(BFW) *NOVO NORDISK US FDA TO REVIEW TRESIBA® & RYZODEG® RESUBMISSIONS

BFW 04/07 19:42 *NOVO NORDISK US FDA TO REVIEW TRESIBA® & RYZODEG® RESUBMISSIONS
BN 04/07 19:42 *NOVO NORDISK US FDA TO REVIEW TRESIBA® & RYZODEG® RESUBMISSIONS
BN 04/07 19:42 *NOVO NORDISK A/S: US FDA ACCEPTS TRESIBA®, RYZODEG®
Novo Nordisk A/S: US FDA accepts Tresiba® and Ryzodeg® resubmissions for review
2015-04-07 19:42:05.809 GMT

Bagsværd, Denmark, 7 April 2015 - Novo Nordisk today announced that the US
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the Clas

II Resubmissions for Tresiba^® (insulin degludec) and Ryzodeg^® (insulin
degludec/insulin aspart).

To preserve the integrity of the ongoing DEVOTE trial, only a small team
within Novo Nordisk has access to the data. This team has prepared the interim
analysis for the Class II resubmission and will interact with the FDA during
the review, on matters related to the interim analysis. 

As previously communicated, the result of an interim analysis carries a higher
level of uncertainty than the final study results as this preliminary estimate
is built on a substantially lower number of observations. Accordingly, the
relative risk estimate derived from the interim analysis is thus only an
indication of the final trial results.

Novo Nordisk management does not have access to the results of the interim
analysis. The trial is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016.

For further information

Media:    
Katrine Sperling +45 3079 6718 krsp@novonordisk.com
Ken Inchausti (US) +1 609 514 8316 kiau@novonordisk.com
Investors:    
Kasper Roseeuw Poulsen +45 3079 4303 krop@novonordisk.com
Melanie Raouzeos +45 3075 3479 mrz@novonordisk.com
Daniel Bohsen +45 3079 6376 dabo@novonordisk.com
Frank Daniel Mersebach (US) +1 609 235 8567 fdni@novonordisk.com 

Company announcement No 26 / 2015

Company announcement No 25 / 2015

RTR - Vivendi eyes bid for Sky to build pan-European pay-TV giant - sources

{http://reut.rs/1JloCc0}

Vivendi eyes bid for Sky to build pan-European pay-TV giant - sources

(Reuters) - French media conglomerate Vivendi is looking at a possible acquisition of pay-TV group Sky, as one of several options to expand the reach of its own TV group Canal Plus, three sources familiar with the matter said.

Vivendi has turned its attention to Sky after reviewing smaller pay-TV targets in Turkey and other fast-growing markets in Europe, one of the sources said.

Sky has a market value of 17.6 billion pounds ($26 billion) but could cost Vivendi as much as 28 billion pounds including debt, the sources said.

Any deal between Vivendi and Sky would bring together two powerful business personalities in Rupert Murdoch, whose Twenty-First Century Fox owns 39 percent of Sky, and Vivendi's chairman and biggest shareholder, Vincent Bollore, who recently raised his stake in the French group to 12 percent.

Bollore sees Canal Plus as core to Vivendi's business and the company could not go ahead with an offer without his full support, the sources said.

"Ultimately what determines a deal is Vincent Bollore," one of the sources said.

Spokesmen for Vivendi, Sky and Bollore declined to comment.

The prospects for a sale of Sky improved last year when Britain's largest pay-TV company BSkyB bought nearly all of Sky Deutschland and all of Sky Italia, to become Sky Plc, realizing Rupert Murdoch's long-held ambition to combine his European TV interests in a single business.

The deal, which was designed to give Sky access to faster growing territories where pay-TV is not yet as popular or profitable as Britain, has also made Murdoch's pay-TV assets more "sellable", with several bankers seeing the move as the prelude to a possible sale.

Sky operates in Britain, Ireland, Germany, Austria and Italy, and any deal would similarly open up more markets for Canal Plus and its parent.

But despite the appeal of a merger with Sky, a broadcaster with around 20 million subscribers, Vivendi has yet to decide on whether or not to go ahead with an offer, the sources said, adding that the deliberations are at an early stage.

SKY-HIGH PRICE ?

