Facebook value jumps to $50bn January 3, 2011 GOLDMAN Sachs has given social networking site Facebook an unprecedented vote of confidence by investing $450m (£291m) in the company at an astounding valuation of $50bn. The amount represents a fivefold increase from a valuation just two years ago of $10bn. In addition to Goldman’s investment, the Russian firm Digital Sky Technologies, which invested $200m for two [...]
Market for private tech firms soars January 3, 2011 A GROWING and largely unregulated market in privately owned shares has sprung up as technology firms continue to rise in value exponentially. Investors are clamouring to own a stake in the next major internet firm before they are publically traded, driving the biggest surge in demand for privately-owned tech companies since the dotcom boom. Facebook [...]
Buying up tech for a quick buck January 3, 2011 GOLDMAN Sachs and Digital Sky Technologies have shocked the investment world by swallowing a $50bn valuation for social networking site Facebook. But few were immediately prepared to dispute the price tag with Wall Street’s most prestigious investment bank: broken down per user, it doesn’t sound quite so outrageous, at $100 a head. After all, no [...]
Spread betting vs. contracts for difference January 3, 2011 THE new year is underfoot, and with European sovereign debt still looking problematic, Chinese inflation sky high and the Federal Reserve still emptying a bathtub of money onto the world, it is looking to be at least as interesting a year as 2010. For ordinary investors, volatility is not very much fun. Most people are [...]
Hunt under pressure over Murdoch links December 22, 2010 CULTURE secretary Jeremy Hunt’s suitability for taking over the media regulation brief was called into question yesterday as cabinet secretary Gus O’Donnell said that he had taken legal advice regarding Hunt’s impartiality. Hunt has found himself thrust into the controversy surrounding business secretary Vince Cable after David Cameron transferred all of Cable’s responsibilities relating to [...]
Lord Browne’s US fund is mulling a bid for auctioned BP assets December 22, 2010 FORMER BP chief Lord Browne is considering buying businesses from his former firm as BP divests assets to raise cash for its US lawsuit. Riverstone, the US private equity house at which Browne is now a partner, is reportedly considering bids for BP businesses being auctioned. Assets include its Canadian natural gas liquids processing facilities [...]
THE TIPSTER December 22, 2010 Although BSkyB and News Corp have been in the news recently because of political upheavals, the big decision has been announced and News Corp has received EC approval for a £7.8bn buyout of BSkyB. BSkyB’s shares have already jumped in response to the news, confirming investor approval. Along with strong promotions such as three months [...]
Cable demotion cheers Murdoch December 21, 2010 James Murdoch, the chairman of British Sky Broadcasting, was said to be “cock-a-hoop” last night, after Vince Cable was stripped of his role in deciding whether the satellite broadcaster can be taken over by News Corp. Sources close to Murdoch, who is also chief executive of News Corp in Europe and Asia, said Cable’s demotion [...]
Culture secretary to rule on BSkyB December 21, 2010 THE OUTCOME of News Corp’s bid to buy a majority stake in BSkyB will be decided by Jeremy Hunt, in the wake of Vince Cable’s comments that he had “declared war” on Rupert Murdoch. The business secretary, who has been stripped of his power to rule on the takeover, will no longer play a role [...]
Cable has lost all credibility, say key critics December 21, 2010 BUSINESS leaders and politicians said that it is now only a matter of time before business secretary Vince Cable is sacked after saying to two undercover reporters that he had “declared war on Rupert Murdoch”. Sir Alan Sugar, founder of electronics firm Amstrad, wrote on Twitter yesterday: “Cameron and his apprentice Clegg will dump Cable soon”. [...]