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16 May, 2023

X Corp acquires tech recruiting platform Laskie

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In its first deal under Musk’s leadership, Twitter’s parent company X Corp acquires Laskie, a talent recruitment tool. Though the exact price of the acquisition is unclear, it was apparently “tens of millions” of dollars, with the deal including cash and equity elements.

Laskie is a San-Francisco based startup founded in 2021 by current CEO Chris Bakke, and apparently has somewhere between 11 and 50 employees. Its aim has been to connect tech talent with employers using tools that are “designed to make your job search faster, more efficient, and less stressful,” but now the platform’s website displays a message saying its platform is “no longer available.”  Twitter has not publicly confirmed the deal.

28 Oct, 2022

Musk completes takeover of Twitter

Closure0 Comments

Musk completes his $44 billion takeover of Twitter.

the bird is freed

Later:

let the good times roll

4 Oct, 2022

Musk to buy Twitter at original price, share trading halted

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Trading in Twitter shares is halted as the stock spiked following reports that Musk is planning to buy the company for his original offer price of $54.20 per share. The shares had been up by 13% at $47.95 before trading was paused following the news. Twitter and Musk were due to be in court later this month as the company attempted to hold Musk to his original $44bn offer, made in April.

Musk had wanted to back out of the deal over the number of bot accounts on the platform, which he said was above Twitter’s estimate of 5% of users. The takeover deal has already received approval from Twitter shareholders.

16 Aug, 2019

Scottish government buys yard

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The Ferguson shipyard is bought by the Scottish government. Ministers will now operate the yard under a management agreement with administrators Deloitte. The Scottish government wil buy the facility if no private buyer is found within four weeks. McColl, who could not persuade ministers to pay more than the £97m contract price for the disputed ferries, will no longer own the yard. The agreement means work on the CalMac ferries, and other contracts, can continue while efforts to find a commercial buyer get under way. Finance Secretary Mackay:

We have always been clear that we want to complete the vessels, secure jobs and give the yard a future. Public control will provide much-needed continuity of employment now and ensure the completion of the ferry contracts at the lowest possible cost to the taxpayer. It is absolutely essential that the outstanding contracts to build these two ferries are completed. [Putting the company into administration’ was not an outcome I was willing to consider.

21 Oct, 2016

Announces $83b Time Warner acquisition

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AT&T announces it will purchase Time Warner for $86 billion. The buyout grants AT&T distributor power over CNN and HBO. AT&T says the deal will give customers ‘unmatched choice, quality, value and experiences that will define the future of media and communications” and the new company would “lead the next wave of innovation in converging media and communications industry.’ AT&T CEO Stephenson:

This is a perfect match of two companies with complementary strengths who can bring a fresh approach to how the media and communications industry works for customers, content creators, distributors and advertisers.

4 Jul, 2016

Sells Isle of Man titles

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Johnston Press announces it is selling the Isle of Man Examiner, Isle of Man Courier, Manx Independent and www.iomtoday.co.im. to Tindle Newspapers for £4.25m. Johnston Press CEO Highfield:

This disposal is further progress in executing our divestment strategy and allows the group to realise immediate value from our Isle of Man assets. I would like to thank the staff of our Isle of Man business for their loyalty and dedication over the years and we wish them well for a successful future.

Tindle:

Buying a profitable local weekly set-up such as the Isle of Man trio is certainly a departure from our early days when, without much cash, we mostly bought papers that were in trouble, or we had to launch them ourselves. We are most grateful to Ashley Highfield and his colleagues for all their assistance in bringing about this agreement…Everyone at Tindle Newspapers, will make [the staff] all very welcome just as soon as we are able to do so.

