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☆ Vodafone and Three merger faces scrutiny from competition regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Paul Sandle | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The $19 billion tie-up will be scrutinised by Britain's Competition and Markets Authority, the antitrust regulator which made global headlines in April when it blocked Microsoft's $69 billion acquisition of "Call of Duty" maker Activision Blizzard. The long-awaited mobile deal reduces the number of networks from four to three, challenging a tenet long held by regulators that four help to keep prices low in major markets. "The government's desire to make the UK a 5G powerhouse requires a lot of investment," he said. One London-based investment banker, who declined to be named, said he put the chance of the deal receiving the green light from regulators at 50%. A major telecoms investor said the deal could be approved, but only with strong remedies, and that could risk undermining its rationale.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Activision Blizzard, Hutchison, Paolo Pescatore, Peter Broadhurst, Moring, James Gray, Sarah Cardell, Robert Finnegan, Gray, Paul Sandle, Amy, Jo Crowley, Sinead Cruise, Kate Holton, Emelia Organizations: Microsoft, Activision, Hutchison, O2, Vodafone, CK, HK, Britain's Competition, Markets Authority, Ofcom, European Commission, Foresight, Hutchison's, UK plc, Victoria, Crowell, CMA, Reuters, National Security and Investment, Britain's, Tesco Mobile, Telefonica, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, Britain, Europe, China, London, Germany

☆ Factbox: Vodafone, Hutchison UK merger to create country's largest mobile operator
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 14 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) and CK Hutchison (0001.HK) unveiled the merger of their British operations, creating the country's largest mobile operator. Hutchison will own 49% and Vodafone 51% of the combined group, which will be led by current Vodafone UK boss Ahmed Essam. REVENUEUK represented 14% of group service revenue for Vodafone, and 16% of total revenue for Hutchison, according to latest annual results. RETAIL STORESThree has 311 retail stores in UK, according to its website, while Vodafone UK had 410 stores as of January. SPECTRUMVodafone has spectrum access between 3720-3760 MHz, while Three UK has access between 3460-3480 MHz, according to British telecoms regulator Ofcom.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Hutchison, Ahmed Essam, Eva Mathews Organizations: Vodafone, CK, HK, Hutchison, Ofcom, BT Group, O2, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

[1/2] Vodafone Group CEO Margherita Della Valle poses in this undated handout picture obtained by Reuters on May 16, 2023. "For Vodafone this transaction is a game changer in our home market," Della Valle, a 29-year company veteran, told reporters. That is likely to take time, but Kester Mann, a director at CCS Insight, said the British announcement would give Della Valle a boost. "She has shown clear intent to make changes at Vodafone as she bids to turn the embattled company's performance around," he said. "Securing approval for a tie-up with (Hutchison's) Three would be a major boost to her early tenure."

Persons: Margherita Della Valle, Della Valle, CK Hutchison, Nick Read, Kester Mann, Kate Holton, Sinead Cruise, Emelia Sithole Organizations: Vodafone, Reuters, Handout, REUTERS, HK, CCS Insight, Thomson Locations: Britain, Hong Kong, Germany, Spain, Italy, British

Vodafone and CK Hutchison, which owns the Three UK mobile network, agreed to merge their U.K. businesses, following talks that have been ongoing since last year, the companies said Wednesday. Vodafone will own 51% of the combined business, leaving CK Hutchison the minority stake. "This long-awaited mega merger represents the biggest shake-up in the UK mobile market for over a decade," Kester Mann, director for consumer and connectivity at CCS Insight said in emailed comments. Current Vodafone UK CEO Ahmed Essam will lead the new enterprise, while the present Three UK Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Darren Purkis will assume the CFO position at the merged business. BT acquired EE in 2016, while Telefonica and Liberty Global launched Virgin Media O2 in 2021.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Kester Mann, Ahmed Essam, Darren Purkis, Nick Read, Margherita Della Valle Organizations: Vodafone, CK, CK Hutchison, Insight, BT, Virgin Media O2, EE, O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, Markets Authority, CMA, Activision Blizzard

☆ Stocks making the biggest moves premarket: Toyota, AMD, Shell, UnitedHealth and more
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-14 | by ( Michelle Fox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Toyota cars are displayed on the sales lot at Toyota Marin in San Rafael, California, May 11, 2022. Check out the companies making the biggest moves in premarket trading. Vodafone — The cellphone network added nearly 3% in premarket trading after Vodafone and CK Hutchison agreed to merge their U.K. businesses. Shell — The European oil stock was up 2.3% after Shell boosted its dividend and share buybacks and said it would keep oil production steady until 2030. SoFi Technologies — Shares added 3.25% premarket.

