European Tech Wire - May 3, 2005

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EUROPEAN TECH WIRE - May 3, 2005
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Sponsored By: IDEAlliance's XTech 2005 and The Gilbane Conference
http://www.xtech.org

o France Telecom Exits Germany with Sale of MobilCom Stake
o Versatel Telecom Confirms Belgacom Takeover Talks
o Microgen Makes Improved £51.3-Million Offer for AttentiV
o Japan's For-Side.com to Acquire iTouch for £180 Million
o U.K.-Based Flomerics Acquires Hungary-Based MicReD
o Computer Chip Sales Worldwide Increase by 13% in 1st Qtr
> IDEAlliance's XTech 2005/Gilbane Conference on Content Mgmt.
o Briefly Noted: 3i Group-Closures in Birmingham and Reading,
Bango-Peter Saxton, Willtek Communications-Manchester Area
Office, Cypak AB-The European IST Prize
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o France Telecom Exits Germany with Sale of MobilCom Stake

Paris -- France Telecom announced that it has sold nearly all its stake in
MobilCom, a Germany-based mobile services provider, to private
equity firm Texas Pacific Group (TPG). France Telecom received just
265 million euro for its 27.3% stake in a deal that marked the French
bellwether's effective withdrawal from the German market. The exit
was a rather painful one, too, considering the fact France Telecom
invested nearly 11 billion euro in the German company. "France
Telecom is turning the page on the German market," said Michel
Combes, the company's finance director. "It's the end of the disaster in
Germany." France Telecom said it would retain a 1% stake in
MobilCom.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U2DF1520B
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o Versatel Telecom Confirms Belgacom Takeover Talks

Amsterdam -- Versatel Telecom International NV, a
telecommunications company based in the Netherlands, announced that
it is in talks with Belgium's Belgacom SA that could lead to a takeover
of Versatel. Earlier this week, Versatel confirmed that it was holding
initial talks with Belgacom regarding a "possible strategic cooperation"
that could involve a takeover. The news lifted the Dutch company's
shares on the Euronext stock exchange by as much as 19% on Friday
and 24% on Monday, when they closed at 2.19 euro. Analysts say the
deal could be a good strategic match for the two companies, as
Belgacom, which recently dropped a bid for Turk Telecom and last
month failed to win the auction for Czech telecommunications firm
Cesky Telecom AS, has struggled to expand outside Belgium.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U11E2220B
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o Microgen Makes Improved £51.3-Million Offer for AttentiV

London -- Microgen, a U.K.-based systems and services group, has
made a £53.1-million cash and shares bid for AttentiV, a U.K.-based
financial software firm. AttentiV's board of directors announced on
Tuesday that it would support the Microgen bid over a rival £46.6-
million bid made earlier this month by TietoEnator, a financial IT
services firm based in the Nordic region. "The combination of
Microgen and AttentiV will establish a significant U.K. supplier of
software and solutions to the financial services sector," said Microgen
Chairman Martyn Ratcliffe. "This increased scale and broader range of
offerings should provide benefit to shareholders, customers and
employees of the enlarged group." Microgen supplies business
processing software and consultancy services to the U.K. financial
market sector.
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=13457
http://makeashorterlink.com/?N25D2220B
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o Japan's For-Side.com to Acquire iTouch for £180 Million

Dublin -- Aiming to make inroads into the European market, For-
side.com, a Japan-based mobile ringtones firm, has agreed to acquire
U.K.-based rival iTouch for approximately £180 million. Independent
News & Media Plc (INM), an Ireland-based newspaper group, received
about 100 million euro (£68 million) for its 37% stake in iTouch,
making a 75-million-euro (£51 million) profit with the exit. INM
emphasised that the deal was not driven by the company itself, but
rather by iTouch. "The iTouch management was aware that it had to
grow very rapidly or be taken over," said iTouch Chairman Ivan Fallon.
"They felt that the best thing for the company was to go with that offer,
and INM decided not to stand in the way."
http://www.itouch.co.uk/
http://for-side.com/jp/contents.html
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o U.K.-Based Flomerics Acquires Hungary-Based MicReD

