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.
Monday, 23 December 2019, 12:52 pm
The vicious spat between notorious short seller Muddy Waters and FTSE 100-listed healthcare group NMC Health continues unabated.
This morning Carson Block's outfit pinged financial hacks with a fresh note. It starts off by saying:
"Muddy Waters Capital LLC believes that NMC Health’s response to our December 17, 2019 report was misleading, and outright false in certain portions. MW expects to comment more comprehensively on NMC going forward..."..
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Saturday, 21 December 2019, 12:42 pm
It was good to see former Telegraph colleague Alistair "Acerbic" Osborne, now of the The Times, sticking up for rival hacks at the Financial Times in his column in today's business section. Below is a link to Alistair's column, one of the best business reads in the UK press:..
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Friday, 20 December 2019, 6:51 pm
Tucked away in the Evening Standard's City section is a suggestion that Carson Block's next target in 2020 might be FTSE 100-listed Rolls Royce.
Now, to be clear I have no clue who Muddy Waters plans to target next but the short seller does appear to be having a bit of field day with UK-listed stocks, such as NMC Health and Burford Capital...
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Thursday, 19 December 2019, 5:43 pm
One of Betaville's favourite City commentators has produced another fine column today.
Simon English of the Evening Standard's City pages is his usual amusing and insightful self with today's piece entitled: "if it aint fixed don't broke it".
If you have a spare moment Betaville recommends giving it a read...
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Wednesday, 18 December 2019, 10:14 am
Oh look - 3i has just confirmed Betaville's scoopette from last week about the private equity firm's plot to sell Aspen Pumps.
In the end rival buy-out firm Inflexion - led by dealmaker Simon Turner - snapped up the specialist pump manufacturer that designs, manufactures and distributes specialised mini pumps that remove condensate water from air conditioning and refrigeration systems...
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Tuesday, 17 December 2019, 10:33 am
Are you are wondering why FTSE 100-listed NMC Health's shares are down 20pc this morning? Well, it's because notorious short seller Muddy Waters has just released its first note on the gulf-based healthcare company.
Now, I'm not going to repeat the allegations from Muddy Waters - which hit the headlines earlier this year with its allegations about Burford Capital - here but obviously Carson Block's outfit hasn't been particularly complimentary...
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Monday, 16 December 2019, 5:50 pm
Perhaps it isn't all bad news for Crispin Odey: his chum, British prime minister Boris Johnson, won a huge majority for the Tories on Friday.
That comes after Odey called on British business leaders to back Boris in an interview with yours truly for the Mail on Sunday's business section over the summer. Below is a link:..
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Saturday, 14 December 2019, 10:33 am
So, it would appear Autocar was heading in the right direction with its scoop about Lawrence Stroll eyeing a strategic stake in London-listed Aston Martin.
Below are links to a statement from the company and the Financial Times scoop that triggered the announcement...
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Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 13 December 2019, 3:10 pm
Quilter, the FTSE 250-listed wealth manager, has come into focus amid talk it will likely soon see some major corporate activity.
Some people following the situation have heard rumours a mystery buyer is circling Quilter although the identity of the acquirer is not known.
Quilter was formerly known as Old Mutual Wealth Management before it was spun out of Old Mutual, the Anglo-South African financial services group, in 2018...
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Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 12 December 2019, 1:42 pm
Worldline's pursuit of Ingenico, the French payment terminals group, is likely to roll into the New Year but an agreed deal appears unlikely in the short term.
People following the situation said a Worldline merger with Ingenico is more likely to take place in 2020 after the latter rebuffed a EURO 120 approach from the former in the last quarter...
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Thursday, 12 December 2019, 11:47 am
Poor Crispin Odey - his flagship Odey European Fund is back at the top of HSBC's loserboard.
According the bank's hedge weekly review, charming Crispin is down 22pc as of the middle of November, leaving him at risk of finishing the year as the worst performing European hedgie for the second time in four years...
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Wednesday, 11 December 2019, 9:55 am
Oh look - I see private jet operator Gama Aviation has this morning said it has reached an "agreement to settle the current legal proceedings". Below is a link to today's announcement:
https://www.investegate.co.uk/gama-aviation-plc--gmaa-/rns/litigation-update/201912110700084814W/..
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Tuesday, 10 December 2019, 2:42 pm
3i is considering a sale of Aspen Pumps, a UK-based company that designs, manufactures and distributes specialised mini pumps that remove condensate water from air conditioning and refrigeration systems.
Sources close to the situation said 3i, the FTSE 100-listed private equity investor, has appointed bankers from Baird to find a buyer for Aspen Pumps and the company may be worth between £250 million and £300 million as it generates earnings of around £25 million...
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Monday, 9 December 2019, 5:03 pm
Paul Singer's Elliott Management/Advisors started shaking the tree at Alexion last week, demaning a "proactive" sale of the $25 bilion US biopharmaceutical company.
Betaville wasn't too surprised to see the activist hedge fund make Alexion it's latest target as this website's RARE sources were suggesting in summer that both US-listed Amgen and Switzerland's Roche were (or perhaps still are?) targeting Alexion with a view to making formal offers for the company...
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Betaville IntelligenceFriday, 6 December 2019, 10:38 am
Betaville was chuckling to himself last night when he saw Bloomberg hacks claiming an "exclusive" story on Twitter last night revealing Phoenix Group Holdings merger with ReAssure.
Well, presumably these journalists missed yesterday's UNCOOKED Alert published at midday yesterday with a rather similar tale. Below is the link:..
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Betaville IntelligenceThursday, 5 December 2019, 12:06 pm
Phoenix Group Holdings, the London-listed life insurer, has come into focus amid talk it could soon be involved in an M&A transaction.
However, people following the situation said it isn't clear what type of deal Phoenix is working on.
One person following the situation had heard rumours a mystery buyer is eyeing a takeover of Phoenix, which specialises in buying up old books of life insurance business that other companies no longer want...
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Thursday, 5 December 2019, 11:55 am
Hat tip to Jim Holder of Autocar for landing a cracking tale about Lawrence Stroll's attempt to buy a stake in Aston Martin. Below is a link to the Autocar scoop about Lawrence Stroll, who is the billionaire father of Formula One racing driver Lance Stroll:..
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Thursday, 5 December 2019, 10:51 am
Johnson Matthey, the London-listed speciality chemicals company, has rekindled the sale of oilfield diagnostics company Tracerco.
People familiar with the situation said Johnson Matthey is working with boutique advisory firm EC M&A on a strategic review of Tracerco, which is likely to fetch between £65 million and £80 million...
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Betaville IntelligenceTuesday, 3 December 2019, 7:53 am
That's the end of that, then.
The hedgies attempt to squeeze some extra cash out of Apax, Warburg Pincus and the Canadian pension funds for Inmarsat ends as a damp squib after they effectively folded in this game of poker by withdrawaing their joint legal action at today's hearing at the Court to sanction the Scheme of Arrangment. Below is the link:..
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Betaville IntelligenceMonday, 2 December 2019, 9:05 pm
To the Court for tomorrow's hearing to sanction Warburg Pincus and Apax's Scheme of Arrangement to take Inmarsat private.
The judge may be confronted by a bunch of angry hedgies who have been arguing the private equity firms should pay more or attach a contigent value right aspect to their deal because of developments in the US sattelite industry may mean Inmarsat is worth significantly more...
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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].