FT : BT and EE poised to seal £12.5bn deal


BT has finalised the £12.5bn acquisition of EE, Britain’s largest mobile network, from Deutsche Telekom and France’s Orange after several weeks of exclusive negotiations.
The British telecoms group will announce the deal as early as Thursday morning, said two people close to the situation, marking the return of the company to the mainstream mobile market for the first time since 2001.
A process of due diligence has been completed with no major issues uncovered, said those close to the talks.

BT has been in exclusive discussions with Deutsche Telekom and Orange since December to acquire EE for £12.5bn.
Analysts do not expect any significant regulatory hurdles because BT’s fixed network — which carries mobile traffic for rivals — is already closely governed by Ofcom, the telecoms watchdog.
Rivals might argue that wholesale prices for access to BT’s fibre network should be monitored more closely and potentially reduced.
A Moody’s analyst note has said it expects the deal to bring cost savings and efficiencies in areas such as procurement, distribution, marketing, head offices and call centres. –
EE has the largest subscriber base in the UK at 24m, the largest holding of spectrum used for mobile services and the most developed 4G network in the country. The deal will allow BT to sell bundles of mobile and home phone, broadband and television to customers.
The acquisition will be financed with about £6.3bn in shares given to Deutsche Telekom and Orange in the combined group, and about £6.2bn to be paid in cash, which will be raised through debt and an equity issuance.
BT is planning to raise £1bn-£2bn in an equity placing with shareholders, said a person familiar with the

(BFW) Total Denies Plans for Sale, IPO of Hutchinson

BFW 02/04 17:22 *TOTAL DENIES PLANS FOR SALE, IPO OF HUTCHINSON
BN 02/04 17:21 *TOTAL DENIES PLANS FOR SALE, IPO OF HUTCHINSON
Total Denies Plans for Sale, IPO of Hutchinson
2015-02-04 17:28:09.944 GMT


By Tara Patel
(Bloomberg) -- Total denies reports it’s planning a sale or
listing of its Hutchinson rubber unit, a co. spokesman said by
telephone.
* The co. isn’t seeking pitches from potential advisers for a
transaction, spokesman says
* NOTE: Total Said to Prepare Sale, Listing of Hutchinson
Unit: Reuters


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To contact the reporter on this story:
Tara Patel in Paris at +33-1-5365-5058 or
tpatel2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Vidya Root at +33-1-5365-5018 or
vroot@bloomberg.net
Steve Rhinds

>>> The Next Episode: Apple’s plans for Beats-based music service revealed


Six months after buying the subscription music service Beats Music, Apple is actively working to launch a completely new paid streaming music service that will compete with Spotify and Rdio. Yet to be named, the new service is entirely Apple-designed, yet leverages Beats’ technologies and music content, a collaboration that has thus far led to personnel challenges and delays. Multiple sources within Apple and the music industry have provided the first in-depth details of Apple’s upcoming streaming service, which we share below.

Rather than merely installing the existing Beats Music app onto iPhones, Apple has decided to deeply integrate Beats into iOS, iTunes, and the Apple TV. The company is currently developing new Beats-infused versions of the Music application for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, as well as an updated iTunes application for computers that deeply integrates Beats functionality. A new Apple TV application is also in the works.

Based heavily upon cloud streaming, Apple’s new service is centered around the user’s music library. A new search feature will be able to locate any song in the iTunes/Beats catalog, and users will be able to stream music from the catalog as well as add songs to their personal libraries. Users will be able to select specific tracks to store on their iOS devices and/or computers, or keep all songs solely in the cloud. Apple will also deeply integrate Beats Music’s Playlists, Activities, and Mixes features into the new service, letting users access a vast array of pre-made, human-curated playlists to fit various activities. Surprisingly, Apple is likely to also update Beats’ social networking features, allowing people to follow other users and artists as they did with the failed Ping social music network.

While Beats technologies will be under the hood, the interface design will be entirely Apple’s, ditching Beats’ black and red theme for a look consistent with iTunes and the iOS Music app. To ease the transition for current Beats Music users, Apple will let users merge Beats Music accounts with their iTunes/Apple ID profiles. Users will also be able to migrate their current Beats libraries to the new service, merging those songs with their iTunes in the Cloud content. Apple plans to retain its iTunes Match, iTunes Radio, and iTunes Store services as-is, even though the new paid streaming service will overlap some functions of earlier iTunes offerings.

Like Beats Music, Apple’s new offering won’t be free, but it will likely be less expensive than the current $9.99/month or $99.99/year pricing. Apple initially discussed a $5 monthly price point with record labels, but music industry sources tell us that the price is currently thought to be $7.99 per month, slightly more affordable than Beats and its rivals. For comparison, Spotify Premium and Rdio Premium subscriptions each cost $9.99 per month. Google Play Music was launched at $7.99/month but is now $9.99.


