Orascom interested in Telekom Srbija privatization
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Orascom Telecom Holding has expressed its interest in the privatization of Telekom Srbija. Belgrade confirmed the plan in March to auction a 40% stake in the telco in September 2010.
Government plan to list 15% of the company on the local bourse with a further 5% going to current and past employees has also been revealed.
A tender to select an adviser for the sale had been announced by Serbia’s finance ministry in April. As a criteria it opined that the adviser must be an investment bank (or a consortium comprising an investment bank) which has handled the sale of a telecoms company from Europe, the Middle East or the Commonwealth of Independent States in the last three years worth at least EUR500 million.
In the tender that closed on the May 10, 2010 Citigroup was reportedly the sole bidder. According to the Serbian government, it believes its 80% stake to be worth around EUR2.5 billion, which if correct would mean that it is expecting to raise around EUR1.25 billion when the sale takes place.
Spring Mobil 100% shares acquired by Tele2 Sweden
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 50% of shares have been acquired by Tele2 Sweden that it did not already own of GSM network operator Spring Mobil from Swefour. The deal approximately is worth SEK100 million (USD12.7 million) on a cash and debt free basis. The deal requires approval by the Swedish competition authority.
Spring Mobil specializes in the Swedish business market with integrated ‘One Phone’ communications solutions. The revenue of the company is around SEK206 million in 2009.
China Telecom launches LifePad
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: First third-generation tablet computer has been launched by China Telecom Corp to attract more users to its 3G services. The device has been named as LifePad. LifePad is made by China’s Mastone Communication & Electrical Development Co. and uses the Android operating system.
According to China Telecom Chief Executive Wang Xiaochu, the company is evaluating the market response to Apple Inc.’s iPad tablet computer before it holds any talks with the U.S. electronics firm on offering the product in China.
Some of the features of the LifePad are email, electronic book, stock trading and navigation software and several other pre-installed applications.
Microsoft superseded by Apple in market capitalization
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Microsoft Corp. has been superseded by Apple Inc to become the most valuable technology company on optimism the company will keep adding customers for its iPhone, Macintosh computer and iPad. Microsoft’s $219.2 billion has been surpassed by Apple’s market value that reached $222.1 billion.
The rise has made the computer maker turned mobile gadgeteer, the most valuable technology firm in the world. It is also the second-largest U.S. stock by market value, behind oil company Exxon Mobil Corp., valued at $278.6 billion on the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s profit almost doubled and sales soared 49 percent on demand for the iPhone and iPad too, contributed to the profit, which went on sale after the close of the quarter for the Cupertino, California-based company.
Apple’s CEO Steve Jobs after resuming leadership in 1997 took the company out of bankruptcy and since then, he has transformed it from the maker of Macintosh personal computers into a consumer electronics modernizer with the release of the iPod music player in 2001, the iPhone in 2007 and 2010 release of the iPad tablet.
The new financial readings mark a shift in the changing fortunes of two technology industry leaders. The world’s largest software maker, Microsoft received mixed success expanding beyond its stronghold Windows operating system business into new markets, including mobile phones, Web search and gaming apps. However, Microsoft has been extremely weak over the last month, underperforming other technology stocks and that’s really what’s analysts feel has moved Apple into the leading position in terms of market cap.
The third-quarter sales of Microsoft rose 6.3 percent to $14.5 billion and both profit and sales exceeded the average estimate of analysts. Meanwhile, analyst’s prediction of quick growth for Microsoft might take some because of unearned revenue and a measure of multiyear contracts.
Portugal Telecom might accept Telefonica offer if bid rises by $7b
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Portugal telecom has signaled that it might accept more than the 5.7 billion euros ($6.9 billion) on offer, thus bringing Telefonica SA an inch closer to clinching the purchase of the Portuguese company’s stake in their Brazilian joint venture. Earlier the company had described the bid as low and opportunistic and before that it called its stake in Vivo Participacoes SA, Brazil’s largest wireless operator, strategic, suggesting a sale wouldn’t be considered.
Telefonica Chairman Cesar Alierta has been trying to merge Vivo with Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo SA, or Telesp, the Spanish company’s fixed-line unit in Brazil and for this purpose; it has been trying to gain control of it since at least 2006. Telefonica even threatened to curb Portugal Telecom’s ability to pay dividends, seeking to force it to the negotiating table.
According to Chief Executive Officer Zeinal Bava yesterday, the current valuation Telefonica is putting on the Vivo asset is low, and it think it’s opportunistic, clearly taking advantage of the fact that southern Europe is having one of its worst crisis for the last three decades. However, even if Telefonica raise the price, taking over Vivo will be an uphill task. Telefonica is facing rivals in the form of Vivendi SA and America Movil, controlled by Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim, in Brazil, where it is seeking growth as demand at home cools.
Depending upon the performance by Vivo in 2009, Brasilcel is due to pay a dividend of €111m each to Telefonica and Portugal Telecom this year. Vivo had 30 percent of Brazil’s 179 million wireless subscriptions at the end of March and Vivo has driven revenue growth for Portugal Telecom as growth in Europe slows and competition increases at home.
In case the offer fails Portugal Telecom’s ability to secure Vivo dividend payments via Brasilcel might be blocked by Telefonica and this move has been called attempted blackmail by Portugal telecom.