Persons: Akio Toyoda, Bracken Darrell, CK Hutchison, UnitedHealth, John Rex, BTIG, — CNBC's Hakyung Kim, Jesse Pound Organizations: Toyota, Toyota Marin, Logitech, Citi, Vodafone, CK, Devices, Amazon, Services, Reuters, Humana, Lumen Technologies, Google, Microsoft, Shell, SoFi Locations: San Rafael , California, Japan

Under the terms, Vodafone will own 51% and Hutchison 49% of the combined group, which will be led by current Vodafone UK boss Ahmed Essam. The finance chief of Hutchison's Three UK, Darren Purkis, will take the same role in the new group. The combined operator will have about 27 million customers, overtaking BT's (BT.L) EE and VM O2, jointly owned by Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Liberty Global (LBTYA.O). Vodafone, which is currently Britain's third-biggest mobile operator, and fourth-placed Hutchison will have options which would allow Vodafone to acquire the Hong Kong-based conglomerate's 49% stake in the future. Shares in Vodafone, which fell to a 25-year low of 71 pence on Tuesday, rose 3.6% after the deal was announced.

Persons: CK Hutchison, Canning Fok, Ahmed Essam, Darren Purkis, Hutchison, Vodafone's Essam, Robert Finnegan, Gail Cartmail, Paul Sandle, Clare Jim, Kate Holton, Sharon Singleton, Kirsten Donovan Organizations: Vodafone, CK, HK, Hutchison, Hutchison's, BT's, VM O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, Britain's Competition, Markets Authority, CMA, Unite, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, Britain, Hong Kong, China, London

☆ Exclusive: Vodafone and Hutchison to announce UK merger as soon as Friday
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/2] FILE PHOTO: The company logo of CK Hutchison Holdings is displayed at a news conference in Hong Kong, China March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Bobby YipHONG KONG/LONDON, June 7 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) and CK Hutchison (0001.HK) are in the final stages of agreeing to merge their British operations, with a long-awaited announcement expected as soon as Friday or early next week, three sources have told Reuters. Including debt the deal could be valued at around 15 billion pounds ($18.6 billion), according to analysts. The deal will face intense scrutiny from regulators who have previously opposed deals that reduce the number of networks in major markets from four to three. ($1 = 0.8061 pounds)Reporting by Clare Jim in Hong Kong and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Kate HoltonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Bobby Yip HONG, CK Hutchison, Hutchison, Clare Jim, Paul Sandle, Kate Holton Organizations: CK Hutchison Holdings, REUTERS, Vodafone, CK, HK, Reuters, British, Hutchison, BT's, VM O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, Thomson Locations: Hong Kong, China, Bobby Yip HONG KONG, London

☆ IBA wants boxing in Olympics but will not be run by third parties - Kremlev
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Karolos Grohmann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

PARIS, June 6 (Reuters) - Boxing must stay in the Olympic Games and the International Boxing Association (IBA) will do everything for it to happen but the sport also wants respect and will not be run by third parties, IBA President Umar Kremlev said. "The current crisis situation and the past scandals were all situations created by the member of the IOC, Mr CK Wu." The IOC has not sanctioned CK Wu, who in 2020 resigned from the Olympic body citing medical reasons. According to the IBA report, repeated efforts by IBA officials to meet with IOC officials were ignored. We would like the IOC to also achieve this principle of becoming the home of the Olympic movement," Kremlev said.

