European Tech Wire

NTP Software Opens Office in London

London -- NTP Software, a U.S.-based provider of storage management
software, has opened an office in London. NTP said the office would
provide marketing and sales support to established resellers and offer
technology assistance to customers and channel partners. NTP Software
will also be extending a co-marketing initiative to participating resellers
intended to promote its products and strengthen relationships with
resellers. "This strategic move will help strengthen the relationship
between NTP Software and our partners and permit us to better serve
the entire European community," said NTP CEO Bruce Backa.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y12D2531C

ARC International Hires Jonah McLeod

Elstree, England -- ARC International Plc, a maker of configurable
CPU/DSP processor cores and application subsystems, has appointed
Jonah McLeod as director of marketing communications. McLeod has
more than 20 years of experience as a trade-publication editor and
marketing communications specialist. He was chief editor of
Electronics magazine and later of Integrated System Design and Silicon
Strategies magazines. ARC, which is listed on the London Stock
Exchange, has corporate offices in San Jose, California, and Elstree, as
well as R&D offices in England and the U.S.
http://www.arc.com/

Servigistics Opens New European HQ in Bristol

Bristol, England -- Servigistics, a U.S.-based service parts management
provider, has opened its new European headquarters in Bristol.
Servigistics said the office would be responsible for all sales,
marketing, services and partner relationships within the EMEA region
(Europe, Middle East and Africa). Kevin Tingey, formerly of QAD, has
been appointed general manager of the office. Servigistics supplies
service parts management technology to the aerospace, automotive,
high technology, medical equipment, consumer durables, heavy
industrial and telecommunication equipment sectors.
http://www.servigistics.com/news/prs.htm?pr=93

Technology Companies File EU Complaint against Qualcomm

Brussels -- A group of six technology companies including Ericsson,
Nokia and Texas Instruments has filed a formal complaint with EU
regulators against Qualcomm, a U.S.-based company that sells chips
and technology licences for mobile phones. The group, which also
includes Broadcom, Panasonic Mobile Communications and NEC,
claims that Qualcomm is abusing patent rights and trying to bully
competitors out of the 3G-chip market. "The companies believe
Qualcomm's anti-competitive behaviour has harmful effects for the
mobile telecommunications sector in Europe, as well as elsewhere,
because carriers and consumers are facing higher prices and fewer
choices," the group said. Qualcomm has declined to comment.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?A11F2201C

Adverse Market Conditions Force Eutelsat to Cancel IPO

Paris -- France-based Eutelsat Communications SA, currently the third-
largest satellite operator in the world, announced that adverse market
conditions have forced it to scrap its planned initial public offering
(IPO) on the Euronext Stock Exchange in Paris. "The decision comes
as the shares wouldn't be able to fairly reflect the company's value after
its listing,'' Eutelsat said. The announcement comes just three days after
the company cut its IPO price by nearly a fifth. The company initially
expected to raise about 860 million euro with the IPO. Eutelsat operates
23 satellites and provides TV broadcasting and telecommunications
services, as well as bandwidth for Internet, data, tracking and corporate
applications.
http://www.eutelsat.com/home/index.html

Report: Volkswagen Preparing to Sell IT Division Gedas

Frankfurt -- According to a report in the Financial Times Deutschland,
Germany-based Volkswagen (VW), currently the largest car-maker in
Europe, is preparing to offload Gedas, its IT services subsidiary,
sometime this year. Quoting unnamed but "well-informed" sources, the
report said a number of potential buyers had already expressed interest
in Gedas and submitted non-binding offers for the company, which is
valued at about 500 million euro. The report included U.K.-based
private-equity firm Apax Partners, T-Systems (a division of Deutsche
Telekom), IBM, U.S.-based services provider ACS and EDS as
possible bidders.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?V6782101C

Micronas to Buy U.S.-Based WISchip for 66 Million Euro

Geneva -- Switzerland-based Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG
announced that it has agreed to acquire WISchip International Ltd., a
California-based developer of video streaming and compression
technologies, for approximately 66 million euro ($80 million).
"WISchip's exciting portfolio of products and important IP for HDTV
from whatever source -- be it broadcast, IPTV or delivered from
storage media -- makes the company the perfect complement for
(Micronas's) state-of-the-art HD display products," said Micronas CEO
Wolfgang Kalsbach. "Its activities significantly strengthen our
worldwide R&D efforts." WISchip, which has an R&D facility in
Shanghai, has raised more than 41 million euro in VC funding to date
from AsiaVest Venture Partners, Pacific Venture Partners and UMC
Capital.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?U1A83201C

U.K.-Based GFI Software Secures Venture-Capital Investment

London -- GFI Software Ltd., a U.K.-based provider of network-
security, content-security and messaging software, announced that it
has raised an undisclosed amount of venture-capital financing. Insight
Venture Partners, a New York-based venture-capital firm specialising
in software and Internet services, led the round. "GFI represents an
ideal fit for Insight's investment profile," said Insight founder and
managing partner Jeff Horing. "The company has a significant number
of satisfied customers, innovative technology that has won numerous
product awards and is continually staying ahead of the curve." GFI
recently announced that it has appointed Curtis Staker, the former
president of Websense, as its new chief executive officer.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?W4282101C

Xilinx Opens 7.5-Million-Euro Research Centre in Ireland

Dublin -- Xilinx, a U.S.-based maker of semiconductor chips,
announced that it has opened a new 7.5-million-euro research centre in
Dublin -- its first expansion of research facilities outside the U.S.
Xilinx's headquarters in Dublin already houses an R&D, operations and
engineering centre, in which the company has invested about 125
million euro. Xilinx's latest expansion will specialise in networking and
emerging network architectures. Irish Minister for Enterprise, Trade
and Employment Micheal Martin welcomed the news. "This
investment by Xilinx Ireland in R&D further enhances the company's
profile as a model of how an international company in Ireland can
develop beyond its original mandate to become a key link in the
company's global chain," he said.
http://makeashorterlink.com/?C4092501C

Nokia Joins Forces with MIT to Research Mobile Technology

Helsinki -- The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Computer
Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Finland-
based mobile giant Nokia announced that they have teamed up to
develop mobile computing and communications technologies. CSAIL
and Nokia will establish a new research facility near the MIT campus,
where researchers from both parties will work closely together on a
new approach to mobile computing. About 20 researchers from each
will participate in joint projects under the direction of a joint steering
committee. "This is a totally unique kind of collaboration for both MIT
and Nokia," said CSAIL Director Rodney Brooks. The new venture
will begin operations in January 2006.
http://www.csail.mit.edu