Several industry sources said the total price could prove too much of a stretch for Vivendi even with the proceeds from the sales of non-core businesses.

Analysts estimate that Vivendi's net cash, which stood at 4.6 billion euros ($5 billion) at the end of 2014, will hit 15 billion euros after it closes a series of pending disposals.

But Sky's net debt stood at 6.3 billion pounds at the end of last year, following the Italian and German acquisitions. The sources familiar with the matter said any offer would also have to include a premium to Sky's current share price of some 25 percent, giving an enterprise value of over 28 billion pounds.

Some of Vivendi's management team are reluctant to pursue a takeover of Sky, a deal they consider would make the French conglomerate too exposed to the pay-TV industry, where satellite TV is in danger of losing out to high speed fixed line alternatives.

Vivendi's management is also busy fending off attacks from activist shareholder P. Schoenfeld Asset Management (PSAM), asking for bigger payouts, and not everyone is convinced that a deal with Sky is the right way to go, the second source said.

Some executives would rather focus on bolt-on buys in the digital media industry and continue diversifying Vivendi's portfolio after Tuesday's move to enter into exclusive negotiations to buy 80 percent of video-sharing website Dailymotion for 217 million euros..

Schoenfeld and Vivendi have been at odds since March 23, when the fund, which says it owns 0.8 percent of Vivendi, called on other minority shareholders to join its campaign to get a 9 billion-euro payout, while also urging the company to consider spinning off Universal Music Group (UMG).

However, Vivendi, which has threatened legal action against PSAM, could persuade investors a deal with Sky would create long-term value and scope for higher returns in the future, another source familiar with the matter said.

"This could be the solution to their activist (shareholder) problem," he said.

>>> Sika shareholder Schenker-Winkler appeals Zug court's voting rights decision

Sika shareholder Schenker-Winkler appeals Zug court's voting rights decision, request for ex parte decision denied

On 20 March 2015, the Cantonal Court of Zug denied all requests of Schenker-Winkler Holding (SWH) with regard to a restriction of the voting rights. SWH has now appealed this decision with the Supreme Court of Zug (Obergericht Zug). Together with its appeal, SWH applied for an ex parte order prohibiting any restrictions of SWH's voting rights at the forthcoming annual general meeting on 14 April 2015. Just as the Cantonal Court before, the Supreme Court of Zug denied SWH's request for an ex parte order.

Sika is invited to respond to SWH's appeal by 17 April. The appeal has no suspensive effect.

Company Press Release(s)

(TechCrunch) The Potential Upside To A Technology Bubble

The Potential Upside To A Technology Bubble {http://tcrn.ch/1Fctj9j}

Over the last few months the question has been asked by almost everyone in the startup and venture capital community: Are we in a tech bubble? I don’t think there’s even a question anymore.

Many founders are in deep denial valuing their pre-revenue SaaS Uber for CRM cloud based big data machine learning platform for millions of dollars pre-money. When a potential investor asks the founder why they are valuing their startup at such a high valuation, they just don’t know or they say, “we need to look like a unicorn so we hire the best.” This story has been told by venture capitalists across the Valley.

Bubbles are like forest fires

You can think of a bubble like a forest fire. Yes, it’s tragic that trees existing for hundreds of years die and animals are displaced. The flames come through and burn down the weak underbrush.

The aftermath looks terrible and hot spots will continue to flare up way after the flames subside. However, just as forest fires are necessary for ecological health, bubbles are necessary for industry health and growth. Forest fires make way for new trees that can grow stronger fueled by the ashes of their predecessors.

Some venture capitalists will get burned and lessons will be learned similar to those who invested heavily in the dot com bubble. In fact, many of the investors that were active during the 2000 bubble are the ones that keep warning all of us of a potential bubble.

Mattermark published a report with data comparing the quarter-one midpoint of 2014 to 2015. Mattermark’s data comes from CrunchBase, AngelList, regulatory filings, thousands of news sources and company reported data. I would highly suggest that you download the entire report from Mattermark. The graphs below were reproduced with permission from Mattermark.

Graph_1

The graph above shows the number of funding events comparing the quarter-one midpoint of 2015 to the quarter-one midpoint of 2014 .