Persons: Umar Kremlev, Kremlev, Thomas Bach, CK Wu, Wu, Taiwan's Wu, Karolos Grohmann, Ken Ferris Organizations: Olympic Games, International Boxing Association, Reuters, IBA, IOC, AIBA, CK, Gazprom, Thomson Locations: Los, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Russian

☆ Exclusive: Olympics-IBA says has met reform criteria, accuses IOC of intransigence
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-05 | by ( Karolos Grohmann | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

PARIS, June 5 (Reuters) - With boxing teetering on the brink of Olympic elimination, the International Boxing Association (IBA) told the International Olympic Committee it had met its reform criteria and any ban lacked legal basis. "IBA did its best to eliminate IOC’s concern on IBA’s different areas of work and to improve them, such as finances, governance and sports integrity," the IBA report said. "It is necessary to remind that CK Wu at that time was an IOC member, and it is completely wrong that IBA bears full responsibility for the wrongdoings of the IOC member," the IBA said. "The IOC surpassed IBA completely and contacted the officials without prior agreement of data sharing between the two entities." "Withdrawal of the IBA’s full recognition by the IOC will be not justified, fair and legally correct decision," it said.

Persons: Umar Kremlev, CK Wu, Karolos, Christian Radnedge Organizations: International Boxing Association, International Olympic, IOC, Reuters, IBA, Paris, Gazprom, International Federation, Olympic Games, Thomson Locations: Los, India, Ukraine, Paris

☆ Casey DeSantis' mission on the 2024 campaign trail is to bring suburban women back to the GOP after Trump lost them
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Ron DeSantis' wife, Casey DeSantis, is a chief confidant key to his political rise. He finished boasting about his "Florida Blueprint," and then his wife, Florida first lady Casey DeSantis, glided onstage. In the geography was Casey DeSantis' autobiography: raised in Troy, Ohio, and college-educated at the University of Charleston. As Florida's first lady, Casey DeSantis' initiatives included childhood emotional resiliency, child welfare, and — as a breast-cancer survivor herself — cancer research. "They did not want woke ideology shoved down the throats of their five years olds while they were in school," Casey DeSantis said.

☆ The DeSantis campaign will test whether Casey DeSantis can bring suburban women back to the GOP after Trump lost them
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

☆ Telco tycoons’ UK bets look stuck underwater
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Pamela Barbaglia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Set those complications aside, however, and his stake-building may have cost about 4.2 billion pounds overall since 2021. That’s according to Breakingviews calculations which use the share price from the day before each stake increase became public. The holding is now worth 3.6 billion pounds, implying a nearly 560 million pound or 13% loss. That’s mild compared with some of Vodafone’s investors. But UK consolidation would hardly move the needle as Vodafone is haggling to retain control of the merged entity.

☆ Exclusive: Malaysian tycoon weighs selling a stake in $2.7 bln port business -sources
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Yantoultra Ngui | Thomson Reuters | Yantoultra Ngui Is A Southeast Asia Deals Correspondent With Reuters In Singapore | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

His conglomerate MMC Corp may sell a stake of up to 30% in MMC Ports, said one of the people, adding that financial investors and companies have approached MMC Corp about their interest in the ports business. A sale could be a precursor to a potential MMC Ports listing on the Malaysian stock exchange in a few years, said the sources. MMC Corp and MMC Ports did not respond to requests seeking comment. MMC Ports has seven ports in Malaysia - Port of Tanjung Pelepas, Johor Port, Northport, Penang Port, Tanjung Bruas Port, SPT Services and Andaman Port, according to its website. MMC Corp also owns stakes in Malaysia's largest independent power producer Malakoff Corp (MALA.KL) and the country's only supplier of reticulated natural gas in Peninsular Malaysia, Gas Malaysia (GASM.KL).

☆ Vodafone shares drop 4% after record 11,000 jobs cut as CEO says telco 'must change'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Vodafone announced plans to cut 11,000 jobs as part of a turnaround plan from the company's newly-appointed CEO Margherita Della Valle. Vodafone shares fell as much as 4% on Tuesday, after the British telecommunications firm announced plans to slash a record number of jobs and forecast a drop in free cash flow. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change," recently appointed CEO Margherita Della Valle said in a candid statement on Tuesday. Vodafone reported 45.7 billion euros ($49.7 billion) in revenues for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2023, roughly unchanged versus the previous year. "What is going to change is the level of ambition, speed, [and] decisiveness of execution," Della Valle said in a recorded video on Tuesday.

