IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 21 February
21-02-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Payzone raises EUR8m in new funding | Google launches video ad system
The Irish Times reports that Iona Technologies is likely to approach a number of potential bidders for its business after its board appointed Lehman Brothers and Merrion Capital to assess a preliminary approach from German firm Software. Other companies likely to be contacted by Iona's advisers in the near future include the Nasdaq-listed US operators Tibco and Progress Software, which operate in roughly the same market. Iona said its strategic alternatives included a sale of the business or a merger with another entity.
The paper also says that travel software firm Datalex has entered a strategic alliance with CarTrawler, a Dublin firm that provides online car rental services to airlines and travel agencies. The alliance means CarTrawler's cross-selling system, which offers car rental from numerous providers when visitors are booking flights or holidays, will be available on the distribution system offered by Datalex.
The same paper reports that shareholders at troubled e-payments group Payzone have agreed to provide the company with EUR8 million in new funding. The fundraising is being supported by private equity investor Balderton Capital, Payzone's largest shareholder. It is understood that Chief Executive John Nagle and Chief Financial Officer John Williamson are not participating in the fundraising. Payzone is expected to make an announcement about the fundraising to the stock exchange on Thursday.
The paper also notes that HP posted a 38 percent increase in first quarter net profit to USD2.1 billion. Read the full story on ENN.
The paper also says the Data Protection Commissioner's office is investigating the nature of the information on a stolen laptop containing Irish blood donors' data. Read more on this story on ENN.
According to the Financial Times, Bain Capital and China's Huawei Technologies have shelved their USD2.2 billion deal to acquire US firm 3Com, saying a key Washington committee charged with vetting foreign investments had told Bain it would not approve the purchase. Huawei was set to own 16.5 percent of 3Com and get board seats, but in an effort to limit possible political objections it was to have no management control. Bain, a US private equity firm, was prepared to divest 3Com's Tipping Point unit, which sells security software to the US government. But these offers could not overcome opposition by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the US, according to sources.
The paper also says that Google will on Thursday launch a new advertising technology that will allow publishers to incorporate text ads into online videos. Under the new system, advertisers will pay to have their messages appear inside online videos. The video ads will take one of two forms: banner ads, which will run at the top of the video screen, or "overlay" ads, which will be inserted on top of videos as they play. The ads will be selected based on the content of the video and the webpages on which they appear. The new system comes nearly 18 months after Google acquired video-sharing site YouTube.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Toshiba and Sony have formally agreed on a chip-making venture that will start operations next fiscal year. In line with an accord in October, Toshiba will buy some of Sony's 300-millimetre-wafer production lines in western Japan for about JPY90 billion (USD835 million). The companies said the deal will be completed by the end of March, and Toshiba will lease facilities to the venture, which will start operations on 1 April.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 