Independent News & Media (INM), the company which owns the Independent newspaper in the UK, is to sell its New Zealand news publishing operation Wilson & Horton to APN News & Media for NZ$1,500 million (€690 million). INM itself owns a 40% stake in APN. The restructuring will create one of the leading media companies… Continue reading Independent News & Media Sells New Zealand Publishing Group

According to press reports this morning WPP may engage in a legal challenge to overturn the decision of the Takeover Panel with regards to the attempted withdrawal of its bid for Tempus (see Takeover Panel Rules Against WPP). WPP chief executive Martin Sorrell is to face the full panel this week in order to put… Continue reading WPP May Consider Legal Action Over Tempus Bid

In its Q3 results, Vivendi Universal, revealed an upbeat outlook despite the gloomy ad climate which currently prevails. The company, Europe’s largest media group, has beaten Q3 forecasts and is on track to meet full year expectations. Q3 fell in line with the market; organic earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and ammortisation (EBITDA) grew by… Continue reading Vivendi On Track To Meet 2001 Earnings Targets

WPP has again extended its acquisition offer for UK media buying group Tempus, as the Takeover Panel considers the company’s appeal against the dismissal of the Material Adverse Change clause it was hoping to invoke (see Takeover Panel Rules Against WPP). WPP was hoping to withdraw from the agreed takeover offer on the grounds that… Continue reading WPP Extends Tempus Offer As Appeal Is Considered

In the current volatile and uncertain climate, media suppliers are faced with the difficult prospect of generating cost savings whilst cutting cost per thousands, according to Jack Myers, chief economist at Myers Reports. Myers says that the long-term strategies that corporations were building as recently as 1998 – pre dotcom boom – were based on… Continue reading Media Companies Caught Between Need For Investment And Falling Revenues, Say Myers

According to Forrester Research, declines in the tech sector will arrest during Q3 2002 and an upturn will begin in 2003. However, double-digit rises will not be visible until 2004 when growth will reach around 12%. “Forrester estimates that 12% of the IT sector’s volume in 2000 represented overspending, which amounts to a hefty $62… Continue reading Tech Market Will Recover In 2003, Says Forrester

Despite the fact that there are well over 6,000 ISPs operating in the US, 65% of all access revenues in 2000 were generated by the top ten providers, according to Cahners In-Stat. Cahners forecasts that the weak economy will result in some of the smaller companies being unable to compete and that they will go… Continue reading US ISP Market Will Consolidate Further, Says Cahners In-Stat

There is a ‘significant risk’ that the advertising recovery could be delayed until the second half of 2002, according to a report by analysts at ABN Amro, released on last week. The broker predicts that globally ad revenues will decline by 2% next year, following the 5.3% decline of this year. The first half of… Continue reading Structural Erosion Of Ad Market Will Dampen Recovery, Says ABN

According to Cahners In-Stat, the market for resdiential DSL services will grow considerably over the next five years despite a slump in H2 2001. “Even though the residential DSL market slowed significantly after the first quarter of 2000, residential DSL broadband access services are becoming increasingly available in the home as providers are able to… Continue reading DSL Market Set For ‘Considerable’ Growth Over Next Five Years, Says Cahners In-Stat

German media group, Bertelsmann, may be interested in making a takeover bid for the UK’s Carlton Communications, according to a report in yesterday’s Observer newspaper. The article claims that the two companies have held ‘informal discussions’ recently, but that there are no ongoing negotiations. Bertelsmann is currently prevented from tying up with the ITV giant,… Continue reading Bertelsmann Looks At Carlton Merger, Says Report