11 Apr, 2016

Completes i purchase

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Ashely Highfield reads i newspaperJohnston Press completes the £24m purchase of i newspaper, and prints its first edition. The paper will be available in Northern Ireland for the first time. CEO Highfield:

i is a highly regarded newspaper with a clear market position and a loyal readership. By joining with Johnston Press the combined circulation will be equal to 9 per cent of national daily circulation, making us the fourth largest player in the market. This enhanced reach represents a significant growth opportunity for Johnston Press in terms of national print and advertising revenue. It also rebalances our revenues towards less volatile circulation revenues. With our considerable digital experience the combination of Johnston Press and i will also allow us to grow digital audiences and revenues through the creation of inews.co.uk.

12 Feb, 2016

Johnston Press buys i newspaper

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Johnston Press reaches a deal to buy the i newspaper from ESI Media for £24m. Highfield:

This is a transformational acquisition for Johnston Press and an important step towards delivering our long-term strategy. i is a highly-regarded newspaper with a clear market position and a loyal readership. By joining with Johnston Press the combined circulation will be equal to 9% of national daily circulation, making us the fourth-largest player in the market. This enhanced reach represents a significant growth opportunity for Johnston Press in terms of national print and digital advertising revenue. It also rebalances our revenues towards less volatile circulation revenues. With our considerable digital experience the combination of Johnston Press and i will also allow us to grow digital audiences and revenues through the creation of inews.co.uk.

11 Sep, 2015

Buys NBC’s Miss Universe stake

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Trump says he has bought NBC’s stake in Miss Universe and has settled all legal claims with them.

24 Jul, 2015

Acquires Compose

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IBM acquires Compose’s database as a service startup for an undisclosed sum. The company services about 3,600 clients that have created more than 100,000 databases. Compose offers services around MongoDB, Elasticsearch, RethinkDB, Redis and PostgreSQL allowing mobile and web developers to create apps without having to concern themselves with database backends. Co-founders MacKey and McKay:

Compose will be part of the IBM Cloud Data Services (CDS) group. It’s a great fit. We’ll be able to continue building what we think is important, with a brand we really like, and the same team that works so well together. All with the backing of a major company.

IBM:

Compose furthers IBM’s commitment to ensuring developers have access to the right tools for the job by offering the broadest set of DBaaS service and the flexibility of hybrid cloud deployment.

23 Jul, 2015

Nikkei acquires Financial Times

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In a surprise move, Nikkei acquires the Financial Times for $1.3bn from Pearson Plc. The deal does not include either the FT’s London headquarters or its 50% stake in The Economist. Pearson’s CEO Fallon says

We have reached an inflection point in media, driven by the explosive growth of mobile and social. In this new environment, the best way to ensure the FT’s journalistic and commercial success is for it to be part of a global, digital news company.

John Fallon discusses sale of Financial Times | FT Business

23 Apr, 2015

Oppose cable Merger

Makes Statement0 Comments

U.S. Sens. Markey and Warren urge the Obama administration to block Comcast’s proposal for a$45.2 billion acquisition of Time Warner Cable, saying the merger is bad for consumers.The lack of competition will only “make things worse” for consumers already frustrated by increasingly high cable and Internet bills. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler:

Today’s world demands affordable access to high-quality Internet and TV services. Should the transaction survive the FCC’s and DOJ’s reviews, we believe that Comcast-TWC’s unmatched power in the telecommunications industry would lead to higher prices, fewer choices, and poorer quality services for Americans.

13 Apr, 2015

Japan Today sold

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GPlus Media, the company that publishes Japan Today, is sold to Fuji TV-Lab, a subsidiary of Fuji Media Holdings Inc. The sales also includes GPlus’ other internet properties, including GaijinPot and Real Estate Japan. Fuji TV-Lab:

The Japanese government has set an annual target of 20 million foreign visitors to Japan in 2020 for the Tokyo Olympic/Paralympics Games and Fuji Media Holdings expects this will increase the demand for media targeting foreign residents and visitors to Japan at an accelerated pace. In the context of this trend, Fuji Media Holdings understands that there is a favorable opportunity to create several inbound/outbound businesses and thus welcomes GPlus Media and REJ into the group to strengthen its ability to reach the foreign community in Japan.

