Software giant Aveva buys OSIsoft in $5bn mega-merger August 25, 2020 Industrial software giant Aveva today said it has agreed to acquire US tech firm OSIsoft in a $5bn (£3.8bn) deal. Aveva said the tie-up would bring together the two companies’ “complementary product offerings” in industrial software and data management. The FTSE-listed firm said it will fund the takeover through a combination of rights issues and [...]
US and China welcome ‘constructive’ trade talks after delay August 25, 2020 The US and China have welcomed a “constructive” round of talks over a phase one trade deal after discussions were delayed earlier this month. In a call between US trade representative Robert Lighthitzer, US treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and Chinese vice premier Liu He, the two sides reaffirmed their commitment to the deal. “Both sides [...]
Zoom down: Thousands of users unable to make calls as video app crashes August 24, 2020 Thousands of people in the UK and US were left unable to access work calls this afternoon after video conferencing app Zoom suffered a partial outage. Outage tracking website Down Detector showed there were nearly 15,000 reports of outages on the platform. These were concentrated on the east coast of the US, but also impacted [...]
Pearson appoints Disney veteran Andy Bird as new chief executive August 24, 2020 Publishing group Pearson has appointed former Disney bigwig Andy Bird as its new chief executive. The company said Bird will take over from current boss John Fallon on 19 October. Fallon will step down from the board but remain as an adviser until the end of the year. Veteran media industry boss Bird, whose career [...]
Asian stocks climb after Wall Street rally August 24, 2020 Asian stocks started the week in positive territory this morning after an announcement from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) raised hopes of a coronavirus vaccine. The FDA last night said it had authorised the use of blood plasma from recovered patients as a possible treatment for the virus. The announcement came on the [...]
Williams F1 team bought by US investment firm Dorilton Capital August 21, 2020 Formula One racing team Williams has been bought by US-based investment firm Dorilton Capital in a deal that marks the end of an era for the family-run group. The team will continue to race and compete under the Williams brand, and will remain at its base at Grove in Oxfordshire. The deal received the unanimous [...]
Relx snaps up UK analytics firm Scibite in £65m deal August 21, 2020 Relx today said it has acquired British data analytics firm Scibite as the publishing giant shifts its focus to digital services. The FTSE 100 company did not disclose financial terms, but a source told City A.M. the deal was worth roughly £65m. The deal forms part of Relx’s strategy to supplement organic growth with analytics [...]
Retail bosses square up in £6.5bn bidding war for Asda August 21, 2020 Two veteran UK retail bosses are set to go head-to-head in a dramatic £6.5bn private equity bidding war for supermarket chain Asda. Former Debenhams chief executive Rob Templeman is said to be working with Apollo Global Management, while Paul Mason, who served as Asda boss 20 years ago, has teamed up with Lone Star Funds. [...]
Oil prices fall on oversupply and US jobless data August 20, 2020 Oil prices dropped today after it emerged producer cartel faces a huge surplus and the number of new US jobless claims climbed back above 1m. Brent crude fell 2.7 per cent to $44.13 per barrel, while benchmark West Texas Intermediate was down three per cent at $41.62 per barrel. It followed reports that some Opec [...]
Alibaba gets lockdown revenue boost as US threat looms August 20, 2020 Alibaba today posted better-than-expected revenue and profit in its latest quarter as the coronavirus lockdown boosted trading in its core ecommerce business. The Chinese conglomerate booked revenue of 135.8bn yuan (£14.9bn) in the three months to the end of June, up 34 per cent on the same period last year. Net income also jumped from [...]
