FT : Interdigital pushes for Apple patent deal

The head of Interdigital, a mobile technology patent company, on Tuesday tried to raise pressure on Apple to reach a broad licensing deal after announcing an agreement with Samsung valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars.
News of the Samsung accord came 10 days before a legal showdown at the US International Trade Commission that could have resulted in the South Korean company being barred from importing some of its handsets into the US.

The deal brought a degree of vindication for Interdigital, which claims more than 20,000 patents and patent applications covering a range of 3G and 4G mobile technologies. Its lawsuits against companies such as Samsung, Huawei and Nokia have drawn accusations that it acts like a patent troll, though the company denies the charges.
The agreement with Samsung, coming nearly 18 months after Interdigital brought a complaint before the ITC, should encourage Apple to reach a similar, broad-reaching accord, said William Merritt, the patent company’s chief executive.
“They can see the Samsung agreement, they can observe our successes in litigation,” he said. “Hopefully, these two things we can point to will lead to a successful resolution.”
Apple did not immediately return a request for comment. The iPhone maker has not been on the receiving end of any lawsuits from Interdigital, and until now it has only had a patent agreement with the company covering a very narrow range of technology.
Interdigital has had mixed success at the ITC with its campaign to get handset makers to pay up. Late last year, the court rejected a claim against Huawei, Nokia and ZTE over patents covering older mobile technologies.
The value of the Samsung accord – a five-year licence for a fixed amount, running to the end of 2017 – was not disclosed. However, Interdigital also raised its short-term revenue guidance on Tuesday, pointing to a total increase in its expected revenue by the end of 2017 of nearly $500m. Company executives said that the Samsung deal was the largest factor in this increase, though licenses with other companies also accounted for some of the extra revenue.
A campaign in Washington to crack down on patent trolls ended in failure last month after the US senate abandoned a bill to deal with claimed legal abuses by patent licensing firms. The proposed law stirred up a backlash from companies in industries such as pharmaceuticals, which rely heavily on patent rights.
“Ultimately, the patent debate is not a name-calling exercise, that’s a waste of time,” Mr Merritt said. “It’s really about behaviour. When you send 1,000 letters to coffee shops, that’s what we don’t want.”

FT : Abe gets green light for Japan corporate tax cut

Shinzo Abe has cleared the main obstacle to his plan to cut Japanese corporate income taxes, securing conditional approval from a pair of powerful groups that had opposed the idea – the finance ministry and tax experts in his own party.
But now the question is whether the prime minister can engineer a broader overhaul of the corporate tax system to address one of its most obvious failings: that in spite of high official rates, only three in 10 Japanese companies pay income tax.

After a series of meetings this week, Taro Aso, the finance minister, and Takeshi Noda, the head of the Liberal Democratic party’s internal committee on tax issues, both told Mr Abe they were open to cutting corporate income taxes as long as new “stable sources” of revenue could be found.
That demand has been taken to mean shrinking or eliminating some of the loopholes, exemptions and credits that have placed the corporate tax burden on a relatively small group of companies.
“We have a narrow tax base because we have so many tax breaks,” said Yoshikazu Miki, a professor of tax law at Aoyama Gakuin University who has advised previous governments on reform efforts. “It makes no sense just to look at the headline rate.”
That rate is high by international standards, at roughly 37 per cent depending on where in the country a company is located. Japan’s rate remains the second-steepest among countries in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, after the US.
Businesses complain that this has made them less competitive. South Korea, where electronics companies such as Samsung have surpassed once-dominant Japanese groups, imposes a rate of 24 per cent, a shade below the OECD average and 10 points less than Japan.
Sadayuki Sakakibara, who on Tuesday took over as the chairman of the Keidanren business lobby, said that Japan should ultimately aim for the OECD average of 25 per cent. “I’d like to see a real reduction in the corporate tax burden, starting in 2015,” he said.
Exactly how far and how fast the rate will come down remains unclear. The go-ahead from Mr Aso and Mr Noda means that tax cuts can be included in an update of the Abe administration’s economic growth policies that is due later this month. But many details are likely to be left for later, people close to the administration said.
The question of broadening the tax base looks likely to dominate the next phase of the debate. Some in the government argue that the tax burden on companies should simply be lowered, to stimulate growth and tempt both local and foreign companies to invest in Japan.
“No country that has cut corporate taxes has insisted on making it completely revenue-neutral,” said Akira Amari, the economy minister. “It has to be appealing to those who make investment decisions.”
A straight tax cut could be politically difficult, however, given that the government is increasing sales taxes, a move that it has said was vital to bringing down the deficit and stabilising a national debt that is the largest in the world.
“People have accepted higher consumption taxes because they’ve been told the money is needed to shore up the pension and healthcare systems,” said Mr Miki at Aoyama Gakuin. “If you cut taxes on corporations, it undercuts the argument.”
Tax breaks appear to be a tempting target. Even among large corporations, only half pay any corporate income tax, according to finance ministry data. In contrast, the ratio of zero-payers among large US companies is one in four, according to Washington’s Government Accountability Office.