The new streaming service will also mark the first time Apple offers an Android application developed entirely in-house. Beats Music is already available for Android (shown above) via Google Play, but this application was developed by Beats when it was independent, and some speculated that Apple would kill Android support after the acquisition. Instead, Apple engineers are currently working on an Android app for the new Apple-branded service. Contrasting with former Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Tim Cook said in 2013 that Apple has “no religious issue” against developing an Android application. “If we thought it made sense to do that, we would do that,” he said, and in this case, it makes sense given Android’s significant market share, Beats’ existing subscriber base, and the opportunity to give Android users a small taste of Apple’s software.

However, while a Windows Phone version of the original Beats service exists, Apple does not currently plan to develop a new app for Microsoft’s platform due to its modest market share, nor is it planning a new version of the service for web browsers. Beats Music is currently available over the web using a Flash-based application that lacks many of the features from the smartphone apps.

Even with Beats personnel on board to assist with development, Apple’s creation of a new subscription-based streaming music service has not come without internal problems. The lead director of the new streaming project is said to be recently-promoted iTunes Vice President Robert Kondrk, while key Beats Music employees such as former CEO Ian Rogers, co-founder Jimmy Iovine, and Nine Inch Nails leader Trent Reznor are also involved. One source told us that the “Beats integration is not going so well,” and another source said that development of the new service “has been a mess.” Apple executives placed former Beats employees in some critical engineering positions, upsetting long-time Apple engineers. Another source warned that significant employee departures from Apple’s services division could be in sight.

Sources also indicate that a lack of clarity from Apple executives over the direction of the project has put the launch timeline in jeopardy. Apple had originally planned to debut the new streaming music service as early as March, but sources now say that a later launch in June at the annual Worldwide Developers Conference is a “real possibility.” Apple has used the WWDC stage before to announce new music products (iTunes Match in 2011 and iTunes Radio in 2013), so this would not be unprecedented. Despite ambiguities over the status of Beats Music as a standalone offering, Apple has not publicly announced any timeline for changes to the service. Tim Cook said in an October 2014 earnings call that the Apple-Beats deal is “off to a great start with some wonderful plans we’ll share with you in the future.”

(BFW) *ORANGE SAID TO EXPLORE PURCHASE OF SOME BHARTI AFRICA ASSETS

BN 02/04 16:45 *ORANGE SAID TO CONSIDER TAKEOVERS, PARTNERSHIPS, IPO FOR AFRICA
BN 02/04 16:45 *ORANGE AFRICA DEAL NOT IMMINENT, NO FINAL DECISION, PEOPLE SAY
BN 02/04 16:45 *ORANGE SAID TO HAVE HELD ON-OFF TALKS WITH POTENTIAL PARTNERS
*ORANGE SAID TO EXPLORE PURCHASE OF SOME BHARTI AFRICA ASSETS
2015-02-04 16:45:38.859 GMT

--ELIZABETH FOURNIER

-0- Feb/04/2015 16:45 GMT

(DailyBeast) America’s New Invisible Air Force

it looks like we are entering a new era of bigger defense investment, after France increasing its budget after the last events...US are increasing also their budgets and the tredn will be a multi year one...the all sector fo defense globally should profit of that...

We should see a lot of names to continue to move on that, Sector has already been a good performer, won't stop now

European names to follow Safran thales...


America’s New Invisible Air Force

The Pentagon wants hundreds of millions of dollars next year to start work on an array of stealthy warjets.
The Pentagon is doubling down on the development of a new arsenal of stealth fighters, bombers, and drones in its newly unveiled budget for next year.

Never mind the “fifth generation” stealth jets currently rolling off defense contractor assembly lines. The Pentagon is starting to pour money into three different projects to research and develop “sixth-generation” stealth fighters, plus funding for a new Air Force stealth bomber and new Navy carrier-based stealth drone.

Together, the efforts represent a whole new invisible air force, potentially. Oh, and the Pentagon wants a bunch of laser weapons and rail guns, too.

The budget, released Monday, includes a new project that the Pentagon calls the Aerospace Innovation Initiative. The new program—which is going to be led by the Pentagon’s premier research arm, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency—seeks to build a new prototype stealth fighter—an “X-plane.” The new jet would be a prototype to show off new technologies that could be used to help develop a new advanced stealth fighter for the Air Force and Navy.

The prototype would be a precursor to a “sixth-generation” successor to the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor air-superiority fighter. It would also be the basis for a replacement for the Navy’s “fourth-generation” F/A-18E/F Super Hornet.

