IN THE PAPERS
In the papers 24 October
24-10-2007
by Sylvia Leatham
Cisco to acquire WiMax firm | Oracle issues ultimatum to BEA Systems
The Irish Times reports that Apple's impressive fourth quarter results, as reported on ENN on Tuesday, were rewarded by the markets as its stock reached historic highs. Apple shares traded as high as USD188.60 on Tuesday, giving the company a larger market capitalisation than Intel, IBM, Hewlett Packard and Dell.
The Irish Independent notes that the medium-term rating prospect of Eircom will depend on the level of shareholder aggression and the ability of the company to generate cash and cut debt, according to a report by ratings agency Standard & Poor's. The study focused on three telcos that were subject to large leveraged buyouts over the past two years: Eircom, Italy's Wind Telecomunicazioni and Danish incumbent TDC. S&P also said that Eircom has the weakest free cash flow of the three, although it expects that to improve.
The Irish Examiner reports on Tourism Ireland's e-marketing campaign in 'virtual world' Second Life. Read the full story on ENN.
According to the Financial Times, data centre operator Telecity Group is to list on the London Stock Exchange on Wednesday, after raising STG100 million. Telecity, making a return to the market after a two-year absence, will debut at the top of its marketed price range of STG2-STG2.50. That would give the group, based in London's Docklands, a market value of STG400 million to STG450 million.
The paper also says that Cisco Systems has agreed to pay USD330 million to buy Navini Networks, a maker of networking equipment that runs on the WiMax wireless standard. The all-cash deal came a week after the United Nations approved WiMax for use on the 3G radio spectrum, boosting its appeal as an alternative to existing 3G broadband data services. Unlike Wi-Fi, a rival wireless standard that operates at shorter distances, WiMax networks allow the high-speed transmission of information over distances of several kilometres.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Oracle has issued an ultimatum to BEA Systems that the smaller software maker accept its acquisition offer by Sunday or risk the offer expiring. In a letter to BEA, Oracle said its unsolicited cash proposal to buy BEA for USD17 a share, or about USD6.7 billion -- first made on 9 October -- will expire on Sunday. BEA's board of directors had previously rejected Oracle's offer, saying BEA is worth more. In the letter, Oracle president Charles Phillips urged BEA to sign a deal and let shareholders vote on the matter. He noted that no higher offers for the company have been made public.
The paper also says that Google is to work with Nielsen to provide advertisers with demographic information about audiences for television ads the internet company sells. Under an arrangement announced in April, Google sells TV commercials that appear through satellite-TV provider EchoStar Communications, and it is in discussions to sell ads for other TV companies. Google sells the TV spots through an online auction system. Now, using information from Nielsen, Google will help advertisers identify ad spots that reach specific demographic groups, and afterward track the demographics of audiences that watched their commercials.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 