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Pace makes progress

Set-top box manufacturer Pace has maintained progress across all of its global markets in the first half of 2008. Due to a beneficial US Dollar/Euro exchange rate, the Pace France business, which was initially expected to be loss making for 2008, is now profitable and the board expects that the group’s out-turn for the year […]

July 11, 2008

Pace makes progress

Set-top box manufacturer Pace has maintained progress across all of its global markets in the first half of 2008. Due to a beneficial US Dollar/Euro exchange rate, the Pace France business, which was initially expected to be loss making for 2008, is now profitable and the board expects that the group’s out-turn for the year […]

July 11, 2008

Permira to take NDS private

In a surprise move News Corp has made a deal to become the minority shareholder in its conditional access subsidiary NDS. Two newcos backed by private equity house Permira will take the business private. The plan is the Permira newcos will own 51 per cent while News will keep 49 per cent. The deal has […]

July 1, 2008

XM and Sirius sink on forecasts

Without or without merger XM and Sirius face a bleak future says Wall St. Goldman Sachs, citing a dramatic slowdown in subscriber growth, high debt costs, refinancing pressure and a shrinking trend in revenue per customer cut its XM price target to $6.50 from $11.50 and reduced Sirius to $1.75 from $2.25. After a rapid […]

June 23, 2008

Private equity eyes Sogecable

From David Del Valle in Madrid The sale of Sogecable pay-TV division, Digital Plus, is also attracting interest from several private equity firms, such as Permira and Apax, with suggestions that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, Mexican media mogul Carlos Slim and even Telefónica are potential bidders. Prisa has hired HSBC to handle the sale process. […]

May 30, 2008

Sogecable: Prisa takes control

From David del Valle in Madrid The Spanish media group Prisa, owner of the newspaper El País, is taking full control of the TV company Sogecable, owner of Digital Plus, Canal Plus and Cuatro, by acquiring the remainder 2.29 per ceny shares to reach 100 per cent for E75.5 million. The move paves the way […]

May 26, 2008

Unity up on triple plays

German cableco Unitymedia posted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2008 of E94.3 million up from E81.6 million in 2007. The company said it had enjoyed its strongest quarter for digital pay-TV take-up for two years with 29,000 new subscribers, giving it a total of 485,000. During the quarter there were 65,000 net additions to […]

May 23, 2008

ONO E8m profit in the first quarter

From David Del Valle in Madrid Spain’s largest cable company ONO reported a profit of E8 million for the quarter against a E13 million loss for the same period last year. EBITDA amounted to E164 million, up 10.6 per cent, with total revenues reaching E400 million, 75 per cent of them from the residential business. […]

May 23, 2008

Unity up on triple plays

German cableco Unitymedia posted EBITDA in the first quarter of 2008 of E94.3 million up from E81.6 million in 2007. The company said it had enjoyed its strongest quarter for digital pay-TV take-up for two years with 29,000 new subscribers, giving it a total of 485,000. During the quarter there were 65,000 net additions to […]

May 23, 2008

Time Warner $9bn cable spin-off

Time Warner will receive a higher than expected $9.25 billion dividend from the spin-off of Time Warner Cable and has confirmed plans for a “complete legal and structural separation” of the two companies. Jeff Bewkes' biggest strategic step since becoming Time Warner chief executive in January would help each company's management focus on realising the […]

May 22, 2008