In addition to money to build the new prototype jet, the proposed budget also includes cash for the Navy and Air Force’s own internal fighter programs to replace the F/A-18 and F-22. That makes total of three next-generation fighter programs.

The budget documentation is vague—but it suggests that the new DARPA prototype program is aimed at developing technology to defeat enemies like Russia or China. Top defense officials—particularly in the Navy—have expressed concerns that current stealth fighters like the F-22 Raptor and F-35 are not going to be able to survive against the advanced air defenses that Russia and China are working on. That’s mostly because new types of low-frequency radars will be able to detect, track, and attack those jets.

That’s why the DARPA initiative will “advanc[e] key enabling technologies for future systems operation in denied and contested environments,” as the budget document reads.

But the new prototype fighter is part of an even larger Pentagon effort to boost its technological lead over foreign powers like Russia and China. The plan includes new high-speed strike weapons, rail guns, and lasers among other technologies.
In his testimony before Congress last week, Frank Kendall, the Pentagon’s chief weapons buyer, offered a little more detail. He said that the Defense Department would start developing a new “X-plane” to help keep U.S. industry ahead of competitors and make sure the Air Force and Navy have an aircraft that can control the skies now that the $400 billion F-35 project is nearly through its two-decade design phase.

“The pending budget submission will include an Aerospace Innovation Initiative, a new DARPA-led program in partnership with the Navy and Air Force intended to develop the technologies and address the risks associated with the air-dominance platforms that will follow the F-35, as well as other advanced aeronautical challenges,” Kendall told the House Armed Services Committee on Jan. 28.

But the new prototype fighter is part of an even larger Pentagon effort called the Defense Innovation Initiative to boost its technological lead over foreign powers like Russia and China. According to a Pentagon statement released on Feb. 2, Kendall’s plan includes new high-speed strike weapons, rail guns, and lasers among other technologies.

Details are hard to come by—there is barely any mention of the exactly what the Defense Department plans to do in any of the documents the Pentagon released. The Navy budget includes $67 million for the rail guns and lasers while the Air Force budget includes $14 million for laser weapons—but there is little or no detail about what they hope to accomplish.

Examining the budget more closely, there is no specific program called the Aerospace Innovation Initiative in there. Instead, the prototype X-plane effort seems to be included as part of DARPA’s $2.9 billion budget. There are some references to “advanced aerospace systems” including one line that would call for $185 million in research money. There are also some vague references in the Air Force’s budget that might refer to the new prototype program—the service has over $2.7 billion budgeted for advanced technology developments and prototypes.

Meanwhile, the proposed budget also separately includes $5 million for a Navy “Next Generation Fighter”—which was previously known as the F/A-XX program. The F/A-XX is a Navy effort to replace its workhorse Super Hornet fighters by the mid-2030s.

The Air Force too has money for a new fighter squirreled away in the budget. It includes $8.8 million for a program called Next Generation Air Dominance—which is also known as F-X within the Air Force. That program is intended to replace the F-22 and an older jet called the F-15C Eagle, which is designed to kill other jets, but is well over 30 years old.

Video screenshot
The Navy and Air Force have learned from the $400 billion F-35 program, which tried to force the two services to share a single, unwieldy fighter jet family. Navy and Air Force officials have both said they want to develop two separate planes that share common technology. What they don’t want is to develop the same plane and end up with another F-35-style financial and technological disaster. Presumably, these previously announced efforts are separate for Kendall’s plan for a new X-plane—but that is not entirely clear at this point.

Meanwhile, the Air Force is continuing on its quest to develop a new super stealth bomber for $550 million each that would be flying by the mid-2020s. The Air Force won’t say much about the new bomber except that it will be extremely stealthy, subsonic, and that it will be nuclear-capable in time—and it will be armed with a new Long-Range Stand-Off cruise missile. The Air Force wants between 80 and 100 new bombers.

The bomber program is slated to receive $1.2 billion in the 2016 budget proposal. Either Northrop Grumman or a Boeing/Lockheed Martin team will win the contract to build the new bomber—which is going to be worth at least $50 billion in research and development—later this year. Either way, it’s going to be expensive.

Not to be left out, the Navy is continuing to work a stealthy new drone called the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike aircraft. But no one is quite happy with the current specifications for the new jet. As such, the Pentagon is reviewing the requirements for the new drone—which have been a point of contention.

The Navy has been forced to push back the program from 2020 to 2023, but the service is still going to shell out $135 million in development money this year for the new robotic jet. It’s just a small piece of a much larger reboot of America’s fighting forces in the sky.