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.

Cash calls, AGAIN - who is next? - Part 2

Wednesday, 10 February 2021, 5:48 pm

It would appear analysts at Morgan Stanley were bang on the money with their prediction that Upper Crust owner SSP would have to carry out a second equity issue.

Indeed, Alice Hancock and Gill Plimmer of the Financial Times have just dug out a rather good scoop suggesting SSP is looking to raise £500 million by way of a rights issue. That is more than double than what the company raised last year on the equity market. Below is a link to their piece:..

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Sunday review: G4S, Dialog Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics...

Sunday, 7 February 2021, 4:03 pm

There weren't too many deal stories in today's British Sunday newspapers as it's clear there are many more imporant things to worry about.

But Oliver Gill, a hotshot young business hack on The Sunday Telegraph, had a similar line to Betaville about the G4S bid battle heading towards a Takeover Panel-led auction. Below are the links to those tales:..

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Pernod Ricard said to ...

Thursday, 4 February 2021, 10:50 pm

Speculation is mounting that Pernod Ricard, the France-listed drinks giant, is the European company circling Treasury Wine Estates.

People following the situation have heard rumours Pernod Ricard is working with advisers from Morgan Stanley on a potential acquisition of the Australia-listed wine distributor.

A large private equity firm is also said be interested in Treasury Wine Estates, said people following the situation...

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Signature Aviation said to ... - Part 7

Thursday, 4 February 2021, 8:21 pm

Betaville was casting around for stories today and stumbled around a curious line around the three-way battle for Signature Aviation, the London-listed private jet operator.

It would appear, according to publicly available financing documents, that Global Infrastructure Partners, one of the firms interested in buying Signature Aviation, is offering to finance its bid in, er, equity. Yes, you heard that right - equity to the tune of $4.6 billion...

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Betaville Intelligence

RARE ALERT: Natixis said to ... - Part 9

Monday, 1 February 2021, 2:39 pm

Groupe BPCE is rumoured to be working with heavyweight American advisers on the potential Natixis deal.

People following the situation have heard speculation JP Morgan has been advising privately-owned Groupe BPCE on strategic options, which include buying out the remainder of Natixis that it doesn't own...

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Tags: Natixis
Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Marston's said to ... - Part 3

Friday, 29 January 2021, 10:35 am

I see rivals at Bloomberg have finally woken up to the Marston's bid rumour and published a piece about interest from private equity firms such Platinum.

Now, this news won't come as a surprise to readers of this website as Betaville Intelligence first revealed the bid speculation surrounding Marston's in an UNCOOKED Alert and a follow up a few weeks ago. Below are the links:..

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Signature Aviation said to ... - Part 6

Thursday, 28 January 2021, 5:26 pm

Word is Simon "Dingo" Dingemans is leading Carlyle's potential bid for Signature Aviation.

Now, younger readers might not recall who Dingemans is. Back in the boom boom of the noughties Dingemans was one of the top dealmakers at Goldman Sachs, advising on the some the biggest takeover deals, such as the £12bn takeover of Alliance Boots by KKR in 2007 and Vodafone's hostile £115bn acquisition of Mannesmann in 2000...

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G4S, the bid battle and the potential auction... - Part 2

Thursday, 28 January 2021, 1:06 pm

It would appear this morning's missive has stirred the pot somewhat, eliciting howls from sound corners of the London market.

To be clear, this morning's report wasn't suggesting there WILL BE a Takeover Panel led auction this weekend; just that is talk there is one coming down the track as there are moves afoot by advisers (don't forget, this could all be tactical to get one side to jump first)...

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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].