Sweden’s Embracer splurges up to $2.5bn on three gaming companies February 3, 2021 Swedish video game group Embracer has agreed to buy three gaming companies, including US-based Gearbox, the maker of first-person shooter game Borderlands, for up to $2.5bn in cash and stock. The company, known for games such as Darksiders and World War Z, will pay Gearbox $363m initially with a commitment to pay another $1bn in the next [...]
Film financier Great Point set for London IPO February 3, 2021 Great Point Entertainment Income Trust (GPEIT) today announced its intention to float on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The London-based group will offer a target issue of 200m shares at 1 penny each at an initial issue price of £1 per ordinary share. GPEIT is a newly established investment company which will [...]
Gimme belters: Music rights firm Round Hill snaps up Rolling Stones and Beatles tracks February 2, 2021 Round Hill has made its first acquisition since floating on the London Stock Exchange, snapping up a catalogue of songs from hit artists such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The music royalties group splashed out $282m (£206m) on the portfolio, representing 86 per cent of the capital it raised after floating in November. [...]
Forget the BBC, as Ofcom chair Paul Dacre would get his teeth into tech February 2, 2021 Almost a year after Priti Patel vowed to make Ofcom a regulator with teeth, the government looks poised to appoint Fleet Street Rottweiler Paul Dacre as its new chair. No one could accuse her of underdelivering. For many, Dacre’s political leanings (characterised by some as so far to the right as to be almost horizontal) [...]
Prince Harry wins ‘substantial damages’ and apology over Mail article February 1, 2021 Prince Harry has been awarded “substantial damages” and an apology over a Mail on Sunday article that claimed he had turned his back on the military after stepping down as a senior royal. The Duke of Sussex sued Associated Newspapers, part of DMGT, for libel over two articles published in October that said he had [...]
The New European bought by consortium of media veterans February 1, 2021 A consortium of media executives including former BBC director general Mark Thompson and ex-Financial Times editor Lionel Barber have led a buyout of weekly magazine the New European. The anti-Brexit title, founded in the aftermath of the referendum in 2016 on an initial four-week print run, was owned by regional publisher Archant. The takeover is [...]
Takeover talk mounts as Chinese tycoon ups stake in Cineworld January 29, 2021 A secretive Chinese tycoon has increased his stake in Cineworld, fuelling speculation of a possible takeover offer for the UK’s largest cinema chain. Liu Zaiwang’s Jangho Group has built its holding in Cineworld to 13.3 per cent, according to stock market filings published yesterday. The Chinese magnate, whose net worth is valued at $760m (£556m) [...]
Screenshot: How Reddit shone a light on the madness of markets January 29, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Das ist Numberwang! **How Redditors beat the market at its own game **Do influencers need a rebrand? Media Moment of the Week: Das ist Numberwang! This week’s media moment is one that journalists the world over would probably rather forget but, being the intrepid media reporter that I [...]
Theatres warn of ‘devastating’ Brexit impact as pressure grows over touring visas January 28, 2021 UK theatres have called for urgent clarification over post-Brexit touring provisions, warning that a failure to resolve visa rules would have “devastating consequences” for the sector. In a letter to ministers today the all-party parliamentary group (APPG) for theatre warned that a current lack of clarity over touring rules posed a major threat to the [...]
Sky owner Comcast beats revenue forecasts on broadband and streaming boost January 28, 2021 The US owner of Sky, Comcast, has posted better-than-expected revenues as broadband sales offset its losses from closed themeparks and empty cinemas