WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
SUN VALLEY SET TO CONSIDER PAID CONTENT
A debate over paid content that has riven the newspaper business and spread across the rest of the media sector is expected to frame discussions at the annual confab of media and technology power brokers and entrepreneurs in Sun Valley this week. The US recession has forced media chieftains to revisit the free-versus-paid argument over content and services.
KKR SELLS HALF OF ORIENTAL BREWERY
Kohlberg Kravis Roberts has offloaded half of the equity in South Korea’s Oriental Brewery just weeks after agreeing a $1.8bn takeover of the company, according to people familiar with the matter. The US private equity firm has struck a deal to hand over a 50 per cent stake in Oriental to Affinity Equity Partners, an Asia-focused private equity fund, in return for a payment of $400m.
SAMSUNG IS BULLISH ON TECH RECOVERY
Samsung Electronics, the world’s biggest maker of memory chips and liquid crystal display screens, signalled on Monday that it might be emerging from the downturn in the technology sector as it forecast a fivefold jump in second-quarter operating profit.
EMC RAISES OFFER FOR DATA DOMAIN
EMC upped the ante in the battle for Data Domain on Monday, offering $2.4bn, or $33.50 a share, for the innovative data storage company that had agreed to be purchased by NetApp. The bidding war, a rare phenomenon for the technology industry, reflects the perception that Data Domain’s technology will be especially important as the storage industry evolves.
THE TIMES
TAXI WAR LOOMS AT HEATHROW OVER MINICAB PLAN
BAA has incurred the wrath of black cab drivers in London by striking a deal to allow a minicab company to pick up passengers at Heathrow. The deal will allow Addison Lee and One Transport to operate a booking service directly from the airport, prompting cabbies to threaten a blockade of Heathrow over what they call an unacceptable encroachment of minicabs on to their lucrative turf
BASF TO CUT 3,700 JOBS AFTER CIBA TAKEOVER
BASF, the German chemicals groups, is to axe 3,700 jobs as part of the integration of Ciba. The company plans to close 23 out of 55 of the Swiss Group’s production plants and will consolidate 36 of its 70 sales, administration and research sites into its own operations.
The Daily Telegraph
CHINESE OFFICIALS CALL FOR END TO DOLLAR’S GLOBAL DOMINANCE
Chinese officials claim the global financial crisis has highlighted the weaknesses of having a dollar-led global economy. The current international monetary system is “unreasonable” and the dollar should eventually be displaced, even if it takes many years, according to reports yesterday which quoted Li Ruogu, chairman of the Export-Import Bank of China.
XSTRATA SHOULD RAISE OFFER FOR ANGLO-AMERICAN, SAYS OLD MUTUAL
Old Mutual, one of Anglo-American’s major shareholders, has challenged Xstrata to raise its offer for the mining giant. Old Mutual, which owns 3 per cent of the South African and UK listed company, said Anglo’s board should only look at a bid if the offer were to be improved to reflect its valuable assets.
WALL STREET JOURNAL
DISCOVER FINANCIAL LAUNCHES $500M STOCK OFFERING
Discover Financial Services (DFS) has launched a $500 million stock offering and is planning to offer senior notes in the near future. Some of the stock-offering proceeds may go toward buying back preferred stock issued under the US Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program.
CHINA’S CIC GOES GLOBAL WITH BOARD OF ADVISERS
China Investment Corporation has appointed an international advisory board of experts that the sovereign-wealth fund can consult with about its growing investments abroad. The committee met on Sunday following CIC’s announcement of its first publicly disclosed investment in the natural-resources sector, a 17.2 per cent stake it bought for $1.5bn in Canadian miner Teck Resources.