Spanish infrastructure company Abertis has bought a 28.4 per cent stake in satellite operator Hispasat for E199 million. Abertis said it had made the purchase through its Abertis Telecom unit from Ensafeca Holdings and it will now control 37.3 per cent of Hispasat shares as it also holds an indirect holding through its 32 per […]
From Sotires Eleftheriou in Paris According to reports in the French press, the British investment fund Cinven wants to sell up to half of its 70 per cent stake in Ypso, the holding company that owns the cable operator Numericable, for almost E2 billion. Several investment funds have expressed an interest in acquiring this 35 […]
Microsoft has beaten off competition from Google to pay $240 million for a 1.6 per cent stake in Facebook that values the popular social networking site at $15 billion. Microsoft will also sell internet ads for Facebook outside the United States as part of the deal that took several weeks of negotiating. Microsoft already provides […]
Gilat the Israeli satellite network group, is evaluating interest from several strategic and private equity buyers in buying the company. The company, which is listed on Nasdaq in the US and in Israel, could fetch more than $500m in a sale. Bids are due at the end of this week. Participating in the auction are […]
The Competition Commission has extended the timetable for completing its inquiry into BSkyB’s £940 million (E1.3bn) purchase of a 17.9 per cent stake in ITV until next year. It had intended to hand over the results of its inquiry to John Hutton, the secretary of state for business enterprise and regulatory reform, by November 7. […]
Nokia has agreed to buy US mobile advertising firm Enpocket. Nokia claims that the move will allow it to accelerate the scaling of its mobile advertising business, taking advantage of Enpocket’s platform and strong partnerships with advertisers, publishers and operators.
Discovery Communications has expanded its web presence with the acquisition of online knowledge repository HowStuffWorks for an estimated $250 million (E176m). Discovery will use HowStuffWorks to showcase its existing footage, uploading programme clips into entries on the site. It also plans to create a HowStuffWorks-branded series to air daily on Discovery Channel from next summer. […]
Eagle Broadband, a national provider of IP products and services, has completed an asset purchase agreement with Nighthawk Systems whereby Nighthawk purchased all rights, title, and interest in Eagle Broadband’s set-top box business. As part of this sale, the team of set-top box engineers and support staff formerly with Eagle has now become employees of […]
Channel 4 has held talks with Emap about taking full control of Box Television – owner of seven music channels on digital television platforms such as Freeview, including Kerrang!, Kiss, Q and The Hits, the UK's most popular music channel. The broadcaster, which bought half of Emap's music television division in July for £28 million, […]
NBC Universal has agreed to pay $925 million (E652m) for Oxygen Media, the independent cable television channel for women launched seven years ago by talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. It marks NBC's latest move to tap into the cable sector. Executives hope they can cross-promote NBC’s traditional broadcast network, cable services and Internet portals, and believe […]