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EUROPEAN TECH WIRE - Nov. 3, 2004
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To Subscribe: http://www.europeantechwire.com
o Report: European Private Equity Investment Up 27% in 3Q
o U.K. Boasts 8% Increase in Number of Business Start-Ups
o Report: Denmark the World's Most Tech Savvy Country
o FT: BT Weighing Investment in Local Loop Unbundling
o Anti-Software-Patent Group Calls for EU Council Revote
o Acuid Receives £500,000 Grant from Scottish Executive
o Hungarian Government Receives Bids for 3G Licenses
o Briefly Noted: 3 UK-EMI Records-Robbie Williams, GTech-
Veikkaus Oy, Sleepycat Software-EMEA Office, Loudeye-X-
Tazee Records, Gizmondo Europe
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o Report: European Private Equity Investment Up 27% in 3Q
Brussels -- According to the latest Initiative Europe report (conducted
by Candover Investment Plc), private equity investment in Europe
came to more than 60 billion euro (£41.5 billion) in the first three
quarters of 2004, a 27% increase compared to the same period last year.
Buy-outs continued to dominate private equity activity. Initiative
Europe said there were 113 buy-outs in the third quarter, bringing the
year's total to 332 compared to just 290 over the same period in 2003.
The report also showed that the total value for buy-out investment this
year comes to more than 55 billion euro (£38 billion) compared with
44.6 billion (£31 billion) over the same period last year. "The decline in
the early stage and growth capital segments of European private equity
has been more than offset by the continued buoyancy of the buy-out
market," said Candover Managing Director Colin Buffin. "Two
consecutive quarters of growth in mid-market and large transactions
has played a significant role in pushing the market up almost 25 percent
on this time last year."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q676220B9
http://www.initiative-europe.com/index2.htm
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o U.K. Boasts 8% Increase in Number of Business Start-Ups
London -- New statistics from the U.K. Department of Trade and
Industry (DTI) show that the number of start-up companies registering
for business VATs climbed to its highest level since the government
began keeping those records in 1994. Published by the DTI's Small
Business Review, the report brought this year's total of registered start-
ups in the U.K. to more than 1.8 million. "Today's figures are good
news for the small and medium-sized business (SME) sector," said
Small Business Minister Nigel Griffiths. "SMEs are the engine room of
the U.K. economy, and it's encouraging to see that not only are more
people becoming self-employed, but there are also more businesses
reaching the VAT threshold, which is itself the highest in Europe."
Although all regions in the U.K. reported an increase in the number of
VAT registrations, the Northeast, Yorkshire and the Humber regions
proved especially fertile for business start-ups this year, the report said.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?K215120B9
http://makeashorterlink.com/?N2D6520B9
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o Report: Denmark the World's Most Tech Savvy Country
Copenhagen -- According to a new survey by research firm IDC,
Denmark is now the most technology savvy country in the world. With
the news, Denmark overtakes Sweden, which has topped the survey for
the last four years. The IDC's annual Information Society Index looks
at four factors when measuring each country's level of technological
astuteness. Firstly, it measures the overall number of PCs, IT spending
as a percentage of gross domestic product and software spending.
Secondly, it looks at the percentage of people with access to the
Internet. Thirdly, it sizes up telecommunications infrastructure,
broadband provision and mobile services, and lastly, it looks at social
factors including corruption, access to education and civil liberties. The
U.S. came in third place, Switzerland in fourth and Canada in fifth,
while the Netherlands, Finland, Korea, Norway and the U.K. rounded
out the Top 10, IDC said.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A2E3610B9
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o FT: BT Weighing Investment in Local Loop Unbundling
London -- The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that BT
Group's board of directors is mulling over the possibility of investing in
so-called "local loop unbundling", the process by which the U.K.
telecommunications giant would open its last-mile connections to
competition. According to the report, BT Retail, which is struggling in
the U.K. broadband market against rival operators like Wanadoo, wants
to invest heavily in local loop unbundling in order to better compete as
an Internet service provider (ISP). However, some members of BT's
board have expressed concerns that such a move would seriously hurt
BT Wholesale's revenues, FT reported. Ofcom, the U.K.
communications and media watchdog, is currently investigating
whether or not to break up BT Group formally, and its report on the
telecommunications sector -- which will also include an analysis of BT
Retail's proposed unbundling plan -- is expected to be released in about
two weeks.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U254320B9
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o Anti-Software-Patent Group Calls for EU Council Revote
Berlin -- Florian Mueller, the founder of an anti-patent group called the
Foundation for a Free Information Infrastructure (FFII), has called on
the EU Council to revote on a controversial software patent directive.