(BFW) TNT Rises; Takeover Speculation May Be Renewed: KeplerCheuvreux

TNT Rises; Takeover Speculation May Be Renewed: KeplerCheuvreux
2014-06-04 07:56:36.354 GMT


By Brian Lysaght
     June 4 (Bloomberg) -- TNT rises as much as 3.5%, most in
three weeks. Vol. 44% of 3-mo. daily avg.
  * KeplerCheuvreux raises to buy from hold, PT raised to EU7.5
    (17% upside) from EU7
  * Sees recovery underway, Ebit doubling in 2016 vs 2013
  * UPS legal appeal has “good chance” of overturning EU
    decision blocking TNT takeover; positive decision for UPS
    would renew TNT M&A speculation
  * Other parcel cos. in addition to UPS may be interested
  * Appeal may take 1-2 years
  * TNT recent share weakness partly due to PostNL 15% stake
    overhang, blocking period ends early June: KeplerCheuvreux
  * NOTE: 10 buys, 7 holds, 11 sells; avg PT EU7, implies ~7%
    upside: Bloomberg data
  * See April 2013: UPS Appeals EU’s Rejection of $6.7b TNT Bid
    * April 28: TNT 1Q Adjusted Rev EU1.67b vs EU1.72b Y/y







For Related News and Information:
First Word scrolling panel: FIRST<GO>
First Word newswire: NH BFW<GO>

To contact the reporter on this story:
Brian Lysaght in London at +44-20-7330-7908 or
blysaght@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
James Ludden at +44-20-7673-2645 or
jludden@bloomberg.net
Gaurav Panchal

>>> Det Norske Oljeselskap seen as a candidate for takeover

Det Norske Oljeselskap seen as a candidate for takeover 

Det Norske Oljeselskap, the listed Norwegian oil company, is seen as a candidate for takeover, according to Dagens Naeringsliv. The Norwegian business daily cited an analysis by Arctic Securities which stated that Det Norske is trading at a P/E for 2015 of seven compared to its larger peer who are trading at a P/E of 12-13, making Det Norske an interesting takeover candidate.

The paper reported that Norwegian oil giant Statoil is trading at a P/E of around 12 which is beneficial if Statoil wanted to use its shares as a method of payment. The paper also pointed out that Statoil is likely interested in Det Norske’s 20% stake in the two Johan Sverdrup oil field licences which Statoil operates. The paper also noted however that Det Norske is controlled by Aker which is in turn controlled by the Norwegian businessman, Kjell Inge Rokke, who would never sell at a multiple as low as seven.

Det Norske announced earlier this week that it has agreed to acquire Marathon Oil Norway for USD 2.7bn.


Source Dagens Naeringsliv

>>> Tullett Prebon gains on takeover speculation as CEO reveals exit plan

Tullett Prebon gains on takeover speculation as CEO reveals exit plan 

Shares in Tullett Prebon rose yesterday, 3 June, amid speculation of a possible takeover, The Daily Telegraph reported. The market report said demand for the London-listed interdealer broker’s stock is believed to have been boosted by bid chatter.

The report noted that a Shore Capital analyst suggested that Terry Smith’s newly revealed plan to step down as Tullett Prebon chief executive may result in vulnerability to predators seeking to consolidate the sector.

Tullett Prebon has a market capitalisation just short of GBP 662m (EUR 813m). Its shares were trading at 304p by end of play yesterday, 3 June, up 13.8p.


Source Daily Telegraph,

>>> Tibco - 16% After Hours Yesterday on poor guidance

TIBCO Software provides Q2 EPS and revenue guidance below consensus (20.79 -0.22)
TIBX provides downside guidance for Q2, sees Non-GAAP EPS of $0.12-$0.13 vs. $0.21 CapIQ Consensus, sees revenue of $250-$252 mln vs. $267.5 mln consensus. License revenue is expected to be in the range of $75 to $76 million.

Co states, "After a solid first quarter, revenue fell short of expectations in the second quarter, primarily due to lower-than-expected sales of Spotfire. We again experienced growth this quarter in our core infrastructure and event processing product revenue, but Spotfire sales were less than anticipated. We have several changes under way that we believe will improve Spotfire performance. We also acquired Jaspersoft this quarter, and while not a meaningful contributor to second quarter revenue, it represents an important addition to our analytics strategy going forward," said Ranadivé."