☆ British investment minister visits Hong Kong, first official visit in 5 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, May 9 (Reuters) - Britain's Minister for Investment Dominic Johnson said he held a series of meetings with government officials and executives in Hong Kong on Monday, the first official visit from a senior British official to the city in five years. Johnson's visit comes after relations between Britain and Hong Kong have been increasingly strained since 2020 when Beijing imposed a national security law in the former colony. Johnson said he was in Hong Kong to promote the United Kingdom as a leading destination for investment and trade. "Hong Kong is one of the world's leading international financial centres and we have shared interests from financial services to infrastructure to sustainability," he wrote on Twitter. He is due to leave Hong Kong on Tuesday.

☆ Vodafone, CK Hutchison set to unveil 15 bln pounds UK mobile tie-up - FT
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 4 (Reuters) - Vodafone (VOD.L) and CK Hutchison (0001.HK) are close to agreeing to a 15 billion pounds (about $19 billion) combination of their UK telecoms businesses that would create the country's biggest mobile operator, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The deal will value the equity of the combined group at about 9 billion pounds, with roughly 6 billion pounds of debt, the FT said, citing three people familiar with the matter. The combination could also enable Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison to withdraw from the UK telecoms market, the newspaper added. Vodafone and CK Hutchison did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment. ($1 = 0.7948 pounds)Reporting by Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How Vodafone-Three can woo competition regulators
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON, May 4 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Vodafone (VOD.L) hopes that three will be its magic number. A merger of Vodafone’s domestic unit with Three UK, the Hong Kong conglomerate’s British business, would shrink the number of mobile operators to three from four. Mobile operators throughout Europe have long lamented antitrust authorities’ preference for keeping at least four players in a market to ensure price competition. Yet Vodafone’s case would be easier to defend if UK operators hadn’t hiked their tariffs in unison by about 11% last spring, a move they seem likely to repeat again this year. That would place the competition watchdog with a tougher choice: slick 5G networks, or four low-priced operators.

☆ Taiwan seeking US cooperation to make next-generation fighters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, May 3 (Reuters) - Taiwan is seeking U.S. cooperation to make the island's next domestically developed fighter jet, the head of Taiwanese defence contractor Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) (2634.TW) said on Wednesday. Taiwan's air force scrambles daily to see off incursions by Chinese jets into the airspace around the island as Beijing steps up its pressure to try and force Taiwan to accept China's sovereignty. While the mainstay of Taiwan's air force is Lockheed Martin Corp's (LMT.N) F-16s and French-build Mirages it also uses AIDC's F-CK-1 Ching-kuo Indigenous Defence Fighter, or IDF. Taiwan in 2017 announced the next generation fighter programme, to include stealth capabilities, but has given few details since. Even the United States has been unwilling to provide Taiwan its most advanced fighters like the F-22 or F-35, and Taiwan has no direct answer to China's new J-20 stealth fighter.

☆ Taiwan seeking US cooperation to make next generation fighters
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

TAIPEI, May 3 (Reuters) - Taiwan is seeking U.S. cooperation to make the island's next domestically developed fighter jet, the head of Taiwanese defence contractor Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC) (2634.TW) said on Wednesday. Taiwan's air force scrambles daily to see off incursions by Chinese jets into the airspace around the island as Beijing steps up its pressure to try and force Taiwan to accept China's sovereignty. Speaking at a Taiwan-U.S. defence industry forum in Taipei, AIDC Chairman Hu Kai-hung said the company wanted to raise its technical prowess to help with the development of Taiwan's next generation fighter. Taiwan in 2017 announced the next generation fighter programme, to include stealth capabilities, but has given few details since. Even the United States has been unwilling to provide Taiwan its most advanced fighters like the F-22 or F-35, and Taiwan has no direct answer to China's new J-20 stealth fighter.

