Allergan tells investors to shun Valeant’s $52bn takeover offer June 23, 2014 ALLERGAN, the pharmaceutical company that makes Botox and breast implants, advised shareholders yesterday to reject Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ latest hostile takeover offer, which valued the firm at around $52bn (£30.5bn). Allergan chairman David Pyott said the bid “is grossly inadequate, substantially undervalues Allergan, and is not in the best interests of Allergan and its stockholders”. Valeant’s [...]
Oracle splashes out on Micros June 23, 2014 IT GIANT Oracle yesterday said it has sealed a deal to buy retail and hospitality software maker Micros for around $5.3bn (£3.1bn), in a transaction expected to close during the second half of 2014. Micros sells internet connected cash registers along with software and technical services. The deal is Oracle’s second largest since it bought [...]
Consumers set to use tablets for 72pc of online purchases by 2018 June 23, 2014 Tablets are set to dominate UK mobile online shopping this year as order volumes on the larger screened devices soar to double that of smartphones. Smartphones will account for just £4.65bn of online retail sales in 2014, year-on-year growth of 43.2 per cent. Tablet online retail sales will soar 79.3 per cent to £9.28bn, according [...]
France secures stake in Alstom ahead of GE deal June 23, 2014 THE FRENCH government has secured a deal to buy 20 per cent of Alstom from conglomerate Bouygues, economy minister Arnaud Montebourg said yesterday. The state had made its purchase of Bouygues’ 20 per cent stake in Alstom a condition for approving General Electric’s (GE) €12.35bn (£9.9bn) offer for Alstom’s energy business, which expires today. “We [...]
Amazon joining with Doddle to start railway station collections June 23, 2014 AMAZON customers will soon be able to pick up parcels from railway stations as part of a new deal between the online retail giant and Doddle, the click-and-collect joint venture between Network Rail and Travelex millionaire Lloyd Dorfman. Doddle is currently running a pilot operation at Milton Keynes station, with plans to expand the service [...]
Barclays voice recognition to kill telephone banking passwords June 23, 2014 Barclays is introducing voice recognition for users of its telephone banking service in a move that could abolish passwords. The bank is using a system of voice biometrics, already used by customers in its high net worth banking arm, which it will roll out to 12m retail customers next year. The system works by storing [...]
French minister whines at new web domains June 23, 2014 THE FRENCH government yesterday attacked new domain names – such as .vin and .wine – that it says could undermine international agreements to protect the use of geographical indicators like champagne and region-specific wine names. Meanwhile, copyright disputes over the new addresses are expected to continue to soar as over 1,000 new domains are introduced [...]
Eircom IPO: Telecoms firm preparing for €1bn float in London and Dublin this autumn June 23, 2014 Eircom, Ireland’s largest telecoms firm, is preparing plans which could see it return to the stock market by September, raising €1bn (£800m) from a dual listing in London and Dublin. The move comes two years after Eircom fell into bankruptcy. It filed for protection from its creditors in 2012 over €3.75bn of debt and was [...]
Google feathers its Nest with $555m acquisition of Dropcam June 23, 2014 Nest, the Google-owned high tech outfit developing connected appliances, has acquired home video surveillance firm Dropcam for $555m (£326m). The deal, announced on Friday, is set to boost Nest’s connected product line up, which currently includes a thermostat and smoke alarm that can be remotely controlled by a smartphone. “Nest cares as much about customers, [...]
