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EUROPEAN TECH WIRE - Nov. 2, 2004
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To Subscribe: http://www.europeantechwire.com
o Getronics Offers 338 Million Euro for PinkRoccade NV
o Report: DVRs to Reach 20% of European Homes by 2008
o Survey: Software and Services Dominate R&D Spending
o U.K.-Based DMN Installations Acquires U.S.-Based GT&K
o Deltron to Acquire Quiller Electronics for £3.1 Million
o Tribal Buys Rival Strategic Information Technology Services
o Charteris to Buy Scottish Tech Firm Cedalion for £3 Million
o Briefly Noted: Wippit-eDonkey, European Commission-Deutsche
Telekom-Eurotel, BT Openzone Wi-Fi Service, 3 UK-New 3G
Handsets, Idexx Laboratories-Vet Med Lab
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o Getronics Offers 338 Million Euro for PinkRoccade NV
Amsterdam -- Getronics NV, a computer services firm based in the
Netherlands, confirmed this week that it has offered 338 million euro
(£234 million) in cash and stock for PinkRoccade NV, a smaller rival
also based in the Netherlands. PinkRoccade is currently the largest
provider of computer services to the Dutch government. Getronics,
which earlier this week reported a 3-million-euro profit for the third
quarter compared to a 20-million-euro loss for the same period the year
previous, said that several hundred jobs could be cut in the Netherlands
and the U.K. as a result of the deal. Acting Getronics Chief Executive
Officer Klass Wagenaar will head the newly merged company, which
will have estimated annual revenues of more than 3 billion euro, the
companies said.
http://www.getronics.com/global/en-gb/home.htm
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o Report: DVRs to Reach 20% of European Homes by 2008
London -- Twenty percent of Western European homes will have
digital video recorder (DVR) services like TiVo by 2008, offering a
cost-effective alternative to true video-on-demand, according to a
report from market research firm Yankee Group. The firm noted that
high subscription fees initially might deter users from existing services
like Sky+ and Pilotime. "DVR services will be more widely and
frequently used by digital TV subscribers than regular video-on-
demand offerings that are limited to the less ubiquitous cable and
broadband platforms," said Yankee Group senior analyst Jonathan
Doran. In a separate report released on Monday, Yankee Group
predicted that annual video-on-demand and near video-on-demand
revenue in Western Europe would increase fivefold by 2008 to $2.8
billion. "Given the fact that substantial demand for true video-on-
demand remains unproven, many cable operators will … keep their
options open by not committing to a single on-demand strategy,
offering customers a choice of video-on-demand, DVR or both," Doran
said.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?E36521CA9
http://makeashorterlink.com/?V37521CA9
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o Survey: Software and Services Dominate R&D Spending
New York, N.Y. -- A new survey from IEEE Spectrum magazine found
that software development dominates research and development (R&D)
spending among the world's biggest companies. The sector accounted
for an 18.6% gain in R&D spending, mostly because of U.S.-based
software giant Microsoft, which invested $7.79 billion in R&D
expenditures in 2003 -- a 17% increase over 2002. Hardware
technology companies, which account for 20% of R&D spending,
reduced expenditures by 4.9% in 2003, the survey found.
Semiconductor firms increased spending by 5.3%, but that was less
than half their increased sales (12.6%), which rebounded from a 10%
slump the year before.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?V21245CA9
_____________________________________________
o U.K.-Based DMN Installations Acquires U.S.-Based GT&K
London -- DMN Installations Ltd., a U.K-based provider of
communications network engineering and support services for the
telecommunications sector, announced this week that it has acquired
GT&K Network Solutions Inc., an Illinois-based software systems
integration and engineering firm. DMN said the acquisition would
strengthen its customer service worldwide and give the company more
access to the telecoms infrastructure markets in North, Central and
South America. "DMN currently has a number of ongoing operations in
the U.S. in support of wireless network roll-outs and is a preferred
Motorola partner," said DMN Managing Director Steve Vaughan.
"With GTK also a preferred Motorola partner dealing at the high-end of
wireless systems integration, the two will complement each others'
ability to offer turnkey services to both vendors and mobile carriers
alike, anywhere in the world." Financial details for the deal have not
been disclosed.
