Sunday review

There weren't many large cap M&A scoops in the Sunday business sections this weekend but I guess that's to be expected in the run up to the Brexit referendum.

One tale, though, that did catch my eye was about Royal Bank of Scotland facing a £400 million claim in The Sunday Telegraph. Here is the link:

Sunday review; and Mike Ashley to save BHS? - part 2

It's been another tricky weekend for Sir Philip Green. In fact, the boisterous billionaire's reputation took a serious battering in the UK business press throughout the whole of last week following the confirmation of the BHS administration.

What must be particularly galling for Sir Philip is those newspapers that have up until now held back from critiquing the entrepreneur could no longer sit on the sidelines and it pretty much became open season on the pugnacious retailer.

Weekend review on a Monday

My old mucker from my Telegraph days, James - "Quinny" - Quinn, had one of the best deal stories of the weekend after securing an on-the-record interview with Xavier Rolet, the boss of the London Stock Exchange.

Here is a link to Quinny's tale in the Sunday Telegraph about how the American exchanges would "slash and burn" the LSE:

The Sunday review: an old mega deal rears its head again; and from predator to prey continues...

M&A stories are a bit like London buses. You wait around at the bus stop for one to arrive, it never comes but when it does another two buses arrive straight afterwards.

And so it's the case for The Sunday Telegraph, whose business section was plastered with deal scoops today following a few lean weeks.

Quelle Surprise: Sky News exclusively reveals HNA is working with Barclays on a £2 billion bid for London City Airport

I see Mark Kleinman, who I once had the pleasure of working for at The Sunday Telegraph, of Sky News has unearthed a rather interesting story about China's HNA Group working with Barclays on a multi-million takeover bid of London City Airport, the British dealmakers' favourite airport that has been put up for sale by its private equity owners.

Regular readers of little old Betaville won't be surprised to learn about HNA's interest in purchasing London City Airport. Why? Well, back in December 2015 Betaville revealed China's HNA had submitted a first round offer for London City Airport. In case you don't recall, here is the link to that story:

Mega consortium comes together for London City Airport; China's HNA also rumoured to have submitted first round offer - part 3

This slipped under the radar yesterday thanks to some end-of-year merrymaking but I note that Ben Martin over at The Sunday Telegraph ran a story about a "mega consortium" coming together to mount a £2 billion bid for London City Airport.

Here is a link to Ben's piece:

Sunday review on a Monday

There were a couple of stories that caught my eye in yesterday's Sunday newspaper business sections.

Oliver Shah's Prufrock item in The Sunday Times on Guy Hands's global restaurant preferences drew a wry smile, particularly as the financier's taste in eateries didn't appear to be particularly good.

A late Sunday review

The papers couldn't get enough of Glencore this weekend. No surprise, I guess, given the commodity group's travails last week.

One story that did pique my interest was The Sunday Telegraph's front page item about how Glencore "would listen to offers for a takeover of the entire company". I'm not quite what to infer from the piece. Still, in case you missed it, here is a link:

Weekend review

It's always good to see little old Betaville's stories backed up by prestigious national newspapers.

Regular readers might be aware that a couple of weeks ago I wrote a piece about how FTSE 100-listed insurer Legal & General had hired specialist advisory firm Campbell Lutyens to divest its private equity arm, LGV Capital, and the buy-out group's stakes in portfolio companies, such as Snow + Rock.

Sunday review - Krafty 3G, BHS and the French poacher turned gamekeeper

There are some excellent investigative features knocking around in today's business sections.

I particularly enjoyed Oliver Shah's piece in The Sunday Times on some of the murky characters behind the purchase of BHS from Sir Philip Green.

Pasta and mining

I must visit Santini more often.

Back in the days when I worked for The Daily Telegraph, it used to be one of my regular lunching spots as it is (literally) a stones throw away from the Telegraph offices in Victoria/Belgravia. It was also great place for people watching, as you would often see some of the City grandees, bankers and hedge managers dining at the restaurant.

To go hostile or not hostile

Bloomberg, the BBC's Kamal Ahmed (a jolly nice chap and my old boss from time at The Sunday Telegraph) and Channel 4's Faisal Islam have been alluding to Pfizer potentially going "hostile" on AstraZeneca following the release of the US company's statement this morning. Here is a link to the statement: http://www.investegate.co.uk/pfizer-inc--pfz-/rns/pfizer-s-possible-offer-for-astrazeneca-plc/201405130700379374G/ 

I think I mentioned on Sunday the "hostile" bid rumour was rattling around the market towards the end of last week. Here is a link to the article: http://betaville123.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/sunday-review.html#more