☆ A mysterious website exposed Oatly conspiracies and scandals. It turns out, the company was behind it.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( Alex Bitter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Plant-based milk brand Oatly created "F*ck Oatly," a website outlining its own scandals. It detailed the company's PR mess-ups and scandals, including its legal battle with a smaller plant-based brand and its sale of oat residue to pig farms. The homepage of F*ck Oatly OatlyVisitors to the website can click through to webpages outlining several of Oatly's missteps over the years. Another page, called "The Residue Ruckus," explains a 2018 incident when Oatly sold oat byproducts from its production line to a pig farm. If you don't like F*ck Oatly, there's F*ck F*ck Oatly, another website where visitors can click a button confirming their disapproval of website.

☆ Alibaba hands parched dealmakers a glass half-full
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Antony Currie | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Then New York- and Hong Kong-listed Alibaba (9988.HK) revealed it was creating six independently run businesses. That will keep dealmaking teams busy for months if, as CEO Daniel Zhang envisions, multiple listed companies emerge from the $250 billion parent. And if a breakup is good for Alibaba, they can dust off pitchbooks for its domestic rivals. Follow @AntonyMCurrie on TwitterCONTEXT NEWSAlibaba CEO Daniel Zhang said on March 29 that he hopes multiple listed companies will emerge from the group. “I hope there will be multiple listed companies emerging from the Alibaba system, and that they will continue to nurture their own sons and daughters, and cultivate more listed companies”, Zhang said, according to the South China Morning Post.

☆ A publicist shares the email template she uses to land top podcast spots for her clients and 5 pitch must-haves
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-18 | by ( Alice Draper | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Alice Draper is a publicist who cold-pitches her coaching clients to podcasts for exposure. I've found that podcast hosts with an engaged and loyal listenership choose guests based on the value they provide to the podcast audience, rather than the short-term financial gains they may receive. List value-driven talking pointsAn important question that's on almost every podcast host's mind is: What value will my listeners get from this guest interview? If you haven't spoken on a podcast before, it's still worth pitching hosts and focusing on the quality of your story angle and talking points. Here's the email template I use for all of my clients when pitching them to podcasts:

☆ There’s hope beyond moaning for European telcos
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( Pierre Briancon | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

The annual Barcelona tech fest this week was in line with tradition, but a different mood music could also be heard beyond the bleatings of European telco executives. The good news for them is that European competition authorities seem to have been mollified by the constant pleading, and could take a softer approach to consolidation in the industry. Höttges compared the 55 billion euros invested by European telcos on infrastructure last year to the 1 billion euros invested in connectivity by those he calls the “hyperscalers”. The hope is now that, considering the European telcos’ low return on investment, European competition authorities will review their strict stance on consolidation in the sector. But European telcos also have means to address some of the problems they are facing without giving the impression that everything depends on forces beyond their control.

☆ Hong Kong’s office landlords face a tough rebound
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Thomas Shum | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

HONG KONG, March 1 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Hong Kong offices are emptier than in other Asian financial centres. Singapore and Tokyo boast rates well under half of Hong Kong’s level, and figures there are either improving or roughly unchanged. Last year, mainland-based companies accounted for less than 6% of all leases in Hong Kong’s key Central business district, from nearly 30% in 2019. Hong Kong’s economy shrunk for three of the last four years, and its population is slimming too. However, the plan to reduce its office footprint may not apply to Hong Kong, a person familiar with the situation told Breakingviews.

☆ MSC, world's biggest shipping company and U.S.-China trade bellwether, isn't talking like a recession is coming for economy
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Lori Ann Larocco | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"The return post-Chinese New Year has been positive," Toft said. SONAR FreightWaves data shows the slow pick up in global freight orders post-Chinese New Year. Ocean freight rates, which were the largest inflationary pressure on products, have dropped sharply back to pre-pandemic levels. Rejections for ocean freight have increased, which means containers filled with product for the current or upcoming season are delayed. At a time when ocean carriers are increasingly canceling sailings because of the decrease in ocean freight orders, MSC has responded by increasing the size of its fleet.

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