Motorola to unveil brand new Droid products for Verizon (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: New smartphones under Verizon Wireless’s Droid line has been planned to be introduced by Motorola representing the carrier’s top-tier devices and typically benefit from a more aggressive marketing push. Verizon Wireless’s push at the end of last year for the original Droid phone benefitted Motorola but Motorola’s flagship device has been pushed aside with the launch of the Incredible from HTC Corp.
This has brought up so many issues like how the company remains competitive with so many other players in the market. According to Motorola Inc. co-CEO Sanjay Jha, size, brand and software provides it with the differentiation necessary to attract customers and added that the company will launch a new version of its Motoblur user interface later this year. He also noted that company has made tremendous progress in its transformation to a smartphone maker.
While touting the strong relationship that Motorola has with its carrier partners, Jha opined that the company is focused on ensuring that consumers like the devices, and that the company can ship its products in time. The company is also considering creating its own mobile operating system under certain conditions with all its focus on Android.
The constant revisions to Google Inc.’s Android software has been hailed as the biggest problem that the handset manufacturer has to face and these changes to the underlying framework of the software has made it difficult to upgrade quickly. Introducing Android 2.2 to phones is on the priority list of the firm and expects an aggressive launching since it will enable Flash on its phones. Installation of Flash is important for the customer’s Internet experience.
In the feature phone side, Jha also opined that he was managing the business for a modest profit, and that he sees the business stabilizing with more volume next year as it starts to benefit from its original equipment manufacturing deal. The production of low end phones has been outsourced by the company in an effort to maintain its brand in emerging markets and with a hope that customers from those countries will eventually buy a Motorola smartphone.
Carlos Slim spokesperson denies talks with Portugal Telecom
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Mexican billionaire and telecoms tycoon Carlos Slim’s spokesperson has rebuffed reports that Slim’s telecom company is in talks with the management and shareholders of Portugal Telecom to fend off a bid for the Portuguese company’s Brazilian wireless unit by Telefonica SA. According to Arturo Elias Ayub, the company is not talking to Portugal Telecom and has no interest in taking a relevant participation in Portugal Telecom; neither is it trying to block the Telefonica deal.
It has been reported by the local media that Slim owning less than 5% of Portugal Telecom has been in talks with Banco Espirito Santo, one of Portugal Telecom’s key shareholders, about how to block Telefonica’s EUR5.7 billion bid for its stake in Vivo Participacoes SA. Telefonica has been trying to merge Vivo with Telecomunicacoes de Sao Paulo SA, or Telesp, the Spanish company’s fixed-line unit in Brazil and for this purpose; it has been trying to gain control of it since at least 2006. Telefonica even threatened to curb Portugal Telecom’s ability to pay dividends, seeking to force it to the negotiating table.
Portugal Telecom on the other hand had described the bid as low and opportunistic and before that it called its stake in Vivo Participacoes SA, Brazil’s largest wireless operator, strategic, suggesting a sale wouldn’t be considered.
Slim owns America Movil SAB which is the largest mobile operator in the region with just over 206 million wireless subscribers in 17 countries in the Americas and also controls Mexico’s biggest fixed-line phone company Telefonos de Mexico SAB and South American fixed-line carrier Telmex Internacional SAB, or Telint.
Telefonica Spain and Slim directly compete in wireless and fixed-line telecommunications in most of the region’s countries and are arch rivals in Latin America. Cash and share tender had been launched by America Movil on May 11 to acquire holding company Carso Global Telecom SAB and Telint as part of Slim’s plan to consolidate his diverse telecommunications assets in a deal worth about 300 billion pesos ($23 billion).
Telecom New Zealand agrees for ‘voluntary’ structural separation
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A structural separation of the Telecom New Zealand wholesale and retail divisions has been suggested by the company’s CEO Paul Reynolds in order for Telecom NZ to be able to take part in the UFB tender process. UFB plan was suggested by the New Zealand government in early 2009 with a fund of NZD 1.5 billion to build broadband in the country. The aim of the plan was to connect 75 percent of homes in 25 cities to fibre within six years.
In March 2009, the plan was further developed with the establishment of the Crown Fibre Investment Company (CFIC), which is looking for co-investors in the 25 Local Fibre Companies (LFC) project. Wholesale only (no ISP role) and open access for service providers were the principles of the network. In September 2009, more elaborations to the plan came on board, as well as some delays.
Just like Telstra in Australia, Telecom New Zealand has been placed in a tough spot with the government plan: to participate or compete? Telecom NZ has ‘voluntarily’ suggested a possible structural separation as the government has set an inflexible demand of ‘wholesale only’. This arrangement has raised a major question that whether retail should be separated from the wholesale and network, or whether the network Chorus should be sold off.
Telecom NZ has been put into a difficult situation by the government as the cost and risks are considerably high and companies lose the existing synergies from vertical integration. However, among all these things, the benefits of structural separation have been ignored. With the removal of the market inequality, the incumbent is no longer the only one to enjoy the advantages of vertical integration and cross-subsidization. Secondly, it is difficult to compete with your customer and that is exactly what is going on between the retail and wholesale division.
