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EUROPEAN TECH WIRE - Nov. 25, 2004
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Sponsored By: RealNetworks
http://www.realnetworks.com/
o EU Court to Rule on Microsoft Appeal in December
o Kroes Bows Out of mmO2 Case to Avoid Conflict of Interest
o French Software Firm MEDIAN Raises 4 Million Euro
o BT Retail CEO Pierre Danon Set to Resign Early Next Year
o Permira Wins EVCA Private Equity Fund of Year Award
o Report: 3Q Semiconductor Distribution Market Grows by 19%
> RealNetworks - Lawyer - Digital Music Business
o Briefly Noted: NTT DoCoMo-mmO2, EasyGroup-T-Mobile,
Ask Jeeves-"Binoculars" Search Tool
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o EU Court to Rule on Microsoft Appeal in December
Brussels -- Judge Bo Vesterdorf announced on Thursday that Europe's
second-highest court would decide on Dec. 18-20 whether to accept
Microsoft's appeal to suspend EU sanctions against the U.S. software
giant. In March of this year, the European Commission ruled that
Microsoft had abused its dominant market position and ordered the
company to pay a fine of 462 million euro (£324 million) and remove
Media Player software from its Windows operating system. The
sanctions have been suspended until the appeal is heard. Vesterdorf
called a meeting with Microsoft earlier this week to discuss the fact that
U.S.-based Novell and the Computer and Communications Industry
Association (CCIA) recently received multimillion out-of-court
settlements from Microsoft. After meeting with Microsoft executives
and Commission officials on Thursday morning, Vesterdorf said he
decided to keep testimony from Novell and the CCIA on the record.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?V677157E8
http://www.curia.eu.int/en/
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o Kroes Bows Out of mmO2 Case to Avoid Conflict of Interest
Brussels -- Neelie Kroes, the new EU Competition Commissioner, has
removed herself from an investigation into mmO2, a U.K.-based
mobile operator, because of a conflict of interest. The former
businesswoman served as a non-executive director for mmO2 until
September. The European Commission is currently investigating the
British operator for abusing its dominant market position and charging
excessive roaming fees for international calls. In addition to the mmO2
case, Kroes disqualified herself from four other investigations because
of similar business ties. "(Kroes) is determined to demonstrate that she
will avoid all potential conflicts of interest in her job as Competition
Commissioner," said an EU spokesman. Since taking the
Commissioner position earlier this month, Kroes has cut all former
business ties and placed her £1.3-million stock portfolio in a blind trust.
What's more, she has promised not to work in the private sector after
her term as commissioner has ended.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/press_room/index_en.htm
http://www.mmo2.com/media/pr_040810.asp
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o French Software Firm MEDIAN Raises 4 Million Euro
Paris -- MEDIAN Technologies, a France-based firm specialising in the
development of software for interpreting radiological images,
announced on Thursday that it has raised 4 million euro in the second
round. AGF Private Equity, Auriga Partners and U.S.-based venture
capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson ePlanet Ventures led the round.
Under the terms of the investment, the University of Chicago,
MEDIAN's scientific partner, will become a member of the French
firm's board of directors. "We are very happy to enjoy the trust of such
prestigious financial partners in our vision, our technology and our
team," said MEDIAN President and CEO Fredrik Brag. "We are also
very proud that the University of Chicago, the acknowledged leader in
CAD activity in the world, has acquired a stake in our capital."
MEDIAN said it would use the funds to step up marketing in the U.S.
and Europe.
http://www.mediantechnologies.com/pr7.htm
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o BT Retail CEO Pierre Danon Set to Resign Early Next Year
London -- BT Group Plc, the largest telecommunications company in
the U.K., announced on Thursday that BT Retail Chief Executive
Officer Pierre Danon will resign early next year. Danon is set to take up
the chief operating officer position at Cap Gemini, a France-based
technology consultant firm. Danon joined BT in October 2000 and was
appointed to the board in 2001. He is largely credited with increasing
profits and cash flow significantly at BT Retail, where costs have been
reduced by £800 million. He also spearheaded BT's return to the mobile
market and has brought a new focus to customer service, analysts say.
