Index expecting $10bn EU startup October 21, 2014 LONDON’S top venture capitalists expect the European startup scene to continue turning out hit tech firms, with a partner at Index Ventures predicting Europe will produce a $10bn (£6.2bn) firm within three years. “We will likely see a couple of European $10bn exits in the next two or three years. The pipeline of European companies [...]
AbbVie blames “outdated” US tax law for Shire deal collapse October 21, 2014 The boss of US drugs giant AbbVie hit out at the “outdated” US tax regime after confirming the $55bn (£34bn) takeover of Shire had collapsed. Chief executive Richard Gonzalez led the charge to buy Dublin drugmaker Shire for three months, only to walk away from the deal last week blaming changes to the US tax [...]
World Cup boosts William Hill’s profit on favourable outcomes October 21, 2014 BOOKMAKER William Hill has seen its operating profit soar 89 per cent in the third quarter, with favourable sporting results playing in the group’s favour. William Hill’s revenue climbed 23 per cent, reflecting the benefits of World Cup betting and a favourable sports margin. Furthermore, the bookies’ investment in digital appears to be paying off, [...]
Cognicity Challenge: Canary Wharf Group’s £300,000 smart city startup fund October 21, 2014 Canary Wharf Group yesterday launched a startup accelerator programme to find six so-called smart city technologies – that drive cost savings using technology in fields such as transport and construction – to be piloted across its estate. The Cognicity Challenge will be spread over six sectors: integrated transportation, connected home, virtual design, construction, integrated resource [...]
Greene King’s £723m gets it into the Spirit October 20, 2014 BREWING giant Greene King has raised its bid for pub chain Spirit Pubs after its previous offer was rebuffed. Spirit said its board is likely to recommend Greene King’s higher £723.3m bid, which values Spirit at 109.5p per share – a 20 per cent premium to the stock’s closing price on Friday. “The board of Spirit [...]
Techcrunch Disrupt: Let the (tech startup) battle commence October 20, 2014 European tech startups, including two teams from London, went head-to-head yesterday in the first round of a battle at Disrupt, one of Silicon Valley’s biggest annual tech conferences, which is currently in London for the first time. London startups Lobster – an online marketplace for regular people to licence their photos and videos – [...]
Buffett left red faced as IBM’s shares tumble October 20, 2014 JUST days after legendary investor Warren Buffett admitted that buying a near four per cent stake in Tesco was a “huge mistake”, another one of US fund manager’s big gambles is looking shaky. IBM. led by chair and CEO Ginni Rometty, yesterday reported that sales fell four per cent to $22.4bn (£13.9bn) in the three [...]
EE set to cut 350 jobs October 20, 2014 Mobile operator EE is planning to cut 350 jobs including its Hatfield headquarters as the firm looks to slim down its marketing, finance, legal and account management teams. The move comes just days after reports that EE’s owners, Orange and Deutsche Telekom, are back in talks for either a float or sale of the business [...]
CGI creates 650 new Welsh jobs October 20, 2014 SOME 650 IT jobs are being promised for south Wales after Canadian IT services firm CGI announced it is planning to expand its Bridgend offices. The Welsh government are offering CGI a £3.2m grant to support the job-creation over five years. CGI provides cloud computing, cyber security and other IT service functions and currently employs [...]
Techcrunch Disrupt in London: City’s rising tech talent is the star of the show October 20, 2014 Some 1,500 investors, entrepreneurs and startups will go head to head at Old Billingsgate Market today and tomorrow as one of Silicon Valley’s biggest annual tech conferences lands in London for the first time. Techcrunch Disrupt promises to focus the world’s tech investment community on the capital’s top startups over the next two [...]
