A titanic takeover battle for European TV operator Sky PLC between Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox Inc and US cable giant Comcast Corp was to culminate yesterday in a rare blind auction.
Sky’s subscription base of 23 million and rights to English Premier League soccer make it one of Europe’s most profitable and powerful TV companies.
The auction pits two traditional US media behemoths who are seeking content to keep viewers from switching to streaming services such as Netflix Inc.
Comcast’s latest offer valued Sky at ￡26 billion (US$34 billion).
Fox boosted its own bid to ￡24.5 billion and was to decide who finishes with the highest offer in a complex process being held away from the public eye.
The showdown was to help determine whether Australian-born US citizen Murdoch succeeds in acquiring the 61 percent stake in Sky he does not already have, but has long sought.
The two-year saga is also reshaping the US media-entertainment world landscape by allowing Walt Disney Co to complete its mega-merger with Fox.
It is rare for a takeover of this size to be determined in a blind, 24-hour auction. It was due to end after press time last night.
Britain’s Takeover Panel decided this course after neither offer was deemed to be final and it sought “an orderly framework for the resolution of this competitive situation.”
The Takeover Panel was not to declare an auction winner, but simply state the size of the offers made.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said its materials management head, Vanessa Lee (李文如), had tendered her resignation for personal reasons. The personnel adjustment takes effect tomorrow, TSMC said in a statement. The latest development came one month after Lee reportedly took leave from the middle of last month. Cliff Hou (侯永清), senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer, is to concurrently take on the role of head of the materials management division, which has been under his supervision, TSMC said. Lee, who joined TSMC in 2022, was appointed senior director of materials management and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) on Thursday met with US President Donald Trump at the White House, days before a planned trip to China by the head of the world’s most valuable chipmaker, people familiar with the matter said. Details of what the two men discussed were not immediately available, and the people familiar with the meeting declined to elaborate on the agenda. Spokespeople for the White House had no immediate comment. Nvidia declined to comment. Nvidia’s CEO has been vocal about the need for US companies to access the world’s largest semiconductor market and is a frequent visitor to China.
MAJOR CONTRIBUTOR: Revenue from AI servers made up more than 50 percent of Wistron’s total server revenue in the second quarter, the company said Wistron Corp (緯創) on Tuesday reported a 135.6 percent year-on-year surge in revenue for last month, driven by strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, with the momentum expected to extend into the third quarter. Revenue last month reached NT$209.18 billion (US$7.2 billion), a record high for June, bringing second-quarter revenue to NT$551.29 billion, a 129.47 percent annual increase, the company said. Revenue in the first half of the year totaled NT$897.77 billion, up 87.36 percent from a year earlier and also a record high for the period, it said. The company remains cautiously optimistic about AI server shipments in the third quarter,
Hypermarket chain Carrefour Taiwan and upscale supermarket chain Mia C’bon on Saturday announced the suspension of their partnership with Jkopay Co (街口支付), one of Taiwan’s largest digital payment providers, amid a lawsuit involving its parent company. Carrefour and Mia C’bon said they would notify customers once Jkopay services are reinstated. The two retailers joined an array of other firms in suspending their partnerships with Jkopay. On Friday night, popular beverage chain TP Tea (茶湯會) also suspended its use of the platform, urging customers to opt for alternative payment methods. Another drinks brand, Guiji (龜記), on Friday said that it is up to individual
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