In mid May, the Council voted for a number of changes to the EU
Software Patents Directive that would essentially allow the patenting of
software in Europe. However, Mueller and other opponents of the
directive have called for a new vote because voting weight in the
Council has shifted this week, stripping patent advocates of their
majority by 16 votes. "The qualified majority must be in place on the
very day of the formal decision, not half a year earlier on a tentative
basis," said Mueller. "That is why we demand a recount." The Council
is expected to pass the directive into law by month's end.
http://www.ffii.org/index.en.html
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o Acuid Receives £500,000 Grant from Scottish Executive
Edinburgh, Scotland -- Acuid Ltd., an automatic test equipment start-up
based in Edinburgh, announced on Wednesday that it has received a
£500,000 grant from the Scottish Executive, the second grant the firm
has won from the government. The company said it planned to use the
funds, awarded under the Spur Plus scheme, to strengthen its
development team and improve its testing technology. "With the high
speed technology, we are providing a test system that is future proof,
even within a market with an insatiable demand for higher speeds, and
at the same time we are able to reduce test costs," said Acuid CEO
Hans Rohrer.
http://www.acuid.com/news_pr_011104.htm
_____________________________________________
o Hungarian Government Receives Bids for 3G Licenses
Budapest -- The Hungarian government announced that it has received
five bids to run its 3G mobile-phone networks. Norway's Pannon GSM,
Germany's T-Mobile, the U.K.'s Vodafone, Denmark's TDC and
Sweden's Tele2 all threw their hats into the ring for the four 3G
licenses on offer. The government, which hopes to raise as much as 117
million euro (£81 million) in the initial phase, said it expects to name
the winners of the tender by the beginning of next month. Industry
experts say the real fight for the licenses will be between TDC and
Tele2, if only because all the other companies in the bidding process
already own networks in Hungary and are expected to win their
respective licenses with ease.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U2B7120B9
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o Briefly Noted:
(London) 3 UK, the video mobile operator controlled by Hong Kong-
based Hutchison Whampoa, announced that it has signed an agreement
with record label EMI Records in which Robbie William's
"Misunderstood" video will be offered to 3G subscribers before it is
aired on TV. According to the firm, the news marks the first time that a
music video has ever been released to mobile phones before it has been
shown anywhere else. 3 UK said customers would be able to stream or
download the video to their mobile phones for £1.50. "As an artist,
Robbie Williams has always been incredibly innovative in how he
reaches his fans," said EMI Marketing Manager Paul Fletcher. "This
deal is a great example of EMI and Robbie embracing new technology
to allow customers on 3 to view Misunderstood before anyone else in
the world." The video will be available to purchase until Jan. 31.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?C1F2240B9
(West Greenwich, Rhode Island) GTech, a U.S.-based provider of
lottery technologies, announced that it has been selected by Veikkaus
Oy to provide new interactive lottery software, a new integrated online
and instant lottery system, and terminals in Finland. Financial terms of
the deal will be disclosed later, when details of the new programme are
determined, GTech said. "We are delighted and honoured to have one
of the world's most successful and technically progressive lottery
operators such as Veikkaus Oy select GTECH for a project of this
magnitude and complexity," said Bruce Turner, CEO of GTech.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?N2A2610B9
(London) Sleepycat Software, a California-based supplier of open
source developer databases, announced on Wednesday that it has
launched Sleepycat Europe, a new office based in Woking, England,
that will cover the EMEA region (Europe, the Middle East and Africa).
The firm said the new office would provide sales, marketing and
support services across the EMEA region for the Berkeley DB family
of open source developer database products. "From our office in the
U.K., we will be able to better service our customers in Europe, the
Middle East and Africa," said Sleepy Cat Managing Director Adrian
Jones.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Z1C2230B9
(London) Loudeye, a provider of streaming song samples and other
digital music services, announced this week that Portuguese record
label X-Tazee Records would use its services to launch its own digital
music download store. Seattle-based Loudeye said X-Tazee would use
its OD2 unit's services to power the store and license portions of its
catalogue for sale on other stores powered by OD2 services.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041102/sftu020_1.html
(London) Gizmondo Europe, maker of a multifunctional handheld
video game console, announced this week that it plans to open a
flagship Gizmondo store in Carnaby Street in central London to
showcase the Gizmondo console, games and accessories. The device
went on sale earlier this week in the U.K. and will launch in the U.S. in
the first quarter of 2005.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/041102/lntu011_1.html
http://www.gizmondo.com
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