IN THE PAPERS
In The Papers 23 November
23-11-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Chinese firm acquires Firecomms | HP warns on corporation tax change
The Irish Times reports that Cork chip company Firecomms has been acquired by Chinese firm ZJF Group in an all-cash deal. The terms of the deal have not been released but employment at Firecomms will increase from 18 to 30 over the next year due to a EUR5 million investment in research and development by the new Chinese owners.
The Irish Independent says that IT firm Hewlett-Packard has warned it could stop investing in Ireland if our low corporation tax is increased in return for a bailout. HP employs over 4,000 people at facilities in Dublin, Leixlip, Galway and Belfast. Ireland's 12.5 percent corporation tax is one of the lowest in Europe. "HP is very clear, if the tax rate increased we would be relooking at our investment in Ireland," the company's manufacturing boss Lionel Alexander told the newspaper.
In more news of HP, the Financial Times says the tech company posted a better-than-expected 8 percent rise in fourth-quarter sales, led by a 25 percent increase in server and storage revenue. HP earned USD2.54 billion in the most recent quarter, or USD1.10 a share, up from USD2.41 billion and USD0.99, on USD33.3 billion in sales. On a non-GAAP basis adjusted mainly for amortisation of intangibles and restructuring charges, earnings per share rose 17 percent to USD1.33, beating consensus estimates. HP raised its forecast for the new fiscal year, to sales of between USD132 billion and USD133.5 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of between USD5.16 and USD5.26, up 13 to 15 percent from the year ended 31 October.
The paper also says that Spotify is considering launching its digital jukebox service in the US without having signed up all of the big four record labels. The company's auditors warned in accounts for 2009, filed only last week, of a "material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt about the group’s ability to continue as a going concern". Losses at the company outstripped sales last year. Spotify said in the accounts that it had "ambitious growth plans and further funding is currently being negotiated". Spotify’s board sees a successful US launch as critical to the company’s success.
According to the Wall Street Journal, an investor group led by three private-equity firms has reached a deal to acquire Novell for about USD2.2 billion, ending an eight-month takeover battle for the software company. Novell said that Attachmate Corp -- which is owned by an investment group led by Francisco Partners, Golden Gate Capital and Thoma Bravo -- will buy it for USD6.10 a share in cash, a 9.1 percent premium on Friday's closing price. The company also agreed to sell some intellectual property assets to CPTN Holdings, a consortium of tech companies organised by Microsoft, for USD450 million.
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