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World Business Quick Take

■ PROPERTY

Accor to sell 57 hotels

Accor SA, Europe's biggest lodging company, agreed to sell 57 hotels in France and Switzerland for 518 million euros (US$744 million) to focus on running properties rather than owning them. The hotels will be sold to a group of investors including Caisse des Depots et Consignations and two funds managed by Axa Real Estate Investment Managers, Paris-based Accor said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. The sale of 47 hotels in France and 10 in Switzerland will add 5 million euros to next year's pretax profit and cut the company's debt by about 350 million euros, Accor said.



■ MEDIA

Viacom in Microsoft deal

The media company that owns MTV, Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures said on Wednesday that it would now advertise online through Microsoft Corp as part of a larger deal. The five-year deal, whose financial terms were not disclosed, is a victory for Microsoft's online ad-serving platform called Atlas, which it acquired in May -- and a loss for DoubleClick, Viacom Inc's former online ad server, which is being acquired by Microsoft's rival Google Inc. The deal also includes agreements for Microsoft to license video programming for its MSN online network and Xbox 360 gaming console.



■ CLOTHING

Nike exceeds expectations

Nike Inc reported 10 percent growth in its second quarter profits, largely fueled by overseas sales growth for the athletic shoe and clothing company. Nike said second quarter net income grew to US$359.4 million, or US$0.71 per share, up from US$325.6 million, or US$0.64 per share, in the same period a year earlier. The results, reported on Wednesday, exceeded analysts expectations. Revenue grew 14 percent to US$4.3 billion for the quarter ending Nov. 30. Changes in currency accounted for 4 percentage points growth in revenue.



■ INTERNET

Firms settle gambling probe

Microsoft, Yahoo and Google agreed to pay a total of US$31.5 million to settle a government probe into their role in promoting online gambling dating back to 1997, officials said on Wednesday. The settlements marked the latest development in a US crackdown on Internet gambling, which has attracted a large number of Americans using offshore gaming Web sites. The Microsoft settlement totals US$21 million, including US$4.5 million to the US and a US$7.5 million contribution to the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the Justice Department said in a statement. Microsoft also agreed to provide a US$9 million campaign showing young Web users that online gambling is illegal in the US.



■ FINANCE

Barclays sues Bear Stearns

Barclays Bank PLC on Wednesday accused Bear Stearns Co Inc of using two hedge funds that collapsed last summer as places to unload troubled assets. The London-based bank's allegations appear in a lawsuit filed in the US Court for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan. Barclays described the collapse of two Bear Stearns-run hedge funds as one of the most shocking in the last decade. The bank said it was the sole shareholder to a Bear Stearns enhanced leverage fund with exposure to risky subprime mortgages. That fund and another run by Bear Stearns had more than US$20 billion in assets before their collapse.
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