IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 5 March
05-03-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Web Reservations considers trade sale | Facebook poaches Google executive
The Irish Times reports that online accommodation firm Web Reservations International is examining the possibility of a trade sale as an alternative to a flotation. Newly-installed chief executive Feargal Mooney said the firm would engage in a transaction or reorganise its shareholder base "as soon as the right opportunity presents itself", but he declined to specify a deadline for any deal or name companies that might be approached if a sale process went ahead.
The paper also says that strong concern was expressed at the inaugural Independent Broadcasters of Ireland conference in Dublin about the digital audio broadcast (Dab) project for radio transmission. RTE and a number of commercial operators are currently involved in a pilot project for the new transmission system, but a number of senior representatives of the independent broadcasting sector expressed scepticism. Communicorp chairwoman Lucy Gaffney was concerned that Dab would allow the distribution of "targeting offerings" not subject to the constraints that currently applied to commercial radio licence holders. Read more about the conference on ENN.
The same paper says that a new seed capital fund to help high-tech start ups will be launched in the North next month. Northern Ireland Economy Minister Nigel Dodds has revealed that Invest NI is currently creating the fund, which will be linked to Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster. The minister announced the fund at InterTradeIreland's seventh private equity conference in Belfast on Tuesday.
The Financial Times reports that the European Commission is investigating the process under which a key Microsoft document format could be adopted as an industry standard -- a move which would carry significant commercial benefits for the software giant. Officials at the Commission's competition directorate have written to members of the International Organisation for Standardisation, asking how they prepared for votes on acceptance of Microsoft's OOXML document format as a worldwide standard. The ISO process has been widely criticised, with some members of national standards bodies accusing Microsoft and its rivals of attempting to influence the vote. Tim Bray, a member of the Canadian national standards body, called the procedure "complete, utter, unadulterated bullshit" in a recent blog posting.
The paper also says that chip giant Intel will face questions from analysts on Wednesday about whether it has a future in the memory chip business, after taking another hit to its financial performance. Intel shares fell below USD20 in afternoon trading in New York on Tuesday, down 1.9 percent, following its warning that first-quarter gross margins were likely to be about 54 percent, against its previous forecast of 56 percent. Intel will hold an analyst day at its Santa Clara headquarters on Wednesday, with some of those attending already suggesting that the company should exit from the Nand memory chip business.
The paper also says that shares in Cable and Wireless plummeted nearly 12 percent on Tuesday after the telecoms firm said it would be 2011 before its UK business hit a core profit target of STG400 million. Some analysts, meanwhile, expressed scepticism that C&W would hit new revenue and profit targets extending to 2013, while others said investors were disappointed that the company had provided no update on the possibility of a de-merger of its UK and international operations.
According to the Wall Street Journal, social networking site Facebook has poached a top Google executive, Sheryl Sandberg, to help expand the company. Sandberg, a six-year Google veteran who has been the search giant's vice president of global online sales and operations, will become Facebook's chief operating officer. In that role, she will try to help expand the company's operations, revenue and international reach and will lead sales, business development, public policy and communication. Sandberg will report directly to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has been searching for a second-in-command for several months.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 