SatelliteFinance
MediaFinance
LuxuryFinance
ICELAND: DNA ends Elisa stake talk
Finnish telecoms operator DNA has ended negotiations to buy 10% of Elisa from Icelandic investment firm Novator, Reuters reports....
IRAQ: Etisalat names Iraq target
The UAE's leading telecoms operator Etisalat is to buy a stake in Kurdish operator Korek Telecom, according to Middle East Business Intelligence....
SAFRICA: Telkom backs Vodafone"s E1.7bn offer
Telkom's board and the South African government announced their support for Vodafone's bid to increase its stake in Vodacom from 50% to 65% for R22.5bn (E1.7bn). The news is a breakthrough for the UK telecoms firm, which has been in talks to buy part...
INDIA: MTN eyes Aircel
South African telco MTN is in talks with India's Aircel regarding a stake acquisition, according to The Economic Times....
THAILAND: TT&T suspend investment plans
Fixed-line Thai telco TT&T has suspended a US$1.5bn investment plan due to turbulent market conditions. TT&T executive vice president Prasitchai Kritsanayunyong said the firm will postpone its 3G and other investment plans due to the difficulty of ra...
USA: Verizon to divest
Verizon Wireless has offered to divest airwaves in 15 separate markets in relation to its talks with the Justice Department....
GLOBAL: Truphone names new CEO
UK-based mobile network operator Truphone has appointed Geraldine Wilson as its new CEO....
GERMANY: EXCLUSIVE: Pepcom up for sale
German cable group Pepcom is up for sale, TelecomFinance understands....
AUSTRIA: EXCLUSIVE: B.net on block
B.net has started a process to sell its cable operations in Austria and Croatia, a source told TelecomFinance....
FRANCE: Adviser confirms 3G licence refund
An adviser to the EU's Court of Justice has recommended the confirmation of an EU court decision dismissing Bouygues Telecom's claim that France granted state aid to Vivendi and France Telecom in reducing the price of their UMTS licences....
ITALY: Tiscali: Renato Suru holding slashed
Tiscali's leading shareholder Renato Soru's stake in the Italian ISP has been cut from 21.6% to 15%, after JPMorgan Chase sold shares following the breach of covenants on a loan, reports Milano Finanza....
CZECHREPUBLIC: EXCLUSIVE: Honeymoon over for private equity suitors
The sale of Czech search engine Seznam is still on the cards, banking sources tell TelecomFinance. Russian investor Digital Sky Technologies (DST), they say, is now looking like the most likely buyer....
CROATIA: Bonus T-HT share
Croatian citizens who have bought shares in the IPO of telecoms incumbent T-Hrvatski Telekom received one bonus share for each ten shares on October 6....
CHINA: Huawei stake sale hits the rocks
Huawei has cancelled its plans to sell a stake in its US$3.5bn valued mobile division due to turbulent market conditions, according to a several reports....
CHINA: NTT picks up satellite
NTT Com Asia has acquired China's APT Satellite Telecommunications from Skywork and Singasat for US$21m....
USA: Sprint Nextel: interest in Nextel, Clearwire merger this year
Sprint Nextel's CEO Dan Hesse has confirmed that the US mobile operator had received "significant interest" from potential buyers of its Nextel iDen push-to-talk network, reports the FT. That said, any bidder with a need to raise capital to complete ...
ITALY: Telecom Italia faces more bad news
Telecom Italia shares have dropped to E0.87, dangerously close to a level that would force its controlling shareholder to use its stake as a collateral on debt....
GERMANY: Deutsche Telekom: no need for more refinancing
A spokesperson for Deutsche Telekom has told Dow Jones that the operator will not suffer from the financial crisis, and that it is on track to deliver 2008 targets....
HUNGARY: TDC suspends HTCC sale process
Denmark's TDC has decided to put the sale of its Hungarian fixed-line subsidiary HTCC on hold due to poor market conditions....
RUSSIA: Telenor committed to Russia
Telenor does not plan to lower its stake in Russian operator VimpelCom, Telenor Russia's head Kjell-Morten Johnsen was quoted saying in Reuters....