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.

Elevator M&A...

Wednesday, 18 September 2019, 8:27 am

Thank goodness the venerable Financial Times has temporarily lifted its paywall.

It's meant little old Betaville has been able to access a rather interesting piece about the sale of Thyssenkrup's lifts unit, which I have been following with great interest as there have been mutterings about another European lift business being "in play" over the last few weeks...

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Betaville Intelligence

RARE ALERT: ADM Energy said to be close to launching equity fundraising... - Part 2

Wednesday, 11 September 2019, 7:32 am

Another day, another confirmation for little old Betaville's RARE Alerts. This morning, ADM Energy - formerly known as MX Oil - announced an equity fundraising to raise over £800,000 at 7p a share. Below is the link:

https://www.investegate.co.uk/adm-energy-plc--adme-/rns/issue-of-equity-and-conditional-subscription/201909110705018878L/..

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Betaville Intelligence

RARE ALERT: Arthur J Gallagher & Co said to ...

Tuesday, 10 September 2019, 8:45 pm

Arthur J Gallagher & Co, the US-listed insurance broking giant, is negotiations to buy privately-owned Capsicum Re for around £200 million.

People following the situation said Arthur J Gallagher & Co has been holding talks with Graham "Chily" Chilton, the veteran insurance broker and founder of Capsicum Re about buying the business outright...

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Betaville Intelligence

RARE ALERT: ADM Energy said to be close to launching equity fundraising

Monday, 9 September 2019, 5:09 pm

ADM Energy, the Aim-listed oil producer, is looking to raise around £500,000 via an equity fundraising.

People claiming to be familiar with the matter said broker Peel Hunt and a mystery investor are backing the fundraising for the business, which looks for oil off the coast of Nigeria.

Unusually, the new shares will be issued at a premium to the current share price of 6.38p, with one person following the situation suggesting it the fundraising could be priced at 7p...

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Numis founder joins rival broker - sources

Thursday, 5 September 2019, 2:51 pm

The merry-go-round of broking in the City of London, Canary Wharf and Mayfair continues unabated with Oliver Hemsley set to join Zeus Capital.

Hemsley, the son of a Rutland pig farmer, has joined Zeus Capital as a "strategic consultant" and started at the firm this week, according to sources familiar with the matter...

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Quindell bear raider gets hyper bullish on Watchstone

Wednesday, 4 September 2019, 7:07 pm

Simon Cawkwell, the bear raider known as Evil Knievil, has built up a substantial long position in Watchstone and is now claiming it could be worth up to 345p a share.

Now, regular readers might find that a bit surprising given the mischevious shorter was rather bearish on Quindell (Watchstone's former name) before it entered into talks with Slater & Gordon to sell most of the business for £637 million to the Aussie ambulance chasers...

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Betaville Intelligence

WELL-DONE ALERT: Premier Foods said to ...

Tuesday, 3 September 2019, 3:56 pm

Premier Foods, the London-listed food company, has hired advisers from Morgan Stanley to run a sale of all or some of the business.

Sources familiar with the matter said Premier Food's board recently appointed Morgan Stanley alongside D'Angelin & Co, an advisory boutique, to manage the sale of some of the company's flagship brands, such as Mr Kipling cakes...

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Allied Glass on the block for up to £180 million - sources

Tuesday, 3 September 2019, 7:03 am

Who says the political crisis driven by Brexit is holding up dealmaking in the City of London?

City sources said Allied Glass - which makes bottles for Diageo whisky such as The Macallan, Grant’s and Balvenie – has been put on the market by CBPE, a private equity firm.

Bankers from Baird have been appointed to find a buyer willing to pay around £180 million for Allied Glass...

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Betaville Intelligence

WELL-DONE ALERT: Cox & Kings said to have appointed advisers for £500 million sale of Meininger Hotels - Part 2

Monday, 2 September 2019, 4:00 pm

Oh look - I see Bloomberg has just published a "scoop" about Cox & Kings appointing bankers from Lazard to find a buyer for Meininger Hotels, the Berlin-based budget hotel chain. Below is a link:

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-02/cox-kings-said-to-weigh-sale-of-european-hotel-chain-meininger..

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The Genteel Hustler...

Thursday, 29 August 2019, 9:06 pm

There is a young financial hack in the London market who is fast distinguishing himself with some excellent journalism.

His name is William Turvill of the Mail on Sunday and rival business journalists from Financial News were on Twitter yesterday praising one a recent interview with Savvas Savouri, the blunt but amusing economist from Toscafund...

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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].