IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 31 March
31-03-2008
by Sylvia Leatham
Calyx posts 54 percent rise in turnover | Alchemy sold to US firm for over EUR8 million
The Irish Times reports that IT services group Calyx posted a 54 percent increase in turnover to EUR135 million in 2007 and is rebranding its nine divisions, which include IT security firm Entropy, under its own name. The company said its turnover more than trebled over the last two years but declined to give a profit figure for 2007. It made a pretax profit of EUR2.2 million in 2006, up 29 percent on the previous year.
The paper also says that the Taoiseach's solicitor, Frank Ward and Co, last week successfully demanded that a website drop comments by a contributor concerning the firm's representation of Bertie Ahern's former secretary, Grainne Carruth. Politics.ie accepted that comments posted on Thursday night were "inaccurate, untrue and were malicious", "unreservedly" apologised, and closed down a section dealing with the Mahon tribunal "until further notice".
The Financial Times says that Microsoft has moved to strengthen the entertainment credentials of its Xbox by striking a content deal with Safran Digital Group. SDG will produce short-form video content to be downloaded by users of the Xbox Live online environment. It is likely that films produced for the platform will feature SDG clients, who include Sean "Diddy" Combs and Djimon Hounsou.
The paper also reports that Hitachi, the Japanese electronics conglomerate, has decided to abandon a proposed sale of its US-based hard disk unit after the long-struggling business swung into profit at the end of 2007. CEO Kazuo Furukawa said in an interview in Japanese newspaper Sankei that the unit had become "muscular" and thus the need to sell had "faded". Furukawa said he expected it to remain profitable through the coming financial year.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into Nokia's planned USD8.1 billion takeover of digital mapping firm Navteq. The Commission's initial study of the deal showed the "proposed merger raises serious doubts with regards to vertical competition concerns," mainly because of the duopolistic nature of the digital map market and because of Nokia's strong position in the market for mobile handsets.
The paper also notes that Yahoo is launching a new website for women between the age of 25 and 54, calling it a key demographic underserved by current Yahoo properties. The launch of 'Shine' is aimed largely at giving Yahoo additional opportunities to sell advertising targeted to the key decision-maker in many households. Yahoo said advertisers in consumer-packaged goods, retail and pharmaceuticals have requested more ways to reach those consumers. Unlike most other Yahoo sites, Shine will be presented in a blog format, with the newest items on top and commentary from an editor.
Eircom could be forced to float on the stock market for the third time in a decade, according to the Sunday Times. The paper reports that workers will have to accept shares in Eircom's parent company, Babcock & Brown Capital Management (BCM), if floatation is to be avoided. Eircom's employee share ownership trust has shares in 35 percent of the telecommunications company. It plans to convert these into BCM shares next summer, if the two parties agree. However, BCM has performed poorly on the Australian stockmarket recently.
Website Mumsnet has concluded that British parents are letting their children surf the internet without supervision, according to the same paper. The website surveyed nearly 1,500 parents and found 70 percent allowed their children to access the internet unsupervised.
The Sunday Tribune reports that Consumer Association of Ireland chief executive Dermot Jewell has received several hundred complaints from people unhappy with their mobile phone bills. The consumers were unhappy with the amounts charged by the mobile networks for exceeding their data download caps.
Airline passengers will be soon able to make calls on their mobile phones, according to the Sunday Business Post. The paper reports that communications regulator ComReg is going to make a positive decision at the end of April about using mobiles while flying. Last week Emirates Airways became the first international airline to permit passengers to use their mobiles and Ryanair is planning a similar service. Last week British regulator Ofcom gave the green light to using mobiles while flying.
The same paper also reports that Enterprise Ireland has admitted its funding structure for start-up firms may not be suitable for young entrepreneurs. During the week teenage brothers Patrick and John Collison sold their online commerce firm, Automatic, to Live Current Media for an estimated EUR3.2 million. The two asked US-based firm Y Combinator for an initial source funding of USD15,000, after deciding that it would have taken too long to get an Enterprise Ireland grant.
Irish web surfers are using search engines 35 percent more than this time last year, the Sunday Business Post also reports. The findings came from a survey of 500 internet users by Amarach Consulting, and the full results will be released at the Search Marketing World 2008 conference later this week. There was more good news for search engines in the paper: 350 senior technology executives have dubbed search engines the most important marketing development of the last ten years. The conclusion came from a survey released by Eurocom Worldwide and Simpson Financial & Technology PR.
Dublin-based software firm Alchemy has been acquired by US software localisation company Translations.com, for a figure in excess of EUR8 million, according to the same paper. The deal for the Irish company is reportedly Translations.com's biggest acquisition to date. Alchemy will now be run as a division of Translations.com with founders Tony O'Dowd and Enda McDonnell joining its management team.
The same paper also says that virtual credit card company 3V Transaction Services is launching partnerships with several well-known retailers. The firm has joined up with catalogue firm Freemans, online retailer CD Wow, and high street store Dorothy Perkins. The company's chief executive, Kieron Guilfoyle, added that the company will need a European office in the near future and that they hope to launch a service allowing users to buy 3V vouchers with their mobiles.
Wi-Fi provider Bitbuzz is expanding in the North, according to the paper. This follows the opening of a Belfast office and the appointment of Russell McQuillan as the region's business development manager. The firm aims to introduce its Wi-Fi service in 15 hotels in the North by the end of this year, after a substantial investment.
Dublin-based CustomerMinds.com has raised EUR1.1 million from private investors, bringing its total funding to EUR1.7 million, the same paper says. The firm, which launched an online marketing platform last year, is using the money to enter the British market and to hire another five to six staff. The company aims to enter the US marketplace in 2009 and Germany in 2010.
The paper also reports that Irish technology companies raised EUR84.4 million from investors in the fourth quarter of 2007. According to the figures released by the Irish Venture Capital Association last week, this is more than double the EUR30.1 million raised in the same period the previous year. A total of 32 firms raised funds in 2007, up from six the previous year. IVCA chairman Professor Michael Donnelly said fundraising was at its highest level since 2002.
Online auction site eBay.ie has halved the amount of account fraud since last year, a senior spokeswoman told the Sunday Business Post. Vanessa Canzini said the auction website now stops ''85 to 95 percent'' of account takeovers before the end of an auction. This is when someone hacks into an eBay account and uses it to cheat other eBay users of goods or money. The company claims it puts millions of euro into preventing such occurrences.
with Bryan Collins
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 