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.

Yorkshire Water owner said to be working with Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for a multi-million pound stake - sources

Thursday, 23 November 2023, 4:50 pm

It sounds like the owners of Yorkshire Water are gearing up for another attempt at selling their stakes in the water company.

City sources told little old Betaville that Corsair Capital - which owns 30pc of Kelda, Yorkshire Water's holding company - is working with the sharp suited types at Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for its shareholding...

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Sachem Head and Dendur build takes in Entain, reveals the FT

Wednesday, 22 November 2023, 7:10 pm

Hacks at the venerable Financial Times have dug out a good scoop about Entain, the FTSE 100-listed owner of Ladbrokes.

According to the FT, activist hedge funds Sachem Head and Dendur have built sizeable positions in Entain, which has seen its share price underperform since Jette Nygaard-Andersen became chief executive of the business.

They join Eminence Capital, another Wall Street activist, on the Entain register...

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Betaville Intelligence

UNCOOKED ALERT: Adevinta ASA said to ... - Part 3

Wednesday, 22 November 2023, 9:34 am

So, Norwegian media group Adevinta ASA has finally confirmed the details of the EURO 14 billion takeover offer from a consortium led by American private equity house Blackstone. Below is a link to the details of the deal:

https://adevinta.com/stories/articles/statement-regarding-voluntary-tender-offer-for-all-class-a-shares-in-adevinta-asa..

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Bears maul CPI Property Group S.A...

Tuesday, 21 November 2023, 7:47 am

Property companies are very much in vogue at the moment for the stockmarket's most ferocious bears.

Lask week activist short seller Viceroy went public with a mauling of Arbor Realty Trust while this morning Muddy Waters - led by uber bear Carson Block - has declared it is short the credit of CPI Property Group S.A, the European property company with operations in the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland...

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Young's pays £162 million the City Pub Group

Thursday, 16 November 2023, 7:25 am

Another deal has been announced this morning - Young & Co, also known as Young's, has agreed to buy London-listed rival the City Pub Group for £162 million with cash and shares.

This offer from Young's been pitched at a premium of 46pc. Below is a link to the details of the takeover deal of the City Pub Group, which is run by Clive Watson, father of Made in Chelsea (a UK-based reality TV programme) "star" Lucy Watson:..

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Jollyes owner said to be working with bankers on potential multi-million pound sale - sources

Wednesday, 15 November 2023, 8:13 pm

One of Britain's largest pet food retailers could be about to change hands.

City sources said the the private equity owners of Jollyes are working with advisers from Houlihan Lokey on strategic options for Jollyes, which sells cat, dog and bird food across the United Kingdom from retail centres.

Jollyes, which was founded in 1935, is owned by buy-out house Kester Capital...

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Deals, Deals, Deals ... in a bear market - Part 61

Tuesday, 14 November 2023, 7:20 am

Glencore has just shown going "hostile" in takeover negotiations is one way to get what you want.

The FTSE 100-listed mining group has just announced a deal to buy 77pc of Teck Resources steelmaking coal division for $6.93 billion.

Canada's Tech Resources and Glencore, now led by Gary Nagle, came to the agreement after months of talks that saw the latter make an unsolicited offer in May for the whole of the former. Below is a link to this morning's announcement:..

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Bears circle Arbor Realty Trust, Inc again... - Part 2

Thursday, 9 November 2023, 5:21 pm

Little old Betaville has done some digging around and it sounds like the bearishness around Arbor Realty Trust might be coming from some of the more ferocious bears.

However, the talk in the market is that perhaps these bears don't want to come out of the woods quite yet, so it might be a few weeks before they start mauling the US-listed real estate lender.

Watching.....

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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].