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.
Sometimes I wonder whether it's all worth it; this M&A reporting lark. Even when you break a great story, people hand out stick for one reason or another.
Anyway, in case you missed the news today NMC Health confirmed last week and weekend's tales about private equity interest, namely KKR, in NMC Health.
Below is the link: ..
Adam McNestrie of The Insurance Insider last night dug out a great follow up to last week's humdinger about PartnerRe being up for sale.
The publication reports that:..
KKR, the US-listed private equity investor, is said to be the buy-out firm that has most recently held talks with the NMC Health about purchasing all of the company.
People following the situation said senior financiers at KKR held discussions about a buy-out deal for the whole group with senior executives at NMC Health, the London-listed gulf hospitals operator, in the last two weeks...
The Scor, Covea soap opera took another twist today after Betaville's chums over at The Insurance Insider revealed that Exor is fed up with PartnerRe and is looking to sell out, possibly via a merger with the French mutual.
Below is a link to the super scoop from Adam McNestrie, the Lloyd's of London market's leading M&A scoopster and now boss of the well respected insurance rag...
Private equity firms are said to be circling around NMC Health, the London-listed gulf hospital operator.
People following the situation said several of the world's largest buy-out houses have held talks with executives from NMC Health about a take private of the beleguered company.
However, it's not clear whether a formal written offer has been submitted to NMC Health, which has been the focus of a short selling attack from Carson Block's Muddy Waters...
Oh look - I see Worldline has finally confirmed the takeover of Ingenico. Below is a link to the confirmation:
A private equity firm is in the early stages of evaluating a take-private of Nokian Renkaat, the Finnish tyre maker.
People familiar with the situation said senior dealmakers at Apollo's European headquarters are currently studying a takeover of Nokian Renkaat, also known as Nokian Tyres...
The answer to the question I posit in the headline is: a strange attitude to the truth.
Take, for example, French insurance group Scor, which repeatedly denied in August 2018 to enquiring journalists (including yours truly) it held talks with Covea or Partners Re about offers about a deal for the business...
Goldman Sachs is pushing French digital payments company Worldline because the broker believes it will benefit from being a conslidator in 2020.
Below is some blurb from scribblers at Goldman Sachs who have published a large tome on the European payments sector...
INTL FCStone Inc, the US-listed commodity trading house, is said to be the mystery acquirer stalking Gain Capital.
People following the situation said INTL FCStone has been sniffing around Gain Capital, the owner of London-based spread betting firm City Index, although it's not clear whether it has submitted a takeover approach for the business...
There he is again. William Turvill, also known as the Genteel Hustler from his days working on the Mail on Sunday's business desk, turned up yesterday with another by-line in his former employer's publication.
The Huster's piece is not quite an interview with Megan Markle herself but rather a mini-profile/interview with a "friend" of hers - Beth Herlihy. Below is the link: ..
Scribblers at the venerable Wall Street Journal just landed a corker of a scoop about Mike Ashley's football (soccer) club.
According to the excellent newspaper, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is backing another tilt at Newcastle United, the Premier League football club owned by the boss of Sports Direct...
How odd: fomer LSE boss Xavier Rolet is stepping down as chief executive of Sir Michael Hintze's hedge fund CQS after just one year.
Now, readers might recall that Betaville was the first to unveil the timing of Xavier Rolet's appointment as the boss of Sir Michael Hintze's hedge fund CQS in late 2018 after learning about the story down the pub. See the link below:..
ICG is said to be the preferred bidder for Hedge Fund Intelligence-owner Pageant Media.
People following the situation said ICG, also known as Intermediate Capital Group, is now in "advanced talks" to buy Pageant Media for between £100 million and £150 million.
Bankers from DC Advisory are working with ICG on the acquisition said people familiar with the matter.
I expect a deal to be wrapped in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for announcement.....
So, it turns out Betaville's UNCOOKED ALERT from mid December on Quilter was barking up the right tree after all.
According to Bloomberg, Waburg Pincus has been in talks about buying Quilter for around $4 billion although the news organisation seemed to suggest discussions are no longer "live".
Below is the link to my original piece from mid December:..
Another day, another great tale from William Turvill, a former staff writer at the Mail on Sunday's business section that has joined the club of global jobbing freelancers.
Yesterday, Turvill - known as the Genteel Hustler for his extremely polite but dogged story-getting style - landed an interesting piece in the Mail on Sunday's business section about Meng Wanzhou, the daughter of the billionaire founder of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei. Below is the link:..
It didn't take long for the Genteel Hustler, also known as William Turvill of the Mail on Sunday, to get hustling out in Vancouver, Canada.
Today the Genteel Hustler is bylined in the The Daily Telegraph, my former employer. Below is a link to the piece:..
[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].