The most noticeable item is the drastic slowdown in seed deals decreasing by nearly 300 percent. This could indicate a shift in venture capital strategy focusing on funding fewer companies and putting more time into the companies they invest in.

Does this indicate a venture funding bubble? Potentially. To founders looking to raise capital, it may seem like a bubble as it is statistically more difficult to raise a seed round of funding now compared to a year ago.

Total dollar analysis

Graph_2
The graph above looks at the total dollar amount of funding per stage comparing quarter-one midpoints of 2014 and 2015.

From what we noticed above, the volume of seed deals has drastically decreased. Interestingly, the amount of total dollars being invested at the seed stage has remained roughly the same. According to this data, we could infer that the amount of money going into seed-stage startups is going up.

This simple analysis comparing total dollars invested allows us to conclude the following:

Table_3

The average round size is calculated by taking the total dollars of deals in a stage at a specific quarter midpoint and dividing it by the volume of deals done in that stage of the same quarter midpoint.

For seed rounds, the average dollar amount per deal in Q1–2014 was $584,958 now it is $1,851,852, a 217 percent increase. This is the only stage of funding that is seeing that large of an increase in funding. All other stages of funding are increasing but by far less than seed rounds. Series C funding is the most stable, only increasing by 6 percent.

This also supports the theory that seed rounds are starting to look a lot like the typical series A rounds.

Another explanation of this could be if burn rates are increasing. If this is in fact true, this strongly points to a bubble as startups are becoming more capital intensive. This would also explain why the average size of seed rounds is increasing while the number of deals is dropping.

If burn rates continue to rise, startups will be forced to actively look for their next round of funding earlier than they had initially planned. This will surely lead to more startups raising a down-round (a round of funding raised at a lower valuation than in a previous round) or not being able to raise at all — many of whom will sadly die.

What’s exciting about a bubble?

The founders who are in it for the wrong reasons will go running back to their old bosses begging for their stable jobs back. Now is the perfect time for the true founders to buckle down and improve. Capital will be scarce but the best founders will use this time to rebuild and become better founders.

Valuations will start to seem inline again and San Francisco housing cost will resemble some signs of normalcy. Recruiters will slow down on their poaching of junior level engineers in coffee shops.

The venture capital and founder community will become closer. Oh, how I look forward to the bubble bursting. If you’re not seeing it yet, try looking at the many positives that a downturn could potentially bring.

I am currently reading Antifragile. The premise of the book is looking at potential gains in times of disorder, and it’s a terrific read for those involved in startups and investing. Navigating fundamental shifts in technology and outer market forces are key characteristics of great founders.

I look at the funding landscape and see a terrific environment for learning. Bubble or not there are certain things that remain true. Great founders create amazing companies and great founders will always find a way to succeed.

>>> Saudi Arabia Oil Min Naimi: Expecting to begin to produce shale gas next yea

Saudi Arabia Oil Min Naimi: Expecting to begin to produce shale gas next year; to produce 20-50M cubic feet of shale gas in 2016 
- Saudi is not competing with shale oil. welcomes all types of energy development
- Saudi's recoverable oil reserves stand at 267B bbl
- Any talk about the end of OPEC is unrealistic; Saudi still supports a strong OPEC
- Prepared to bring stability to the market and prices, but OPEC cannot do it alone, will continue to produce 10M bpd of oil per day over the coming years (produced 10.3M bpd in March)
- Saudi military activity in Yemen has no impact on Saudi oil output
- Expecting oil prices to improve in the near future

>>> Uralkali - Reports Q1 potash production 2.7M tons, -8% y/y

Reports Q1 potash production 2.7M tons, -8% y/y 

In Q1, the output declined compared to the same period last year as a result of the decrease in Uralkali's production capacity following the accident at the Solikmsk-2 mine, and lower levels of demand in the key markets. The spring high water season expected from the middle of May to the end of June, as well as the success of the measures implemented to prevent brine inflow into the mine will impact the conditions in the Solikamsk-2 mine. Uralkali cooperates with leading Russian and international institutes to find technical solutions, which would allow the Company to continue backfilling the worked-out areas of the mine. Uralkali may review its annual output target for 2015 currently set at 10.2 million tonnes of KCI depending on the demand in the market and further developments at the Solikamsk-2 mine