Thursday, 22 June 2017 06:11
Amazon to acquire Whole Foods Market for $13.7 billion
E-commerce giant Amazon and Whole Foods Market, Inc., a leading natural and organic foods supermarket, announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire Whole Foods Market for $42 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $13.7 billion, including Whole Foods Market’s net debt. “Millions of people love Whole Foods Market because they offer the best natural and organic foods, and they make it fun to eat healthy,” said Jeff Bezos, Amazon …
Tuesday, 13 June 2017 07:49
Yahoo stockholders approve sale of Yahoo's operating business to Verizon
Yahoo! Inc. announced the preliminary results of its special meeting of stockholders held on June 8. Yahoo stockholders approved the previously announced proposed $4.48 billion sale of the company's operating business to Verizon Communications Inc. Yahoo anticipates that the sale transaction will close on June 13, 2017. As previously announced, following the closing of the sale transaction, the company will change its name to "Altaba Inc." and register as an investment company. Following the shocking announcement made by Yahoo last…
Tuesday, 13 June 2017 07:08
SoftBank announces agreement to acquire Boston Dynamics from Alphabet Inc.
Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp announced a subsidiary of SoftBank has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire robotics pioneer Boston Dynamics from Alphabet Inc (parent company of Google). The transaction aligns with SoftBank's investments in paradigm-shifting technologies and its vision of catalyzing the next wave of smart robotics. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. “Today, there are many issues we still cannot solve by ourselves with human capabilities. Smart robotics are going to be a key driver of…
Tuesday, 13 June 2017 06:30
Amazon lent more than $1bn to small businesses in last 12 months
Amazon announced Amazon Lending surpassed $3 billion in loans to small businesses to date since the program launched in 2011. Amazon Lending offers short-term business loans, for up to 12 months, to invited micro, small and medium businesses selling on Amazon to help them grow their business. With access to more than 300 million active customer accounts worldwide, Amazon provides small businesses the opportunity to quickly reach customers in their neighborhood and around the globe. “We created Amazon Lending to…
Tuesday, 06 June 2017 06:24
Qualcomm extends cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of NXP
Qualcomm Incorporated announced that Qualcomm River Holdings B.V., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, has extended the offering period of its previously announced cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding common shares of NXP Semiconductors N.V. The tender offer is being made pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, dated as of October 27, 2016, by and between Qualcomm River Holdings B.V. and NXP. The tender offer is now scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time,…
Sunday, 28 May 2017 09:14
STC announces largest technology venture capital fund in the Middle East
Saudi Arabian telecoms giant Saudi Telecom Company (STC) announced the establishment of STV, a technology venture capital fund that aims to achieve its strategic growth aspirations and to help realize Vision 2030’s technological ambitions by investing in new digital areas and by growing the digital innovation ecosystem in the region. STC believes the Middle East is witnessing a digital transformation that is full of opportunities in the digital economy and digital industries, and that the future involves drastic changes that…
Sunday, 28 May 2017 05:05
Lenovo Group reports Q4 profit despite ‘five quarters of decline’
China’s Lenovo Group announced results on Thursday May 25, for its fourth fiscal quarter and full-year ended March 31, 2017. It was a year of significant transformation for Lenovo which made good progress in implementing and executing its new “three-wave strategy,” designed to meet the critical business challenges of today, while positioning the company for continued long-term profitable growth. As part of Lenovo’s transformation, the company put in place an aggressive new end-to-end ownership model to manage each business differently,…
Tuesday, 23 May 2017 08:28
Vodafone transfers a 35% interest in Safaricom to Vodacom
Vodafone Group announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Vodafone International Holdings B.V. (“Vodafone”), has agreed to transfer part of its indirect shareholding in Safaricom Limited (“Safaricom”) to Vodacom Group Limited (“Vodacom”), its sub-Saharan African subsidiary. Based on the agreed terms of the transaction, Vodafone will be exchanging a 35% indirect interest in Safaricom for 226.8 million new ordinary Vodacom shares. The transaction, which has a value of €2,361 million based on Vodacom’s closing share price on Friday 12 May 2017, will…
Thursday, 11 May 2017 11:27
LG reports highest quarterly operating income in eight years
LG Electronics Inc. (LG) announced first-quarter 2017 revenue of KRW 14.66 trillion (USD 12.70 billion), an increase of 9.7 percent from the same period last year. LG nearly doubled its operating income to KRW 921.5 billion (USD 798.3 million) with the Home Appliance & Air Solutions Company posting its highest quarterly operating income in eight years. LG Home Appliance & Air Solution Company reported a 10 percent increase in first-quarter sales from the same period a year earlier and 15…
Monday, 08 May 2017 10:02
Apple reports $52.9 billion quarterly revenue for its fiscal 2017 Q2
Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2017 second quarter ended April 1, 2017. The company posted quarterly revenue of $52.9 billion and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $2.10. These results compare to revenue of $50.6 billion and earnings per diluted share of $1.90 in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 65 percent of the quarter’s revenue. “We are proud to report a strong March quarter, with revenue growth accelerating from the December quarter and continued robust demand…
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Monday, 08 May 2017 09:06
Facebook ‘closing the gap on TV advertising’ says study
Facebook is “closing the gap on TV advertising” according to an Ampere Analysis study, with the average Facebook user soon to be worth more than an average TV viewer. The study suggests that the average revenue generated per user by Facebook advertising has increased 6x in North America and 4x in Europe in the past five years. The findings from the study place Facebook’s advertising influence behind Google, which is closest to TV on the ARPU (average revenue per user)…
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Monday, 08 May 2017 08:37
Sony Mobile achieves profitability goals this year
Sony Mobile Communications has shown strong global financial performance by reporting a profit of 10.2 Billion Yen (US$ 91 Million) this year, as per financial results from the company. Continuing its growth trend, Sony Mobile expects to increase annual smartphone unit sales by 1.9 million year-on-year, mainly in the Middle East and Europe, to 16.5 million units. Sales revenue is expected to increase 8 per cent year-on-year to 820 Billion Yen, which will be a record operating income for Sony…
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