Europe draws eyes of buyers
The $15.3 billion purchase of TDC, the largest Danish phone company, by Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is leading a record year for European buyouts.
The takeover, also led by Apax Partners Worldwide, Permira Advisers and Providence Equity Partners, is the biggest European move by a group of buyout firms. The deal, announced on Wednesday, increases the value of takeovers announced by firms in Europe this year to $112 billion, compared with $80 billion in all of 2004.
Despite slower economic growth in Europe than in the United States, private equity firms are being drawn to the Continent by low interest rates and recovering stock markets, which recovering stock markets, which generate increased profits from asset sales. A trend toward loosening regulations in favor of business also is encouraging deals. The private-equity industry has raised $115 billion this year, up about 50 percent from last year, according to Private Equity Intelligence in London. Three of the world’s four biggest buyouts were announced in 2005.
More: iht.com
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Da Vinci Code Draws Boos and Yawns From Europes Film Critics
The Da Vinci Code, the 2 1/2-hour adaptation of Dan Browns bestseller, drew sneers from Europes film critics a day before its release to audiences worldwide.
It was a very bizarre, very silly beginning to the festival, wrote the Guardians Peter Bradshaw, one of dozens of critics invited to a preview before the film opened the Cannes Film Festival yesterday.
Bradshaw said that during the screening, the closing revelations received a storm of incredulous laughter and the owl-like hooting that French audiences use to express derision.
More: bloomberg.com
Dubai Ports eyes India, Europe for growth
Dubai Ports World said on Tuesday it hoped to expand in Asia, particularly India, and Europe following its acquisition of P&O.
"Asia, in particular India, is an opportunity ... as well as Europe," D P World Chairman Ahmed Bin Sulayem told reporters on a conference call when asked about the group's focus for future expansion.
Dubai Ports earlier announced a 3.3 billion pound ($5.64 billion) takeover bid for Britain's P&O.
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MTNL eyes east Europe, BSNL broadband
As the Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd (MTNL) enlarges its footprint in east European countries on the GSM platform, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) is planning to invest Rs 1,500 crore to expand its broadband service to 1,000 more cities.
BSNL is also carrying out trials for its Wi-MAX services in six cities and four towns.
MTNL officials said the company would bid for GSM licences, when they open up, in some countries in eastern Europe. These countries include Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia and Ukraine.
BSNL will expand
Europe Warily Eyes Sharon's Situation
European leaders on Thursday fretted over the fate of Ariel Sharon, a man once seen in Europe as a danger for the Middle East but now viewed as a more complex, even crucial figure.
The concerns reflect a subtle shift in Europe - where there has been surprised admiration for Sharon's dismantling of settlements, satisfaction with the role now played by Europeans on the Gaza-Egypt border, and a growing wariness with the Islamic world.
``Ariel Sharon plays a particularly important role in the quest for lasting peace in the Middle East,'' Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel said
Gold edges up in Europe, further gains seen likely
Gold held its firm tone in Europe to touch a two-week high in thin trade on Wednesday, with funds and investors seen pushing the market higher in 2006, dealers said.
The metal jumped 4.4 percent in a week to cross a key level of $510 an ounce on Wednesday, but might face resistance from buyers above $515 in the near term, they said. Gold might target this month’s near-25-year high of $540.90 early next year.
“The market is going to stay pretty thin in the coming days. I think we are
