Portuguese consortium said to still be working on BHS despite closure - part 2

It would appear Mike Ashley isn't the only bidder still trying to get hold of BHS - or parts of it, at least.

Well-placed sources have told me the Portuguese consortium, led by Greg Tufnell (Phil Tufnell's brother) and backed by the dos Santos family, was also contacted by administrators on Sunday about whether it would still be interested in buying BHS.

Piper Private Equity said to be in talks to buy Propercorn stake

It's funny how in dealmaking in certain sectors suddenly becomes fashionable. And this week it's popcorn that is in vogue.

Word on the street is that Propercorn has been working with NM Rothschild on a stake sale and is in talks with Piper Equity Partners about a deal.

Flag pole alert - part 8

Deal watchers looking for the next big FTSE 100 deal should read Ian King's excellent column in today's The Times.

According to the Sky News business supremo, high-level investment bankers have told the former The Times business editor that the next FTSE 100 takeover bid could be carried out by a Chinese bidder.

Another day, another HNA deal...

The Chinese travel conglomerate really does have a voracious appetite for deals involving any European travel-related companies.

Earlier this week, HNA unveiled a $1.5 billion takeover of Switzerland's airline catering company Gate Gourmet. That deal comes after HNA purchased baggage handler Swissport last year for £2.3 billion.

An economics scoop

The times they are a changin in the high-flying world of British economics journalism.

When I was young M&A reporter on The Daily Telegraph landing fact-based deal scoops I always used to wonder why economics journalists didn't attempt to do carry out a similar style of reporting.

Is there a row brewing over £2 billion London City Airport sale?

Perhaps I spoke (wrote?) too soon.

According to Kleinman of Sky News, HNA submitted a higher for London City Airport - see below.

Tuesday review

I thought I would do a little newspaper review on a Tuesday as there were plenty of brilliant stories knocking about in the British business sections today.

First of, I would just like to congratulate my old mate Graham "Ruddy" Ruddick - a former colleague from my time at The Daily Telegraph and one of the nicest chaps in financial journalism - for landing a story about healthcare group Four Seasons of the front page of the main book, yes the main book, of The Guardian. Here is a link to Graham's piece:

First Vinci, then Hochtief - what next for the Qataris? - part 2

Kleinman has just unearthed an interesting tale about China Media Capital pursuing an $8.5 billion takeover of Formula One from CVC Capital Partners.

Here is a link to his jackanory: http://news.sky.com/story/1570686/chinese-eye-biggest-f1-stake-in-8-5bn-bid

World domination (by ex-Telegraph journos)

Mark Kleinman over at Sky News appears to be on a bit of hot streak.

Kleinman, a former colleague/boss during my time at The Daily Telegraph / The Sunday Telegraph, has landed several big exclusives this week, including the £1 billion takeover bid for Domino Printing.

Hunting for Foxtons - part 2

Hat tip Harriet Dennys, the City diarist over at The Daily Telegraph, for tracking down Jon Hunt's spokesman and getting him/her to provide some sort of comment on the recent speculation the founder of Foxtons may be interested in buying the estate agency back of the public markets.

As Harriet points out today, a spokesman for the former Army officer refused to deny the takeover talk. Here is a link to Harriet's column:

Daisy Group

Will the uber-acquisitive Liberty Global/Virgin Media step in with a £500 million plus counter offer for telecoms and IT company Daisy Group?

Mark Kleinman over at Sky News revealed back in March that US cable giant Liberty Global, controlled by media tycoon Jon Malone, held takeover talks with Daisy Group but the negotiations ultimately broke down. Here is a link to Kleinman's article: http://news.sky.com/story/1225606/liberty-global-aims-to-bloom-with-500m-daisy