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In the papers 24 September
Monday, September 24 2001
by Paula Mythen


Valentia has extended its deadline on its offer for Eircom | France Telecom makes
a bid for the broadcast transmission business owned by NTL



Both the Irish Times and the Irish Independent report that Valentia has extended
its deadline on its offer for Eircom after it failed to garner the required 80
percent level of acceptances by Friday last. The consortium said it had received
acceptances representing 70.52 percent of Eircom share capital by the first
deadline. Eircom shareholders will start to receive payment for their Eircom
shares about two weeks after the deal goes unconditional. 





The Irish Times also reports that the row between Eircom and Etain Doyle over its
pricing of access to the high-speed Internet infrastructure represents the latest
in a line of disagreements. Last week the regulator asked for more information on
the company's proposed pricing structure and although the company did publicly
object to providing such material it did comply. If Doyle and her officials
decide on the basis of the new information that Eircom's prices are justified,
then that will be the end of the matter. However, if not then Eircom is preparing
to do battle, having already mentioned that the company will be forced to
instigate legal proceedings against the ODTR. 





The Irish Examiner reports that Eurologic Systems, a provider of network storage
technology, has this month launched its third generation product, a 2 Gigabit per
second fibre channel network storage system. Future plans include developing new
markets in the Far East and Europe as well as increasing market penetration in
the US. 





The Financial Times reports that France Telecom is one of three bidders for the
broadcast transmission business owned by NTL. The company is understood to be in
talks with private equity groups about structuring an offer. However, NTL has
also received two rival bids, believed to be from financial buyers. These bids
contain higher cash elements than the offer proposed by France Telecom. NTL hopes
to sell its tower business for between STG1.2 billion and STG1.6 billion. The
division's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation were
STG100 million in 2000. 





The same paper also reports that AT&T and BT are in discussions about how to end
Concert, their loss making joint venture. It is anticipated that the partners
will agree to divide Concert's assets between themselves, rather than disposing
of the operation through a trade sale or making any further investment in the
venture. 





The Wall Street Journal reports that the Interactive Advertising Bureau's new
study shows that ad revenue fell 7.8 percent during the first six months of this
year. The group said advertisers spent USD3.76 billion total on Internet ads
during the six months, down from an outlay of USD4.08 billion for the first half
of 2000. The study also said that the top 10 media companies took in about 76
percent of the ad revenue for the first half. The banner ad is still the most
popular on-line-ad format, though its popularity is slipping. About 36 percent of
the ad revenue came from banner ads during the first half of the year, down from
51 percent for the year-earlier period, the IAB said. 





As the world's economy faces tremendous turmoil, the Sunday Times reports on the
status of the economy on a sector by sector basis. According to the newspaper,
the slowdown in the technology sector will see many companies slash budgets and
the paper predicts more closures and takeovers in the coming weeks. 





The Sunday Business Post reports that Dublin Corporation plans to launch a new
Internet portal in October (www.dublin.ie) to provide users with access to
government information, local businesses and community services. The project is
expected to take five years to fully develop but will be available through
set-top boxes on televisions within a year. 





The same paper reports that Internet trading company Marrakech raised almost
USD1.8 million from share sales to customers of its global commerce network in
recent months, according to papers filed at the Companies Registration Office.
The newspaper says that the company raised the money in June by selling shares
mainly to Mexican companies. 





The Sunday Business Post also reports on recent speculation that Independent News
& Media may make a bid for the shares in iTouch that it does not already own.
Independent Group already owns a major stake in the mobile services company and
with the recent collapse in iTouch's share price, from STG0.70 to STG0.165, the
media company could take full control of iTouch. Such a move would give the
Independent Group access to iTouch's STG40 million in cash reserves. 





The same paper reports that Buy4now, the on-line retail Web site backed by
Eircom, Superquinn and Heiton Holdings, lost almost EUR2.2 million last year. The
paper was unable to report on the company's revenue in the year but said Buy4now
is predicted to be profitable by the middle of next year. 





The same paper reports that Zamano, the Dublin wireless software company behind
Digifone's SmartAss game, is expected to launch a similar deal with a European
operator in the coming weeks. 





The Sunday Tribune reports that Setanta.com, the new media arm of the sports
publishing company, has pulled out of on-line publishing because it says there is
no viable business model for it. A joint venture with Press Association had been
on a six-month trial, but now it will not be turned into a full business. The
company said it would now concentrate on WAP and SMS sports news, as well as
other off-line ventures. 





The Sunday Independent reports that Prism Holdings, a publicly quoted South
African technology firm, will move its international operations to Dublin. Prism
works in many of the same areas as troubled e-security firm Baltimore
Technologies, prompting many to speculate that the company may be looking to
acquire some of Baltimore's non-core assets.