Budapest -- Flomerics, a U.K.-based software firm, announced that it
has acquired MicReD, a Hungary-based spin-out from the Budapest
University of Technology and Economics, for an undisclosed sum.
Flomerics and MicReD worked together for several years on the
European Comission-funded PROFIT research project to develop
transient thermal models of chip packages. "What's particularly
interesting about MicReD's approach is just how flexible the
instrumentation and software are," said Flomerics Research Manager
John Parry. MicReD's main product is the T3Ster, which provides
thermal characterisation of IC devices, including stacked-die and
system-in-package devices. Organisations already using the T3Ster
include IBM, Infineon, Intel, Nokia, Philips, Samsung and ST.
Microelectronics
http://makeashorterlink.com/?T12B2620B
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o Computer Chip Sales Worldwide Increase by 13% in 1st Qtr

San Jose, California -- Worldwide sales of semiconductors grew by
13.2% in the most recent quarter compared with a year ago, according
to new figures from the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA).
Computer-chip sales totalled £43 billion, also up about half a percent
from the previous quarter. "Worldwide sales of semiconductors
continued to outpace forecasted levels," said SIA President George
Scalise. "The first quarter is historically a relatively weak one for the
microchip industry. The SIA credited higher-than-expected sales of
wireless handsets, personal computers, and consumer electronics and
said that the unexpected strength of semiconductor sales -- with 13%
growth over a very strong period a year ago -- was a good sign for the
industry.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050502/25318.html?.v=1
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> IDEAlliance's XTech 2005 and The Gilbane Conference on Content
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o Briefly Noted:

(Birmingham, England) U.K.-based 3i Group, the largest publicly
traded venture capital firm in Europe, announced that it is planning to
shut down its divisions in Birmingham and Reading. Although 3i will
continue to operate a support services office on the outskirts of
Birmingham, the company's central office there will close in June, with
half its team relocating to London and half facing redundancy. The
company's division in Reading is also facing a number of redundancies.
3i currently has regional offices in Manchester, Leeds and Bristol.
http://www.3i.com/

(London) Bango, a U.K.-based mobile-Internet content firm,
announced that it has appointed Peter Saxton as its new chief financial
officer, effective immediately. Saxton has held a number of positions
with PayPoint, a branded utility bill payment company, and Nexus
Payment Systems, a provider of LINK ATM network services. "Bango
is in a rapid growth phase as more and more people download
entertainment content to their mobile phone and use the Bango Service
to get to and pay for this content," said Bango CEO Ray Anderson.
"(Saxton) will help us focus on maintaining tight cost controls during
this exciting period of the company's development and brings valuable
knowledge of building settlement processes."
http://bango.com/news/releases/82_petersaxton.pdf

(Manchester, England) Willtek Communications GmbH, a Germany-
based provider of test and measurement services to the wireless
industry, announced that it has opened an office in Cheadle Hulme,
England, near Manchester. The new office will serve as the base for
Willtek's U.K. operations. Willtek said the office would provide the
sales, repair, calibration and support services previously provided from
its facility in Chessington. Willtek -- which has divisions in
Indianapolis, Indiana; Roissy, France; Shanghai and Singapore -- said it
made the decision to relocate to outside Manchester in order to be
closer to the majority of its customers.
http://www.willtek.com/english

(Stockholm) Cypak AB announced that it has won a 200,000-euro prize
from the EU for developing a contact-less smart card with an integrated
pad for users to enter a personal identification number for secure
verification. The European IST prize, which is sponsored by the EU, is
given to companies whose products exhibit "cutting-edge innovation"
in IT. Cypak is a Sweden-based start-up that develops radio frequency
identification (RFID), processing and communication technology
applications. The Swedish Industrial Development Fund and venture-
capital group IT Provider invested 3.1 million euro in the company last
August.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?M2EB3220B

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