Les Echos : Free to invest in Fiber with Orange in exchange of Mobile Network

Link to artcile in french {http://bit.ly/1p5MarL}

Free Bercy grows to invest in fiber with Orange

The acquisition of Bouygues Telecom Orange is the key.
Free accelerate the exchange of a fiber network.
Plans of the cathedral are already drawn. To provide a beautiful fiber optic network to French, Bercy expected a bold building. According to our information, the keystone is the marriage between Orange and Bouygues Telecom, a continuing study seriously the two groups, even if all options are open and if the project leaders involved multiply oratorical.
The objective of this intellectual construction is to accelerate the deployment of very high speed, to fill the presidential goal to cover the entire population by 2022, 80% in fiber to the home (FTTH ). If the lack of financial resources is a nagging concern is the merger SFR-Numericable who alerted the government. Orange and SFR were co-invest in so-called "moderately dense" areas, those that can be profitable provided it does not duplicate infrastructure. SFR but preferred to concentrate its efforts on marketing its new cable network. And Orange has announced that it would mark the panties, investing heavily ... in the same place. 6 or 7 million people in the part of the medium density areas where there is no cable so may wait a very long high speed. It is to avoid this nightmare scenario that Bercy devises an alternative project.
First phase of the plan: the incumbent would buy number three and Bouygues ascend to the Orange capital, possibly by buying shares on the market to hold a controlling interest.
Second step, resell Orange mobile network Bouygues Telecom and some of its frequencies Free Mobile. As mounting imagined in the failed marriage between Bouygues Telecom and SFR, this would both make some money back into the coffers and make the operation more presentable concentration with the competition watchdog. While the transaction amounted to € 1.8 billion as part of the operation SFR, Orange tries, according to our information, to negotiate a $ 2.2 to 2.3 billion euros, of which approximately 1.5 billion for the network and 800 million for the frequencies.
Free could make a financial effort, because it would be the ideal configuration. The fourth mobile operator is poor frequency and complains technical constraints that hinder deployments. It recover all of a sudden a comprehensive network for an amount that is reasonable. And this without endangering its low cost structure - the operator had not wanted to take the Bouygues network technicians in the previous agreement.
Bold fixtures
Xavier Niel group could also buy Bouygues Telecom Orange entirely up but he would destroy thousands of jobs and thus alienating the government to keep its agility. Crowning the building, Free would commit to co-invest in FTTH alongside Orange. According to information that has not been confirmed by the two operators, Free would be willing to contract to spend 300 million euros over five years. 1.5 billion in total, the cost for the mobile network Bouygues.
This association could also take the form of a joint venture. The project called "Poppy" of joint venture between Orange and the Caisse des Dépôts is not dead, it just reappears in another form: a coalition including Orange, Free, Caisse des Dépôts, even investment funds private which would deploy in the unwired area and whose power combined strike would convert some of the unprofitable zone profitable area. We can not tax the architect reluctance State ...

WSJ : FAA Weighs Letting Film, TV Industry Use Drones

FAA Weighs Letting Film, TV Industry Use Drones
Regulators Consider Approving Drone Use for Some Companies, Signaling End of Legal Logjam

Federal regulators are considering exempting seven companies working for the film and television industry from current prohibitions against commercial uses of drone aircraft in U.S. skies.

Monday's announcement by the Federal Aviation Administration doesn't immediately end those restrictions. But it signals that the agency, after months of controversy and pressure from drone proponents to allow some limited commercial flights, is looking to end the legal logjam by authorizing some independent cinematography companies and individuals to use drones.

If the administrative exemptions are granted, such photo and video applications would have for the first time explicit FAA approval under specific conditions. The decision could open the door to other industry-by-industry exemptions—something drone manufacturers and users have been advocating for some time.

The FAA's move is likely to be welcomed by companies itching to start flying commercial drones for a wide range of business applications.

Some drone operators and others say they have been flying drones for various video and photo uses despite the FAA's ban, and that the FAA's stretched enforcement arm hasn't tried to shut them down. Drones also have been used for a number of other applications, including agriculture, because agency officials generally haven't initiated enforcement actions.

The exemptions presumably would go into effect before the FAA finishes its current effort to formulate comprehensive rules for such small drones, or unmanned aerial systems, operating at low altitudes and weighing less than 55 pounds.

Proposed rules for small drones are expected to be issued by the end of the year, though they aren't likely to become final until 2015 or later.

At the same time, the FAA continues work on drafting rules to integrate larger drones into U.S. airspace. Those proposals, however, are bound to be more complex and won't be issued until later.

In its announcement, the FAA cited the "tangible economic benefits as the agency begins to address the demand for commercial [drone] operations." But the agency said all "associated safety issues must be carefully considered to make sure any hazards are appropriately mitigated" before the FAA gives the green light.

The FAA said the Motion Picture Association of America "facilitated the exemption requests on behalf of their membership."
The firms want exemptions for operational rules, pilot-training requirements and maintenance mandates. They also want to be exempted from federal design requirements covering the unmanned vehicles.

Seven companies, which aren't generally known outside the motion picture industry, filed identical requests prepared by the same law firm and lawyer. They envision using "small, unmanned and relatively inexpensive" drones "under controlled conditions" in limited airspace off-limits to others. The filings also indicate anticipated safeguards including use of a pilot and an observer; flights remaining under 200 feet altitude and lasting for less than 30 minutes; and onboard backup systems to ensure that drones can land safely if they lose communication or navigation signals.

The Motion Picture Association released a statement praising the FAA for considering approval of unmanned systems that offer "an innovative and safer option for filming" than manned aircraft.

In addition to companies engaged in film production, the FAA said three other industries are considering asking for exemptions. They include some agricultural uses; aerial inspections of power lines and pipelines; and inspections of certain stacks at oil and gas facilities.

Law-enforcement agencies and other public users of drones already can rely on procedures to obtain FAA approval to fly some of the largest models in designated airspace.