Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Com Hem profits up; Telefónica cozies up to Huawei; former Gowex boss could face long stretch.

Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe

July 15, 2014

3 Min Read
Eurobites: Carlos Slim Lands Telekom Austria

Also in today's EMEA regional roundup: Com Hem profits up; Telefónica cozies up to Huawei; former Gowex boss could face long stretch.

  • The world's wealthiest individual, Carlos Slim, is to take a majority stake in Telekom Austria AG (NYSE: TKA; Vienna: TKA) following a public tender offer for shares in the European operator. Investors holding nearly 104 million shares, about 23.47% of Telekom Austria’s capital, agreed to sell to Slim's América Móvil S.A. de C.V. in a move that will cost €743.4 million (US$1.01 billion). Once the shares are bought, América Móvil will own (either directly or indirectly) 50.8% of Telekom Austria’s capital. Slim, whose wealth is estimated by Forbes at about $78.9 billion (equal to that of Bill Gates, who shares the "wealthiest" title currently), made his first significant move on the Austrian carrier, which has fixed, mobile and cable operations in multiple markets in Central and Eastern Europe, in mid-2012. (See Telekom Austria Acquires Macedonian Cable Operator, Telekom Austria Acquires B.net and Telekom Austria Notes America Movil Holdings.)

    • Com Hem AB , the Swedish cable operator that launched an over-subscribed IPO last month, posted core second-quarter profits up 3.5% year-on-year to 566 million Swedish kroner ($83 million), reports Reuters. (See Eurobites: Com Hem Sparks Gold Rush.)

    • Telefónica SA (NYSE: TEF) has announced a joint development agreement with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. focusing on FTTH. The Spanish giant has chosen Huawei's optical distribution network (ODN) solutions for its FTTH rollout.

    • The disgraced former CEO of Spanish WiFi networks provider Gowex Jenaro Garcia Martin could face more than 10 years in jail following fraud revelations at the company, reports Reuters. Garcia Martin admitted on July 6 that he had misrepresented Gowex's accounts for at least the last four years. For a full and frank examination of the shenanigans he was involved in, see this Bloomberg report.

    • Gemalto , the Dutch mobile security specialist, has joined a pan-African mHealth initiative that focuses on maternal and child health. Backed by the GSM Association (GSMA) , the PAMI initiative will use Gemalto to help it bring mHealth and nutrition-related services to those who need it through its SmartMessage interactive messaging product. Figure 1: mHealth in Africa: Ain't no better mobile application. mHealth in Africa: Ain't no better mobile application.

    • It appears BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA) suffered something of a lost weekend -- as in lost email. The BBC reports that tens of thousands of BT customers were left without email services over the weekend, as the operator attempted to migrate those users who previously used the Yahoo-run email platform to its own offering. The migration was being handled by Openwave Messaging Inc.

      — Paul Rainford, Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

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About the Author(s)

Paul Rainford

Assistant Editor, Europe, Light Reading

Paul is based on the Isle of Wight, a rocky outcrop off the English coast that is home only to a colony of technology journalists and several thousand puffins.

He has worked as a writer and copy editor since the age of William Caxton, covering the design industry, D-list celebs, tourism and much, much more.

During the noughties Paul took time out from his page proofs and marker pens to run a small hotel with his other half in the wilds of Exmoor. There he developed a range of skills including carrying cooked breakfasts, lying to unwanted guests and stopping leaks with old towels.

Now back, slightly befuddled, in the world of online journalism, Paul is thoroughly engaged with the modern world, regularly firing up his VHS video recorder and accidentally sending text messages to strangers using a chipped Nokia feature phone.

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