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.
So farewell Crispin Odey, who is stepping down from the eponymous investment firm he founded almost three decades ago.
That seemed to be the line most of the national press focused on when it was announced earlier this week. And I guess it's not too surprising given the somewhat erractic performance of his Odey European Fund over the last decade and other, erm, issues...
Bloomberg just "revealed" that FTSE 100-listed Ferguson is shopping builders' merchant Wolseley to potential buyers after failing to demerge the business. Below is the link:
Football Clubs and national newspapers tend to be the favourite play things of choice for billionaires seeking social and political capital in the United Kingdom.
But with the newspapers' circulations on the wane and the valuations of football clubs in question it would appear TV channels are back in vogue...
I see Telit Communications has finally confirmed yesterday's RARE ALERT on Betaville Intelligence. Below are the links to today's confirmation and yesterday's story:
Telit Communications, the Aim-listed internet of things designer, is said to be "in play", with Canadian rival Sierra Wireless, activist investor Dbay and a mystery private equity firm all rumoured to be "actively" circling the business.
People following the situation have heard speculation Sierra Wireless may have already recently offered around 206p a share for Telit...
There are still multibillion dollar deals being done despite a potentially volatile US presidential election, the risk of future lockdowns and a mini stockmarket sell off.
Overnight, for example, in the US Dunkin' Brands Group agreed an $8.96 billion sale to Inspire Brands as part of an all cash transaction at a 20pc premium to the undisturbed share price. Below is a link to the details:..
British small cap enthusiasts scoffed when I asked them about Seeing Machines a few weeks ago.
But I still thought it worthwhile mentioning the developer of driver monitoring software in the Mail on Sunday's Stockwatch column that I occasionally write/edit as the tip came from a reliable well spoken City type. I have pasted the link below in case you don't recall:..
Sir Richard Branson's airline has been having a tough time for obvious reasons but Betaville hears the online wine retailer that bears the bearded entrepreneur's Virgin brand is doing rather well.
Virgin Wines, an online wine retailer, has seen substantial earnings growth over the last twelve months as a growing number of thirsty housebound drinkers order online and that has prompted the owners of the business to weigh a sale, said people following the situation...
Many of Betaville's loyal readers know Knightsbridge well. Some probably live there given its one of the smartest areas in central London similar to the Upper East Side in New York. But one thing it isn't known for is its innovative, cheap eateries that you find in hipster zones, such as Dalston, Clapton and Peckham.
If you want to eat out in Knightsbridge expect to pay high prices at places like Zuma and Zafferano...
Splashed across the front page of FT.com is a scoop about how LVMH and Tiffany are conducting off the record talks about a lower take out price for the jewellery group to avoid a court showdown. Below is the link:
https://www.ft.com/content/1fd7decd-5a99-467a-bf01-3c9a58c99426..
Alex Ralph and Tom Ball of The Times do an excellent job today in a double page spread of unpicking the links between Sir Charles Dunstone and Martin "the Rottweiler" Hughes's Toscafund, which has made a low ball offer for Talk Talk...
Well that didn't take long: just a few days after last week's "Cash calls - who is next - Part 17" the well spoken chaps at Peel Hunt aired almost identical comments about the likelyhood of another wave of cash calls in 2021, possibly by some of the companies that have already tapped the market for funds this summer.
Below is a link to a piece in The Times quoting Charles Hall, Peel Hunt's excellent head of research...
Another day, another US shale deal.
This time round the venerable Wall Street Journal has landed a scoop about Pioneer Natural Resources Company bid for Parsley Energy Inc in what would be a $4.1 billion takeover. Below is a link to the WSJ tale:..
It's pretty gloomy out there given the current state of affairs but hasn't put a dampener on dealmaking.
Today in the US ConocoPhillips announced a $9.7 billion for shale explorer and producer Concho Resources while chip maker Intel Corporation is in talks to sell its memory-chip unit to South Korea’s SK Hynix Inc. for roughly $10 billion. That's two $10 billion deals in a day...
An oil major is rumoured to be weighing a purchase of EOG Resources, the US-listed oil explorer and producer.
People following the situation have heard speculation one of the largest oil producers in the world is studying the possibility of acquiring EOG resources, which was previously known as the Enron Oil & Gas Company...
Equiniti, the UK-listed share registrar and outsourcing company, is at the centre of intense takeover speculation.
People following the situation have heard rumours an acquirer is once again circling Equiniti, a company that specialises in financial administration.
However, the identity of the purchaser of Equiniti is unknown, said these people following the situation.
Equiniti has seen interest from several private equity firms in the past...
Some funds, such as Marshall Wace, can reportedly see "value" in beaten up stocks such as International Consolidated Airlines Group but there other serious investors who think some of the companies that have carried big equity raises over the last few months could tap the markets again for fresh funds in 2021...
[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].