Wednesday newspaper share tips: Betting on Betfair; trusting Melrose's management

That’s the essence of today’s tip in The Times’ Tempus column after two of Betfair’s significant shareholders sold a large chunk of shares even though the company is set to merge with Paddy Power.

Despite Edward Wray and Bernard Arnault’s Le Peigné selling a sizeable stake, setting off alarm bells, and causing a 3% drop in the share price, Tempus thinks it’s worth holding out. It said the proposed Paddy Power merger is the next step for Betfair and will create an online gambling juggernaut with strong growth prospects.

If you’re looking to put another bet on, The Telegraph’s Questor thinks it is worth buying “turnaround specialist” Melrose Industries. The company sold German gas and electricity metering company Elster for £3.3bn in July after buying it for £1.8bn in 2012, doubling shareholders’ money in less than three years. A reorganisation of the company is also on the cards, with old shares being swapped for new shares in November to enable new funds to be raised when the right deal is found.

But the key driver for Questor to recommend buying shares is the management of the company. Chief executive Simon Peckham is comfortable completing a deal valued up to £3bn within the next year, and Questor is trusting the executive’s track record.