Worldline’s $8.7 billion Ingenico deal to create European payments leader
PARIS (Reuters) – Payments company Worldline agreed on Monday to buy French rival Ingenico INGC.PA in a 7.8 billion euro ($8.7 billion) deal, creating a European leader in a sector trying to keep up with fast-changing consumer habits and technologies. Creating a European champion able to compete with bigger American rivals could be welcomed by European politicians. […]
Tencent buys stake in Vivendi’s Universal Music
The Chinese firm will own a stake in the music label that distributes tunes by Lady Gaga and The Beatles. Rising Temp The IFPI federation said in April that global recorded music revenues had risen 9.7 percent in 2019 from last year, while Universal was Vivendi’s main third-quarter sales growth driver, with revenues rising nearly […]
Tencent consortium to buy up to 20% of Universal Music in a deal that values the world’s largest music label at $34 billion
A consortium led by Tencent agreed to buy up to 20% of Vivendi’s Universal Music in a deal that values the world’s largest music label at $34 billion. The agreement will allow both companies to expand in a recovering global music market. Tencent is getting more access to U.S. artists while Universal can tap into […]
Tencent gets into global groove with stake in Vivendi’s Universal
RISING TEMPO The IFPI federation said in April that global recorded music revenues had risen 9.7% in 2019 from last year, while Universal was Vivendi’s main third quarter sales growth driver, with revenues rising nearly 16% to 1.8 billion euros. “Universal has been enjoying increased revenues for the last 5 years. With the company in […]
Altice Europe to buy telecoms fiber company Covage for $1.1 billion
PARIS (Reuters) – Debt-ridden telecoms and cable company Altice Europe (ATCA.AS) said it would acquire French fiber wholesale operator Covage for about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), expanding the range of its fiber network business. Telecoms infrastructure has been a focus for takeover activity this year as countries invest in new networks. In one of […]
US economy adds 128,000 jobs in October despite lengthy GM strike
US employers added a solid 128,000 jobs in October, a figure that was held down by a now-settled strike against General Motors that caused several thousand workers to be temporarily counted as unemployed. The better-than-expected figures, together with upward revisions from two previous months, suggests a jobs market that could give consumers confidence to keep […]
Brexit – Sterling Slump or Boris Bump?
The B word. It has been a thorn in the side of the UK market and the UK (and likely even Global) citizen for nearly three years now. It has been accepted that we have an extension up until a January 31st deadline, now giving the UK Government 3 months to work on a deal. […]
Stronger-than-expected US jobs data boost stock markets – business live
The dollar has shrugged off its earlier weakness and risen on the US jobs data – which means the pound has lost ground against the greenback, and is now flat at $1.2945. It is still up 0.19% against the euro at €1.1629. Here is some instant reaction to the data. James Ingram, investment manager at […]
UPDATE 2-BNP Paribas takes Allfunds platform stake as fund managers cut costs
PARIS/LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) – French bank BNP Paribas has obtained a 22.5% stake in wealth management platform Allfunds in the latest sign of asset managers looking to trim costs in the face of rising regulatory expenses and pressure on fees from investors. Under the deal, for which financial terms were not announced, BNP Paribas […]
EDF warns UK nuclear plant could cost extra 2.9 billion pounds, shares tumble
PARIS (Reuters) – EDF warned on Wednesday that its Hinkley Point C nuclear plant in Britain could cost up to 2.9 billion pounds more than previously estimated, sending shares in the French power company sharply lower. EDF is already grappling with delays to the project, even longer delays at a plant in Finland, and investigations […]