IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 14 November
14-11-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Thomson Financial may pull out of Ireland | EU opens antitrust review of Google's DoubleClick deal
The Irish Times reports that Vodafone has agreed to acquire fixed-line telecoms provider Perlico, as reported by ENN on Tuesday.
The paper also says that Norkom has posted a pretax profit of EUR2.24 million for the six months ended 30 September. Read the full story on ENN.
According to the same paper, former Smart Telecom chief Oisin Fanning is to be paid substantial undisclosed damages in settlement of a High Court libel action against the Irish Mail on Sunday. The action was taken over an article that accused Fanning of a criminal offence he did not commit and described him as enjoying "a playboy lifestyle".
The paper also notes that the Shannon Free Zone in Clare looks set for more job losses, as Thomson Financial Ireland explores a proposal to move out of Ireland with the possible loss of 80 positions. Thomson Financial, an operating unit of Thomson Corporation, provides integrated information and technology applications to the global financial services industry. Although not confirmed by the company, it is expected that most if not all of the Irish operation will be moved to India.
The Irish Independent says that UK ATM provider Cardpoint's shareholders have overwhelmingly approved the group's planned merger with Irish e-payments firm Alphyra to form a new group called Payzone. This paves the way for Alphyra's management and private equity backer Balderton to place around EUR150 million in shares in the combined group before it begins trading on London's Alternative Investment Market (AIM) on 6 December.
The Irish Examiner reports that Vodafone increased its customer base in Ireland to 2.217 million over the six months to the end of September this year. Read more on this story on ENN.
The Financial Times reports that Softbank and Alibaba are in talks to set up a joint venture as early as next year, the Japanese telecoms group's chief executive said on Tuesday. The venture, based in Japan, would be an important move for Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce company that last week launched the USD1.5 billion initial public offering of subsidiary Alibaba.com. Softbank holds a 33 percent stake in the Alibaba group.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Yahoo has settled a lawsuit with the families of two Chinese dissidents who were jailed after the internet company provided information to authorities about their online activities. The settlement comes one week after two Yahoo executives were derided during a US congressional hearing. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The paper also says that the European Union's antitrust regulator has opened a full-scale review of Google's proposed USD3.1 billion purchase of DoubleClick, citing concerns the search giant would amass too much control over the market for online ad sales. The move, a procedural step that gives the EU more time to scrutinise the deal, was widely expected.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 