Sky News is at it again - digging out a corking scoop.
This time Mark, a former colleague and boss during our time at the The Daily Telegraph, has sniffed out a top story about CC Capital's interest in buying IWG, the serviced office company controlled by entrepreneur Mark Dixon. Below is a link to Mark's piece:..
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Saturday, 26 June 2021, 10:57 am
Hacks at Reuters are giving the Credit Suisse UBS merger rumours a fresh airing.
Yesterday the newswire wrote a piece suggesting the combination of the two Swiss banks is being studied, again. Below is the link:
https://www.reuters.com/business/fearing-predators-credit-suisse-seeks-new-look-or-even-merger-sources-2021-06-25/..
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Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 25 June 2021, 6:40 pm
Bizarre goings on following little old Betaville's scoop about Advent International's potential £2 billion plus takeover bid of Ultra Electronics earlier today.
First Cobham, the defence company owned by Advent, confirms this website's UNCOOKED Alert, suggesting it's looking at a cash offer for Ultra Electronics or a reverse merger...
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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].