2015

Takes majority ownership

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The NBA approves Jordan’s bid of $275 million to buy the Bobcats from majority owner Johnson.  Jordan will assume about $150 million in debt in the deal. He becomes the second black majority owner of a major pro sports team.

Purchasing the Bobcats is the culmination of my post-playing career goal of becoming a majority owner of an NBA franchise. I am especially pleased to have the opportunity to build a winning team in my home state of North Carolina..I am especially pleased to have the opportunity to build a winning team in my home state of North Carolina…I plan to make this franchise an organization that Charlotte can be proud of, and I am committed to doing all that I can to achieve this goal.

Johnson:

The best decision I made since acquiring the Bobcats was to convince my friend Michael to become an investor in the Bobcats and to appoint him as managing member of basketball operations. As the new majority owner of the Bobcats, his dedication will be stronger now more than ever.

13 Mar, 2015

Aspiro acquisition complete

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Jay-Z wins control of Aspiro after more than 90% of shareholders accepted the star’s $54m offer. A spokesman for Project Panther Bidco, says all the conditions for completing the acquisition have now been met. The offer is  declared unconditional on Friday and Aspiro will be delisted from the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange.

Aspiro had 500,000 paying users for its streaming services at the end of 2014, which includes 35,000 subscribers for its “lossless” HiFi-quality music service that is available in the UK under the Tidal brand, a service that costs £19.99 a month – double the price of Spotify in the UK. The company had posted a net loss of $5m for the last three months of 2014, and admitted that it could run out of money at some point this year. The company plans to launch Tidal in 22 countries, mostly in Europe, by the end of March.

24 Feb, 2015

Investment

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Lionsgate invests in Telltale Games to create entertainment that is part video game, part television show. Peter Levin of Lionsgate:

Our partnership with Kevin Bruner and his team at Telltale continues to accelerate our momentum in the game space. The convergence between premium filmed entertainment brands and original game properties is a natural direction in which to continue diversifying our content business, and Telltale is the perfect partner with whom to explore this dynamic area of growth.

4 Feb, 2015

Purchases skin care chain

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Macy’s purchases beauty and skin care chain Bluemercury, Inc. for $210 million in cash. Macy’s CEO. Lundgren.

Bluemercury is a growth vehicle for us. There is tons of runway.

30 Jan, 2015

Aspiro Acquisition Bid

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Jay Z, though his company, Project Panther, will buy Aspiro, a Swedish music streaming service WiMP for 464 million Swedish crowns ($56 million) in cash. Shares in Aspiro leap 59 percent in early trading, to the bid level of 1.05 crowns per share. Norwegian media house Schibsted, Aspiro’s main shareholder, says it had accepted the offer, while Aspiro’s board said it is united in recommending the bid, virtually ensuring its success. Project Panther:

Panther believes that the recent developments in the entertainment industry, with the migration to music and media streaming, offers great potential for increased entertainment consumption and an opportunity for artists to further promote their music. Panther’s strategic ambition revolves around global expansion and up-scaling of Aspiro’s platform, technology and services.

25 Aug, 2014

Purchases Twitch for over $1 billion

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Amazon acquires Twitch, the live stream video gaming site, for over $1 billion after Google withdraws from the purchase. The deal includes a cash pay of $970 million, nearly 20 percent of Amazon’s reserve revealed in the latest quarterly report. Amazon now owns a “YouTube” type platform with the ability to reach the young men. During 2013, over half of the total viewership watched video game playing for 20 hours weekly. Bezos:

Broadcasting and watching gameplay is a global phenomenon and Twitch has built a platform that brings together tens of millions of people who watch billions of games each month.

12 Aug, 2014

Acquires Zofari

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Yahoo acquires Zofari, an application that recommends places users might enjoy based on places they have already been. Yahoo:

Zofari and Yahoo share a common goal to make the world an easier place to explore for as many people as possible. We’re thrilled to welcome the team to Yahoo, where they will join our growing Search organization and continue to build amazing discovery experiences.