IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 10 November
10-11-2009
by Sylvia Leatham
Vodafone Ireland gains new subscribers | EA to cut 17 percent of workforce
The Irish Times reports that Vodafone Ireland gained an extra 106,816 customers during the third quarter, giving it a total of 2.12 million mobile subscribers. The company said it had 177,607 fixed-line and DSL business customers at the end of three-month period. Vodafone Ireland now has over 251,000 broadband customers and a 24 percent share of combined mobile broadband and DSL subscriptions. The Vodafone Group reported first-half revenue, earnings and adjusted operating profits in line with forecasts and reaffirmed its profit guidance for the year. EBITDA was up 2.9 percent to STG7.5 billion, while revenues were up 9.3 percent to STG21.8 billion. The company said it would deliver its STG1 billion cost-cutting programme a year ahead of schedule and would make a further STG1 billion in cost savings by 2012.
The paper also says that e-learning company ThirdForce has received an offer of a management buyout, as reported by ENN on Monday.
The same paper says that Smart Telecom debt holders are set to write off around EUR50 million in loans as part of its proposed takeover by Digiweb. Under the terms of the scheme proposed to creditors, Smart's senior debt holders would only receive about EUR20 million of the EUR70 million they are owed. This money, payable at maturity of the original loans in 2014, was loaned to Smart by a number of bondholders, including US groups Avenue Capital and Plainfield Asset Management. Other creditors are owed about EUR10 million. It is understood these will be offered less than EUR0.10 for every euro they are owed.
The paper also notes that an online campaign has started to "Save the Patton Flyer", a private bus service operating an unlicensed route between Dublin airport and Dalkey. A campaign has been launched on Facebook, with supporting videos also posted on YouTube. On YouTube, singer William Byrne sings songs of praise to the Patton Flyer at a gig in the Eagle House pub in Glenageary, one of the stops along the route. Company director Trevor Patton has also said he intends to use the courts to challenge a decision by the Department of Transport to award a licence for the route to rival bus company Aircoach.
The Irish Independent reports that the Gardai and the Irish Banking Federation have warned consumers to be on guard for fraud, especially when going online. For online security, install anti-spyware, ensure the application is kept up-to-date, and activate a firewall, the two agencies advised. People should only download from sites that they trust, and any unsolicited requests for bank account information received through pop-up windows should be considered fraudulent and reported immediately, they said.
According to the Wall Street Journal, video games publisher Electronic Arts plans to cut 17 percent of its workforce. EA said it will cut 1,500 jobs by next March as it closes several facilities, saving the company at least USD100 million annually. The cuts come on top of the closure of game-development and publishing facilities a year ago, and are part of EA's plan to focus on fewer games amid an industry-wide slowdown in sales. Meanwhile, EA said it has agreed to acquire Playfish, a London-based maker of online social games, for at least USD275 million. The company also posted a wider quarterly loss and a 12 percent drop in revenue. For its fiscal second quarter, EA reported a net loss of USD391 million, or USD1.21 a share, compared with a loss of USD310 million, or USD0.97 a share a year earlier. Revenue fell to USD788 million from USD894 million.
The paper also says that Google is buying mobile advertising start-up AdMob for USD750 million in stock. The purchase -- one of Google's largest ever deals -- illustrates how the search giant is trying to extend its dominance in internet advertising to mobile phones. AdMob sells ads across thousands of websites that are tailored for mobile phones. JP Morgan estimates it has between USD45 million and USD60 million in annual revenue. AdMob declined to disclose its revenue but said it has more than doubled in the past year.
The Financial Times reports that Oracle has mounted a strident attack on Europe's competition authorities as it confirmed it had received an official objection from Brussels to its proposed acquisition of Sun Microsystems. The US software giant said it would "vigorously oppose" the European Commission's position. Oracle said the Commission's case "reveals a profound misunderstanding" of the software markets, and that a deal of this kind had not been blocked on either side of the Atlantic "in decades".
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