FTSE ends flat as travel firms weigh on index – London Report November 26, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index closed flat on Wednesday, erasing early gains, with weaker travel and leisure stocks offsetting a rebound in miners and strength in telecoms. The blue chip FTSE 100 index ended 1.97 points lower, or flat in percentage terms, at 6,729.17 points after hitting a session high of 6,765.01 in early trading, as [...]
Short sellers bet against a £10bn BT mobile deal November 25, 2014 SHARES in BT edged 0.4 per cent higher yesterday as investors continued to warm to the idea of the British telecoms giant splashing out a reported £10bn to acquire either O2 or EE in a move to bolster its foray into consumer mobile next year. But not everyone was convinced of a successful transaction as [...]
FTSE closes the day flat as miners weigh on BT and Sky gains – London Report November 25, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index yesterday steadied near a twomonth high, as stronger banking stocks were offset by a fall in mining companies as metals prices weakened. The blue chip FTSE 100 index closed 1.35 points higher, or flat in percentage terms, at 6,731.14 points. The index reached a two-month high last week. Disappointing earnings from [...]
Do patent privateers signal need for intellectual property reform? November 25, 2014 After Google sued BT over patent-infringement and details about BT’s patent strategy garnered public attention, an increasing number of commentators have started pointing to “patent privateers” as a major problem with the current system of intellectual property both in Europe and the US. As is common in high-stakes litigation involving multinational corporations, the debate has [...]
BT share price up as mobile network operators O2 and EE vie for £10bn deal November 24, 2014 British telecoms giant BT is set to play kingmaker as it prepares to buy either O2 or EE to jump-start its push into the consumer mobile market next year. BT yesterday confirmed deal talks with “two UK mobile network operators, of which one is O2”, but cautioned that talks remained “at a highly preliminary stage”. [...]
BT set to shake up the mobile market… again November 24, 2014 A decade after the British firm left mobile, it is back for more In the midst of what one BT insider described yesterday as a “financial mess” in the early 2000s the British telecoms giant spun off its BT Cellnet arm. The move in 2001 was quickly seen as a terrible strategic decision, [...]
As BT prepares to buy O2 or EE, Sky remains sceptical of need for mobile offering November 24, 2014 Pay TV group Sky, recently rebranded from BSkyB, remained unconvinced by the need for a mobile offering yesterday, after its biggest rival BT looked poised to buy either EE or O2 in a £10bn mobile deal. While Sky’s services include TV, broadband and fixed-line telephone in the UK, the £15.3bn group has yet to offer [...]
Petrofac slump weighs on FTSE amid M&A flurry – London Report November 24, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index edged lower yesterday, weighed down by a slump in Petrofac after it predicted low net profits, but M&A talk kept it near a two-month high. Smith & Nephew and Friends Life were said to be likely subjects for bids, and BT confirmed it might expand into mobile communications. The benchmark FTSE [...]
As BT confirms it’s in talks to buy O2, would a bid for the mobile operator make sense? November 24, 2014 Kester Mann, principal operators analyst at CCS Insight, says Yes. Purchasing a mobile operator like EE or O2 would give a massive shot in the arm to BT’s multi-play ambitions, accelerating plans to offer mobile services without relying on wholesale deals. Given its existing broadband and TV assets, the company could offer a highly potent [...]
BT share price jumps as it confirms it wants to buy O2 back from Telefonica November 24, 2014 Shares in BT had risen 3.6 per cent to 393.9p in mid-afternoon as it confirmed it is in talks with Telefonica to buy its O2 UK mobile business. In a statement to the stock exchange this morning, the company said all discussions are at a "highly preliminary stage", adding that it is "continuing" to develop [...]