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.
Readers might recall Betaville's RARE ALERT on pub company Marston's last week. Below is the link:
https://www.www.betaville.co.uk/betaville-intelligence/rare-alert-marstons-said-to/..
Ontex, the Belgian diaper maker, is rumoured to be back "in play".
People claiming to be familiar with the matter said the company is at the centre of speculation about a potential takeover.
However, it's not clear which company is interested in buying Ontex, said these people claiming to be familiar with the matter.
Last year, Ontex received a takeover approach from French private equity firm PAI Partners...
Hat tip to Dom Walsh of The Times business section.
Last night he landed a cracking tale about Leicester FC being put up for sale by its owners. Betaville was particularly interested by this scoop about the rugby club as I'm an avid Rugby Union fan. Below is a link to Dom's piece...
If you click on the Linked In job advert for the post of the next Governor of the Bank of England you will find "the job is no longer accepting applications". Below is the link:
So, the mystery surrounding the shareholding shuffle at Oxford Nanopore Technologies might not actually be a mystery after all!
Back in March it emerged, according to the venerable Financial Times, that after Oxford Nanopore told Woodford of its floatation plans the fund manager was able to sell his 2.15 million shares back to the company, which were cancelled and then reissued as new securities...
Marston's, the London-listed brewing group, is said to be plotting a sale of Pitcher and Piano, the well-known chain of bars frequented by City traders, bankers and lawyers.
Sources claiming to be familiar with the matter said Marston's is working with advisers on the disposal, with one source claiming Sapient Corporate Finance might be advising on the deal...
The mystery surrounding the shareholding shuffle at Oxford Nanopore Technologies continues with a fresh announcement today at Companies House regarding a statement of capital. Below is the link:
https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/company/05386273/filing-history
I wonder what could be going on at the highly-valued firm?..
Ping!
A loyal reader gets in touch to point out that there has been a substantial change in the shareholding structure of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, the gene-sequencing company that received investment from beleguered fund manager Neil Woodford.
Below is a link to the Companies House filing history that shows today's purchase of shares and allotment of shares at Oxford Nanopore Technologies:..
Last week there was a report on Bloomberg that some of the lenders to Thomas Cook had begun offloading the company’s debt amid fears about the company’s financial position.
According to Bloomberg, lenders holding around £300 million of Thomas Cook's debt were contacting potential buyers and brokers about selling some of the debt at half its current market value...
Two weeks ago financial and political public relations firm Teneo hit the headlines after the boss of its London office issued a warning to employees about "pooing in the shower", leaving their messy underwear for the cleaner to pick up and throwing up on the company carpets. Below is a link to the peice broken on Guido Fawkes and the follow up in the The Times: ..
"Locusts!" That's how the German establishment dubbed private equity firms looking for deals in the country a decade ago.
Wind on ten years and KKR - the American buy-out firm lionised in the seminal book Barbarians At The Gate - is backing a $8 billion leveraged buy-out of Axel Springer.
Yet, as far Betaville can see, none of the German establishment have objected to such a "locust" taking control of one Germany's largest media companies...
Shareholders in Just Group, the London-listed financial services company, have begun applying pressure on the company to realise value from the business via a strategic review.
People claiming to be famliliar with the matter said some investors in Just Group, which specialises in selling retirement income, have indicated to the company that they believe business should be sold to a buyer after the company's shares crashed from 170p to around 45p over the last six months...
I see Dods Group, the publisher backed by Lord Ashcroft, has finally confirmed the merger discussions with Merit Group as revealed by yours truly.
Mmmmm - I wonder why it took them so long!..
Forget about merger Monday; big takeover scoops are being broken on the weekends these days.
Hat tip to Cara Lombardo - the newish M&A reporter on the venerable Wall Street Journal - who landed what is probably the M&A scoop of the year on Saturday afternoon with a humdinger of a tale about United Technologies Corporation holding advanced talks about a $160 billion merger with smaller rival Raytheon.
Wow!..
To the Victoria & Albert Museum in South Kensington, London, where Financial News (one of Betaville's former employers) held its Trading and Technology awards.
And who should be there to pick up a "Lifetime Achievment" award last night?
Well, it was multi-millionaire tycoon Michael Spencer, founder of interdealer broker Icap/NEX group and former Tory party treasurer supremo...
Dods Group, the publisher of The House, PoliticsHome and Dod's Parliamentary Companion, is said to be working on a major M&A transaction.
Some people claiming to be familiar with the matter speculated Dods Group - in which Baron Ashcroft, former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, is the largest shareholder - may be looking to combine with Merit Group, a bespoke software and business intelligence company...
Which retail tycoon is this week holding his birthday celebrations at a private club on Berkeley Square that he owns?
Well, that will be Richard Caring, according to Betaville's moles, who have informed me that Annabel's is being readied for a rather large soiree to celebrate the billionaire's birthday.
I wonder, though, whether another high-profile retail tycoon and business partner will be attending the bash?..
[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].