European Tech Wire

Microsoft Offers Rivals "Free, Unlimited Technical Support"

Brussels -- Microsoft announced that it has offered its rivals free,
unlimited technical support in a bid to comply with European
Commission sanctions and avoid fines of as much as €2 million a
day. The software giant also said it would offer on-site assistance
to licensees interested in making their software work with
Microsoft's servers. While the Commission described Microsoft's
gesture as "constructive", it essentially said the devil was in the
details. "Technical support is only helpful once the documentation
has reached a certain quality standard," Commission spokesman
Jonathan Todd told Reuters. "The Commission's preliminary view
is that the technical documentation still does not comply with the
requirements of the decision."
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.mspx
http://tinyurl.com/lhbsn

Sage Group to Buy Norway-Based Visma for €483 Million

Stockholm -- Sage Group, a U.K.-based software firm, announced
that it has agreed to acquire Visma, a Norway-based software and
accounting firm, for approximately £334 million (€483 million). The
deal marks Sage's largest acquisition to date. Visma is currently
the Nordic region's largest vendor of business-management
software for SMEs. "Sage doesn't really have any presence in
these markets today," Sage CEO Paul Walker said. "We see this
as very complementary to our business."
http://www.sage.com/investors/announcement.php?id=111

Wavecom to Buy Sony Ericsson's M2M for €32.5 Million

Paris -- Wavecom, a France-based provider of embedded wireless
communications platforms, announced that it has agreed to pay
about €32.5 million in cash for M2M Communications, a U.S.-
based subsidiary of Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications that
develops machine-to-machine wireless communications
technology. M2M specialises in automotive and industrial wireless
communication products. "This event marks the first consolidation
of two major players in the wireless M2M space," said Wavecom
CEO Ron Black. "It will strengthen the industry and should
accelerate the adoption of industry standards which are needed to
stimulate overall market growth."
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060320/20060319005049.html?.v=1

French Lawmakers OK Bill Forcing Apple to Open iTunes

Paris -- French lawmakers have given preliminary approval to a
controversial bill that would require interoperability between online
copyright-protection technologies, essentially forcing companies
like Apple and Sony to make their iPods, iTunes stores and
Walkman devices in France work with one another. The bill now
moves to the Senate, which is expected to take up the matter in
May. If the proposal becomes law, it's unclear whether Apple,
Sony and others will choose to release their closely guarded
copyright-protection technologies to competitors or simply shut
down iTunes and similar operations in France.
http://tinyurl.com/l32hp

ITV Rejects Takeover Bid by Group of Private-Equity Firms

London -- ITV Plc, currently the largest independent terrestrial
broadcaster in the U.K., announced that it has rejected a bid from
a group of private-equity firms for a controlling stake in the
company. ITV said it rejected the bid -- tabled by Apax Partners,
the Blackstone Group and Goldman Sachs Group's Principal
Investment Area -- because it would lead to a large increase in
ITV's debt and therefore not be in the interest of its shareholders.
With the news, shares in the broadcaster increased by as much as
10.9% in late afternoon trading on the London Stock Exchange.
http://www.itvplc.com/itv/news/

Adults Spend More Time Gaming than Teens, Report Says

London -- About one-third of adult gamers spend 10 or more hours
per week playing video games, compared with just 11% of teens
(12-17), according to a survey conducted by the Consumer
Electronics Association (CEA). The survey also found that PC
games dominate the adult game market, which could be supported
by the fact that female gamers -- who prefer free online games --
outnumber male gamers in the 25-34 age demographic. "The fact
that adults are racking up more gaming hours than teens is
startling, but there are several associated findings that shed light
on this," said CEA senior analyst Steve Koenig.
http://tinyurl.com/gsmhh

Canada's Sandvine Launches IPO on London's AIM

London -- Sandvine Corp., a Canada-based broadband services
and network management firm, announced that it has raised about
£20 million an initial public offering (IPO) on the London Stock
Exchange's Alternative Investment Market (AIM). Shares in
Sandvine soared by more than a third on Tuesday -- trading as
high as 100 pence (a 34% increase compared to the placing price
of 75 pence). Sandvine -- which has been backed by the likes of
Celtic House Venture Partners, VenGrowth Funds, Newbury
Ventures, Waterloo Tech Group and Business Development Bank
of Canada -- has raised more than £21.7 million ($38 million) to
date.
http://www.sandvine.com/

Finland's Enfucell Secures €600,000 Investment

Helsinki -- Enfucell Ltd., a Finland-based battery technology firm,
announced that it has secured €600,000 in venture-capital
financing. The company has developed a thin, flexible battery
called SoftBattery for wireless devices and applications including
cosmetics, smart cards, micro sensors, greeting cards, LEDs on
paper, bi-stable displays, and semi-active RFID. Enfucell said it
would use the investment for research and development and the
commercialisation of SoftBattery.
http://www.enfucell.com/

U.K.-Based Permira Preparing £5.9-Billion European Fund

London -- Permira, a U.K.-based private-equity firm, announced
that it is planning to raise £5.9 billion for an enormous buyout fund.
Permira said it would use the fund, which will be the largest
European private-equity fund in history, to invest in companies
based in Europe. Permira IV will surpass a £4.2-billion fund raised
by U.K.-based rival CVC Capital Partners and a £3.8-billion fund
raised by BC Partners last year. Permira specialises in the
consumer, chemical and industrial sectors, but also invests heavily
in technology, media and telecommunications. SVG Capital, an
investment firm that specialises in acquiring stakes in private-
equity funds, has already earmarked more than £1.9 billion for the
fund, Permira said.
http://www.permira.com/en/
http://www.svgcapital.com/svgcapital/about/

Alfa Rejects Telenor Proposal to End VimpelCom Dispute

London -- According to a report by the Wall Street Journal,
Russia's Alfa Group has rejected a plan by its partner Telenor, a
Norway-based telecommunications operator, to end a protracted
dispute concerning which of them controls VimpelCom. Earlier this
week, Telenor said it was willing to offload its stake in Kyivstar, a
Ukraine-based mobile operator, to VimpelCom, but only under the
condition that whichever of them puts a higher value on
VimpelCom buys the other out (Telenor and Alfa are currently the
largest shareholders in both VimpelCom and Kyivstar). Telenor is
urging Alfa to reconsider the proposal, the Wall Street Journal said.
http://online.wsj.com/public/page/technology.html?mod=1_0013