What the other papers say this morning – 04 April 2014
FINANCIAL TIMES
Channel 5 bidders question valuation
A war of words has broken out over the valuation of Channel 5, ahead of this month’s deadline for second-round bids for the broadcaster owned by entrepreneur Richard Desmond. In January, people close to the bidding process said Mr Desmond was seeking a price of more than £700m for the channel, which he bought from RTL in 2010 for £103.5m. But the due diligence process had found “not a lot to like”, according to one potential bidder.
M Stanley hits back in Flash Boys row
Morgan Stanley has disputed the suggestion that improvements in its equities business have been driven by controversial high-frequency trading, after questions were raised by a rival about why it has been so successful. In the book Flash Boys by Michael Lewis, the bond salesman-turned-author, Goldman Sachs executives are said to have asked “Why was Morgan Stanley growing so fast?” Flash Boys suggests that Morgan Stanley eked out an advantage over Goldman by building infrastructure to serve high-frequency traders which “was now making Morgan Stanley $500m (£301m) a year, and… it was growing”.
Record labels in Russian legal action
Sony Music, Universal Music and Warner Music said yesterday that they had each filed separate lawsuits against Vkontakte, as part of a three-pronged attack co-ordinated by the IFPI.
THE TIMES
British Land raises £1bn for growth
British Land has secured £1bn of finance as global lenders and institutions increasingly seek to raise their exposure to commercial and residential real estate. The country’s second largest listed property company has signed a £785m five-year loan with a syndicate of 14 banks and also closed and drawn its £200m US private placement, which was signed in August.
Star fund manager earns £17m return
Richard Woolnough, a leading fund manager working for Prudential has emerged as one of the highest earners in the City after the insurance group awarded him £17.5m in pay and bonuses.
The Daily Telegraph
Google fined over Street View cars
Google has paid a €1m (£830,000) fine imposed by Italy’s data protection watchdog over complaints that its cars were not recognisable. “Cars belonging to the giant of Mountain View roamed Italy’s streets without being entirely recognisable as such, therefore not allowing the people present in those places to decide whether to be photographed or not,” the regulator said.
State pays £5.5m for XP support
The government has signed a deal with Microsoft to provide Windows XP support and security updates across the whole UK public sector for a year after general support ends on 8 April 2014.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
Intel chief’s 2013 pay drops to $9.6m
Intel’s chief executive Brian Krzanich’s total pay was valued at $9.6m (£5.8m) in 2013, down from $15.9m the previous year. Krzanich, who became chief executive in May 2013, had received a $12.4m stock award in 2012 as part of retention incentives offered to some senior executives who were considered chief executive candidates. His stock award in 2013 was $5.3m.
Fight over SFR nears conclusion
Vivendi’s board is set to meet tomorrow to decide the fate of telecoms firm SFR leaving two suitors, Altice and Bouygues, mulling last minute bids.