Investors back huge job cuts by Microsoft chief July 17, 2014 MICROSOFT chief executive Satya Nadella kick-started one of the largest round of layoffs in tech history yesterday when he announced the software giant would shed 18,000 jobs, a move supported by investors as Microsoft’s stock reached a 14-year high. The cuts amount to 14 per cent of Microsoft’s total workforce, but the layoffs are largely [...]
ITV share price soars as Liberty Global picks up £481m stake July 17, 2014 Liberty Global, the owner of large swathes of European cable TV infrastructure including Virgin Media, yesterday bought a 6.4 per cent stake in ITV from BSkyB for £481m. ITV’s shares rose 6.15 per cent yesterday on hopes that Liberty might look to make a wider bid for the rest of the broadcaster’s stock. [...]
Time Warner investors holding out for improved Rupert Murdoch offer July 17, 2014 Time Warner’s shares rose 3.6 per cent yesterday following news on Wednesday that Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox had made an unsuccessful $80bn offer for the firm last month. Murdoch might have to raise his $85-a-share bid to as much as $95 a share and boost its cash component to wrap up a takeover of [...]
Entertainment One swoops for Canadian TV company for £16m July 17, 2014 ENTERTAINMENT One yesterday announced that it had purchased Canadian unscripted TV firm Paperny Entertainment for C$29.2m (£15.9m). The FTSE 250-listed film and television distributor said Paperny, the studio behind shows such as Timber Kings and Chow Masters, would help it grow and diversify its content rights portfolio into unscripted and factual shows. “As part of [...]
Alibaba sets its sights on September to launch $200bn float July 17, 2014 CHINESE web giant Alibaba will reportedly begin its investor roadshow in September just ahead of a New York listing that could value the firm at $200bn (£117bn). Alibaba is looking to raise around $20bn from public markets this year, a fundraising which would rival the Agricultural Bank of China’s $22.1bn float in 2010 as the [...]
Cloud and big data boost IBM as it announces Apple partnership July 17, 2014 IBM reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue and profits last night, as it pressed ahead with its shift to higher-end businesses such as big data, cloud computing, and security and mobile services. The business technology giant’s total revenue fell two per cent to $24.4bn (£14.3bn) in the second quarter, above analysts’ average estimate of $24.1bn. Profit rose [...]
Google business chief Nikesh Arora departs as search giant beats forecasts July 17, 2014 Google’s business chief will be leaving the company, in the latest high-ranking departure at the search giant, as the firm beat second quarter revenue expectations. Nikesh Arora, who joined Google nearly 10 years ago, will join Japanese tech and telecoms group SoftBank as vice chairman. “Google had a great quarter with revenue up 22 per [...]
Rupert Murdoch kicks off Time Warner takeover battle July 16, 2014 Rupert Murdoch has his sights on creating a $150bn (£88bn) media behemoth by shelling out $80bn for the takeover of Time Warner and merging it with his own 21st Century Fox empire, a plan that hit a roadblock last month when Time Warner rejected his advance. Shares in Time Warner jumped 17 per cent to [...]
Boards win day despite investor revolts July 16, 2014 Three major UK companies suffered significant shareholder revolts yesterday on a busy day for annual general meetings – and, inevitably, the City grandee Sir John Peace was at the centre of one of the dramas. Peace, who has been at the centre of two shareholder battles already this year, found himself under fire again after nearly [...]
Google Play downloads soar as Apple holds on to app revenues July 16, 2014 Apple continued to dominate app store revenues during the second quarter with its iOS iPhone and iPad app store providing around 80 per cent more revenue than Google’s Play app store, according to research from app analytics firm App Annie. Google remained the most widely used platform, accounting for 60 per cent of downloads, up [...]