http://www.dmn.co.uk/
http://www.gtkinc.com/index.htm
_____________________________________________
o Deltron to Acquire Quiller Electronics for £3.1 Million
London -- Deltron, a U.K.-based group specialising in electro-
mechanical manufacturing and distribution, announced on Tuesday that
it has agreed to acquire Quiller Electronics, a Bournemouth, England-
based component distributor, for £3.1 million. Under the terms of the
acquisition, Quiller will be integrated into the Deltron Group. Deltron
said the deal would increase its annual sales to more than £4 million, as
well as give the firm new franchises targeting the aviation and security
markets. "I am delighted with this acquisition, which I believe will give
Deltron a stronger market position in the U.K. and fortify the
company's position as a leading European provider to the electronic
components market," said Deltron CEO Christopher Sawyer. Deltron
currently has operating units in the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands,
Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
http://www.deltron-uk.com/news/Quiller.html
_____________________________________________
o Tribal Buys Rival Strategic Information Technology Services
London -- Tribal Group Plc, a U.K.-based consulting and IT services
provider for the public sector, announced this week that it has acquired
Strategic Information Technology Services Group (SITS), a U.K.-based
software and services firm. Under the terms of the deal, Tribal will pay
about £14 million in cash and shares for a 79.8% stake in SITS.
Approximately £11 million will be paid initially, with £2.8 million
being paid depending on the company's performance between now and
next March. Tribal said SITS would be integrated into its IT arm,
Tribal Technology, which provides IT services to higher education
institutions in the U.K. "We are delighted that SITS has agreed to join
Tribal Group," said Tribal CEO Henry Pitman. "It will complement our
software and consulting offering to the education sector and
significantly enhance our presence in the Higher Education market."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?G41A62DA9
_____________________________________________
o Charteris to Buy Scottish Tech Firm Cedalion for £3 Million
Edinburgh -- Charteris, a business and IT consultancy based in London,
announced on Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Cedalion, a
Scotland-based business software firm, for £3 million in cash and
shares. Charteris said it made the move in a bid to strengthen its
presence in Scotland and the finance and government sectors.
Edinburgh-based Cedalion specialises in software for the finance
industry and operates a consulting arm that designs and deploys
corporate IT systems using Microsoft software. "I am delighted that
this acquisition will expand Charteris' offering, widening our reach in
the Scottish market and augmenting our offerings to high-growth
segments of the market such as infrastructure and risk management,"
said Charteris CEO David Pickering.
http://www.charteris.com/news/
_____________________________________________
o Briefly Noted:
(London) Wippit, a U.K.-based digital music service, has called on the
music industry to boycott a number of firms that have purchased ads
that run on eDonkey, a rival online music service that offers
unauthorised files for download for free. Firms mentioned in the
boycott include Vodafone, O2, KLM, NatWest, ntl and MSN's
Expedia. Seeking comment from these firms, U.K. news site The
Register said that many were unaware of the eDonkey ads and were
taking steps to have them removed. "We would never knowingly
associate ourselves with a site that enabled music piracy," an ntl
spokeswoman told The Register.
http://www.wippit.com/edonkey/openletter.html
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/10/29/wippit_p2p_boycott
http://www.edonkey2000.com
(Brussels) According to a report by Dow Jones Newswires, the
European Commission has retracted its approval of Deutsche
Telekom's acquisition of the remaining 49% of Slovakian mobile
operator Eurotel that it does not already own. The EU said the German
telecommunications giant must now file a new request for antitrust
clearance and that the Commission would have one month to decide
whether or not to clear the takeover bid. Deutsche Telecom has already
agreed to pay U.S.-based AT&T Wireless Services and Verizon
Communications about 250 million euro for Slovakian firm.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y50552DA8
http://makeashorterlink.com/?T5FA12DA9
(London) BT Group announced this week that it plans to offer business
and consumer broadband customers access to its Openzone Wi-Fi
services for £1 pound a month. Customers who sign up before year's
end will get 500 minutes of Wi-Fi access per month for the first three
months. After that, customers can access Openzone's Wi-Fi hotspots
for the same number of minutes for £5 a month. The deal is open to BT
Business Broadband customers and BT Broadband and BT Yahoo!
Broadband customers, BT said.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?C35B12DA9
(London) 3 UK, a mobile phone service provider controlled by Hong
Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, announced this week that it plans to
add another six 3G handsets to its portfolio in time for the holiday
season. The new U.K. offering will include the "the most advanced 3G
video mobile on the market", the Motorola A100, as well as two other
handsets made by the U.S.-based firm. 3 UK also said that LG
Electronics of South Korea would provide two 3G phones, while NEC
of Japan will provide one new handset.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?H3C924DA9
(Westbrook, Maine) Idexx Laboratories, a U.S.-based developer of
technology-based products and services for veterinary, food and water
applications, announced that it has paid $31 million in cash to acquire
Vet Med Lab, a Germany-based provider of diagnostic laboratory
services for veterinarians. Idexx said that it expects Vet Med Lab to
have about $25 million in revenue this year. Vet Med Labs has
locations in nine European countries.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y56B26DA9
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