Chinese said to be in talks with Wirecard about purchasing a 25pc stake; could make move on the whole company - sources - part 2

Wow - I thought yesterday's piece might ruffle a few feathers but I never expected the torrent of angry banter I received throughout the afternoon.

It sort of reminds me of last year's shenanigans when I broke a series of stories about Slater & Gordon interest in purchasing the majority of Quindell. For several months I was on the receiving end of serious abuse, scepticism and denials (from Slater & Gordon itself) but stuck to my guns. And what happened: Slater & Gordon eventually bought Quindell's professional services division for just under £640 million. Here is a link to my final piece in that series:

Weekend review on Sky, Home Retail Group, J Sainsbury, Slater & Gordon, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group.

There is plenty to reflect on in the British business press this weekend.

First off, I note that the Financial Times has done a reverse ferret of its position on whether wiley old Rupert Murdoch will have another run at Sky.

A Quindell update...

It's been a while since I have written anything on Quindell so I thought I would put together a piece for loyal Betaville readers and followers of the company.

Top sources tell me that Quindell - which recently completed the sale of its professional services division to Slater & Gordon for £640 million - has now received a takeover offer of between £20 million and £30 million for PT Health, a Canadian healthcare and rehabilitation services company.

A weekend review

There were plenty of interesting business stories in the weekend newspapers this weekend but the ones that caught my eye were the tales involving Quindell, the controversial AIM-listed business.

Ben Martin, market reporter over at The Daily Telegraph, did well to get some quotes out of Robert Terry, the former chairman and founder of the business, about his plans for Daniel Stewart, the stockbroker. Here is a link to Ben's piece:

Not another Quindell story!

I haven't written about Quindell for a while so I thought loyal readers deserved a little update from Betaville.

I understand that since Quindell began looking at selling its legal services unit late last year to Australian law firm Slater & Gordon the Aim-listed company has also received approaches for several other divisions.

Quelle surprise: Quindell announces sale of its legal unit for almost £640 million to Slater & Gordon

I have been on the receiving end of some pretty unpleasant abuse - some of it, dare I say it, down right libellous - over the last couple of months for my series of scoops and scoopettes on Quindell's sale of its professional services division for £640 million to Slater & Gordon, the listed Australian law firm.

So, I was looking forward to the day when the actual deal is announced - in case you missed here is the link http://www.investegate.co.uk/quindell-plc--qpp-/rns/proposed-sale-of-professional-services-division/201503300705008060I/ - as I was planning on getting my own back in pixels on little old Betaville.

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 15

It sounds like Slater & Gordon's purchase of Quindell's legal services division for £640 million is about to be announced.

The Australian Financial Review is reporting Slater & Gordon is "poised to acquire the professional services division of British claims processor Quindell". Here is a link:

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 14

I hope your having a good weekend Betavillers.

I have been getting a lot of questions (and a fair amount of abuse, too) in recent days about the Slater & Gordon/Quindell story I have been covering in the last few weeks.

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 13

In case you missed them, here are today's/yesterday's statements from Quindell and Slater & Gordon.

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 12

Apologies for the late posting Betavillers - I was out all day.

Anyway, I see Quindell has effectively confirmed my story from the weekend.

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 11

I have had a few readers get in touch asking for an update on the Quindell situation, so here it is:

I'm told by excellent sources that talks between Slater & Gordon and Quindell (and also their investment banking advisers at Greenhill and NM Rothschild) about a deal for the Aim-listed company's legal services division are getting hot and heavy i.e very serious.

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 10

Bryce Elder, the stock market reporter over at the Financial Times, had an interesting snippet on Quindell in his market report today.

Bryce wrote that Slater & Gordon, the Aussie law firm, has been looking for a private equity fund, such as Apollo, the US buy-out firm, to partner on an acquisition of some of Quindell's legal services unit. Here is a link to Bryce's report:

Back on Tip TV talking about Quindell, Smith & Nephew and Salix

Nick "the Moose" Batsford invited back on Tip TV today. We talked about Smith & Nephew, Salix and, of course, Quindell. Click on the link to see today's clip:

http://www.tiptv.co.uk/archives/review-of-the-weekend-financial-press/

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 9

Here is an interesting snippet on the Quindell situation.

I am reliably informed that Andrew Grech, the managing director of Slater & Gordon, is arriving in the UK tomorrow from down under.

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 8

Quindell's share price has taken a pasting today, with the stock closing down 16pc to finish at around 70p.

It appears the market may have been spooked by the fact that Slater & Gordon failed to unveil an offer for Quindell's legal services division after seeing its exclusivity period "run out" on Friday.

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 6

I just thought I would clarify a few things on the Quindell takeover situation following last week's shenanigans on Betaville.

I have had a few readers raise questions about the £15 million that I previously reported Slater & Gordon paid to enter into "exclusivity" to buy Quindell's legal services division.

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 5

Sorry this is a bit late in the day but I just thought I would put up Slater & Gordon's slightly odd confirmation to my story from a couple of days ago about how the Aussie group is in talks to buy Quindell's legal services division.

Here is a link to Slater & Gordon's statement:

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 3

Oh look - I see Quindell has just confirmed my story from last night. I have pasted the company's announcement below:

On 2 January 2015, Quindell Plc (AIM: QPP.L) announced it had entered into exclusivity arrangements in respect of the possible disposal of an operating division of the Group. The Company notes the speculation concerning the identity of the third party and can confirm that Slater & Gordon Limited ("S&G") is the party referred to in previous announcements.

Aussie lawyers Slater & Gordon in exclusive talks to buy Quindell's legal services division - part 2

So, here are some of the (eye-popping) numbers being talked about for Slater & Gordon's purchase of Quindell's legal services division.

To start with, when talks first began I am told by sources that Slater & Gordon said it will pay a non-refundable £15 million to enter into exclusive discussions with Quindell.