More pressure on Fox-Sky deal as pensions lobby group wades in December 13, 2016 Rupert Murdoch’s proposed Sky takeover came under further scrutiny today as a pensions lobby group stressed the need for an appropriate premium to be paid for the business. Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox is expected to make a firm £10.75-per-share cash bid for the 61 per cent of Sky it does not already own before the end [...]
Goldman Sachs banker Gary Cohn becomes Donald Trump’s main economic adviser December 12, 2016 Donald Trump has announced the appointment of former Goldman Sachs banker Gary Cohn as his most important economic adviser. Cohn has officially been named as director of the National Economic Council. He will be tasked with advising the President-elect on implementing his unorthodox economic campaign promises, which purportedly combine broad tax cuts with big infrastructure [...]
Fox set to make formal cash bid for Sky this week amid scrutiny from investors and politicians December 12, 2016 Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox is set to push ahead with a formal £10.75-per-share cash offer for Sky this week amid discontent from certain shareholders and politicians. The bid, to increase Fox’s shareholding in Sky from 39 per cent to 100 per cent, values the broadcaster at around £18.5bn. Sky shareholder Standard Life, which has a [...]
UK video startup Newsflare lands £2.4m December 12, 2016 Newsflare, a British media startup, has landed a multimillion pound cash injection from a young investment fund aimed at boosting the country's creative industries. The £2.4m fresh funding comes from Edge Investments' Creative Enterprise Fund and will help the three-year-old startup's expansion. Read more: The Memo proves investors still like media startups, with six-digit funding The Newsflare platform connects user [...]
Another British tech firm has been bought by a foreign company December 12, 2016 Shares in e2v, the British tech firm which supplies imaging sensors that help the Hubble space telescope and the Mars Curiosity Rover take pictures, have jumped almost 50 per cent after agreeing a £620m sale to US-based Teledyne. In the latest example of a US firm being snapped up by a foreign company, the conglomerate [...]
Standard Life adds to pressure on Sky to demand more from Murdoch’s Fox December 12, 2016 Sky is coming under increasing pressure to push for a higher takeover bid from Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. The two companies said at the end of last week that they had reached a deal in principle at £10.75 per share for Fox to acquire the 61 per cent of Sky it does not currently [...]
Sky seeks to calm shareholder concerns over Fox bid as board independence comes under fire December 11, 2016 Broadcasting giant Sky is vying to convince investors that 21st Century Fox’s £10.75 per share takeover bid is not undervaluing the company. Sky revealed last Friday it had reached an agreement with Fox that values the business at £18.5bn – but some shareholders criticised the approach over the weekend. One big name City shareholder told City [...]
Lingerie brand Agent Provocateur gets a refit amid accounting issues December 11, 2016 Chris Woodhouse has stepped down as chairman of Agent Provocateur amid the lingerie brand’s ongoing inquiry into “accounting issues”. The upmarket label, which has counted supermodel Kate Moss among its roster, has handed the reins to Ian Lobley, a partner at Agent Provocateur’s controlling shareholder 3i Group, it was first reported last night by Sky [...]
TalkTalk hits out at ultrafast fibre network critics December 11, 2016 Broadband provider TalkTalk has shot back at rival BT over claims it would not be able to build its own fibre broadband network in the UK. A report by Analysys Mason, commissioned by BT, and submitted to regulator Ofcom found the development of a third ultrafast broadband network in the UK was “highly unlikely”. However, [...]
Political opposition to Murdoch takeover of Sky mounts December 10, 2016 Former Labour leader Ed Miliband, former business secretary Vince Cable and influential campaign group Hacked Off have all voiced their opposition to the possibility of a 21st Century Fox takeover of Sky. Although media analysts appear to believe the deal is unlikely to be blocked by regulators, the news has attracted a number of objections in the [...]