Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling is to rule on whether BSkyB’s purchase of a 17.9% stake in ITV was against the public interest. Darling has asked Ofcom to hold an inquiry into last autumn’s purchase by BSkyB in the wake of plans by the then NTL Telewest to make its own takeover of Britain’s […]
Arris evaluates Ericsson Tandberg offer
Arris Group has said the company is evaluating Ericsson’s bid for Tandberg Television following Monday’s surprise bid for the technology company. In a statement Arris said it was currently assessing its options but would be making no further comment. Ericsson’s SKr9.8 billion (€1.05bn) all cash offer for Tandberg represents a 10.4% increase over the offer […]
EC approves Liberty Global control of Telenet
The European Commission has approved Liberty Global’s recently increased and controlling ownership position in Telenet Group Holding NV. As previously announced on November 13, 2006, Liberty Global exercised options that increased the Company’s ownership in Telenet to 28.07%. With today’s regulatory approval, Telenet will be consolidated for financial reporting purposes beginning January 1, 2007 and […]
CSA extends mobile TV consultation
The French media regulator CSA has put back the date for the completion of its consultation into mobile TV by two weeks. The second phase of the consultation including a call for candidates began on January 17, 2007, following a plenary meeting of the regulator, and ahead of the National Assembly’s revision of French broadcasting […]
Ukrtelecom sell off delayed
The part privatisation of the incumbent Ukrainian telco Ukrtelecom, which was scheduled for Q1 2007, is now unlikely to take place before the end of the year. Ukrtelecom, which is currently 92.86% state owned, has already attracted the interest of Russia’s Comstar UTS, and the local holding company System Capital Management (SMS) is also expected […]
Ericsson makes Tandberg counterbid
Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson has announced a counterbid for Tandberg Television valuing the company at SKr9.8 billion (€1.05bn). The cash offer puts a mark up of 10.4% on the previous bid for the company made in January by Arris. Ericsson has already accrued a holding of 11.7% of Tandberg’s share capital and has irrevocable acceptances […]
EU completes swift review, approves ProSiebenSat.1 acquisition
Following ProSiebenSat.1’s announcement of record annual results, Thursday, the European Commission delivered the expected icing on the cake. Allowing the German broadcasting group to be acquired by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Permira controlled Lavena Holding 4 GmbH. Also approving the subsequent merger with SBS Broadcasting. The EU launched its anti-trust investigation of the […]
Reding: Spectrum reform won’t happen overnight
The European Commission has unveiled its strategy for a more flexible use of the radio spectrum. The plan is to reduce access and usage restrictions after it was found existing regulations were failing to keep pace with the convergence of mobile, television and internet services. “Europe must fully exploit the potential use of certain spectrum […]