"Pierre has done a superb job at BT Retail, and he will make an
outstanding contribution as chief operating officer at Cap Gemini, a
company which we partner and admire," said BT CEO Ben Verwaayen.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?O1F552ED9
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o Permira Wins EVCA Private Equity Fund of Year Award
Paris -- The European Private Equity and Venture Capital Association
(EVCA), INSEAD and Real Deals magazine have held the second
annual European Private Equity awards in Paris this week. The House
of the Year and Fund of the Year both went to Permira, which, over the
last 12 months, has raised 5.1 billion euro (£3.6 billion) for Permira
Europe III and achieved 11 exits and three recapitalisations. Michel
Dahan of France-based Banexi Venture Partners won the Venture
Capital Deal of the Year award for the 470-million-euro (£329 million)
sale of KELKOO to Yahoo! in April. "One of the themes at this year's
… awards is 'innovation'," said Philip Anderson of INSEAD. "We
believe that the participating firms in this year's awards represent some
of the most forward thinking private equity firms in Europe."
http://www.evca.com/html/press_news.asp
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o Report: 3Q Semiconductor Distribution Market Grows by 19%
Paris -- According to a new report released by the European
Distributors' and Manufacturers' Association of Semiconductor
Specialists (DMASS), a non-profit organisation that includes both
distributors and manufacturers of computer chips, European
semiconductor sales through distribution increased by 19% in the third
quarter to nearly 1.2 billion euro (£840 million), compared to the same
period last year. Israel and Poland showed the largest increases, with
third-quarter growth rates of 93% and 73%, respectively, compared to
the same quarter last year. Spain, France and Switzerland also showed
healthy increases, with growth rates of 41.3%, 27.6% and 24.7%,
respectively. "2004 looks like a good year for semiconductor
distribution," said DMASS Chairman Gary Nevison. "Unfortunately,
an expected boom has not materialised, another proof that the only
predictable aspect of our business is its unpredictability."
http://makeashorterlink.com/?W39724ED9
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> RealNetworks - Lawyer - Digital Music Business
RealNetworks is looking to hire a lawyer in its London office to work
primarily on matters related to its digital music business, including
Rhapsody, RadioPass and mobile music services. The lawyer hired will
negotiate and draft content licensing agreements with record labels and
music publishers; distribution, marketing and promotion agreements
with broadband service providers, websites, retailers, audio device
manufacturers, and mobile carriers and handset providers; and various
types of technology and Internet agreements. The ideal candidate will
have the following credentials: lawyer 3-7 years qualified, with a focus
in digital music/media, licensing and distribution, knowledge of the
digital music industry and Internet law issues, excellent writing and
negotiation skills, excellent academic record, highly motivated and
independent worker excited by a fast-paced, cutting-edge environment.
Apply online: http://makeashorterlink.com/?X19A12ED9
Closing date for applications is Friday 3rd December.
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o Briefly Noted:
(London) According to a report in the Financial Times, NTT DoCoMo,
the largest mobile operator in Japan, and U.K.-based mobile operator
mmO2 will announce next week that they have reached an agreement
to offer DoCoMo's i-mode services in the U.K. next year. DoCoMo has
been searching for a European partner for i-mode, its proprietary
Internet access service, since it severed ties with Hutchison 3G, the
local subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa. DoCoMo
already has partnerships with carriers in 10 other European countries.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?D1B622ED9
(London) According to the Financial Times, EasyGroup, the parent
company of discount airline easyJet, is on the verge of signing a new
agreement with T-Mobile, the wireless unit of German
telecommunications giant Deutsche Telekom, to launch a low-cost
mobile service in the U.K. Quoting unnamed sources close to the deal,
the FT said EasyGroup was hoping to unveil the service before the
holiday season and that the company could make an official
announcement of the partnership as early as next week. EasyGroup and
T-Mobile have reportedly already reached an agreement on wholesale
tariffs.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?M31821ED9
(London) Ask Jeeves announced on Thursday that it has launched its
"Binoculars" search tool, which allows users to preview websites from
search results without having to click on links, in the U.K. The
company said its research had shown that "Binoculars" reduced the
number of clicks required to find relevant results by as much as 70%
per search. Ask Jeeves launched a similar service in the U.S. earlier this
year.
http://hah.ask.co.uk/docs/about/press_2004/index.asp
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> RealNetworks - Lawyer - Digital Music Business
RealNetworks is looking to hire a lawyer in its London office to work
primarily on matters related to its digital music business, including
Rhapsody, RadioPass and mobile music services. The lawyer hired will
negotiate and draft content licensing agreements with record labels and
music publishers; distribution, marketing and promotion agreements
with broadband service providers, websites, retailers, mobile carriers
and handset providers. Require lawyer 3-7 years qualified, with a focus
in digital music/media, licensing and distribution, knowledge of
Internet law issues, excellent writing and negotiation skills, excellent
academic record, highly motivated and independent worker excited by
a fast-paced environment.
Apply online: http://makeashorterlink.com/?X19A12ED9
Closing date for applications is Friday 3rd December
_____________________________________________
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