The Mail on Sunday's hardworking business section dug out this weekend's biggest deal scoop.
According to Amy-Jo Crowley's report, NatWest - the bank that was formerly known as Royal Bank of Scotland - is in the early stages weighing a takeover bid for FTSE 250-listed Quilter. Below is the link:..
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:..
Competitors like to write off little old Betaville but this website was punching above its weight in 2019, landing a series of exclusive genuine "scoops" throughout the year...
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:..
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...
Tucked away in the back of the business section of my old employer - The Daily Telegraph - are some rather interesting comments from Gervais Williams, the respected fund manager, about the prospect of a pick up in dealmaking.
Williams, who runs the Diverse Income invesmtent trust - told Richard Evans, a rather nice former ex-colleague who writes the Questor column- that London-listed companies are at "unusually attractive valuations"...
So, that was close: just 78.9pc of Inmarsat shareholders voted to approve the Scheme of Arrangement at today's court meeting.
The private equity consortium led by Apax and Warburg Pincus needed 75pc of Inmarsat shareholders to approve the Scheme and allow the $3.3 billion takeover to complete...
Mark Kleinman's piece about the private equity firms that looked and then ditched a counterbid for London-listed Inmarsat caught Betaville's eye today.
Loyal readers might be wondering why given the central premise of the story is that, er, nothing is happening.
Well, for a start pieces about old deals that never got off the ground can show future intentions, so for M&A watchers these stories can provide vital clues for the mosaic theory...