Ofcom widens net for Big Tech probe September 22, 2022 Ofcom will be widening the scope of its probe into Big Tech, digging into competition concerns surrounding the cloud services space. The media regulator said this morning that it would launch a market study into the sector to ensure that markets are working well for people and businesses in the UK. Cloud services have exploded [...]
Playtech registers ‘ahead of expectation’ performance as earnings up 64 per cent September 22, 2022 Playtech’s registered a “ahead of expectations” performance driven by growth in both the Americas and Europe. For the six months ended 30 June, the gambling developer posted an adjusted EBITDA of £178m (€203.8m), up 64 per cent on last year’s levels. The company’s revenue went up 73 per cent to €792.3m, while its adjusted post-tax [...]
Ex Bank of England governor Mark Carney set to join Cultivo board September 22, 2022 Mark Carney, former governor of the Bank of England, is set to join the board of directors at Cultivo, the climate-focused fintech announced today. Carney will sit on Cultivo’s board as an independent board member whilst he continues in his current job as the Vice Chair and Head of Transition Investing at Brookfield Asset Management. [...]
What are the key factors that can sink M&A? September 21, 2022 | City Talk 2021 saw booming markets and the release of capital from investors that had built up during the pandemic. It was a record-breaking year for mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity. This year, circumstances are quite different. Economies are now dealing with geopolitical issues like the Russia-Ukraine war, rising inflation and interest rates, and declining company valuations, [...]
Media and tech players in different states as we head into recession September 21, 2022 Summer is over and the nights are becoming longer. In addition, the increasing gloom on the weather front is matched by a similar gloom when it comes to the consumer. The rise of double-digit inflation, with skyrocketing energy bills, has dominated headlines and driven UK consumer confidence, according to GfK, down to historic low levels. [...]
French titan Schneider snatches Aveva in £9.5bn deal September 21, 2022 French industrial giant Schneider has snatched London-listed software developer Aveva in a £9.5bn deal. Schneider already owns a majority stake in the Cambridge developer as in 2017 it acquired 60 per cent of Aveva for £3bn. The £31 per-share deal, which implies an enterprise value of £10.2bn, was announced today by the companies. The offer [...]
Musk: Starlink will lobby for exemption to operate in Iran amidst sanctions September 20, 2022 Starlink will lobby for an exemption to operate in Iran despite the current sanctions, according to the network’s owner Elon Musk. He didn’t specify on Monday night who or which legal authority he planned to lobby to. The comments came night after he tweeted that the service was now active on “all continents, including Antarctica.” [...]
Rising fintech star explains why banks are rushing to jump on the lucrative BNPL bandwagon September 19, 2022 Virgin Money recently confirmed plans to enter Britain’s buy now, pay later (BNPL) market. The banking player is the latest player to start offering BNPL products, which generally can help people to spread the cost of purchases without adding to their overall cost. Earlier this year, another bank, NatWest, said that it planned to enter [...]
City exclusive: Brits leave Europeans trailing in digital banking September 18, 2022 Brits are significantly ahead of other Europeans in their embrace of digital forms of banking. New research, shared exclusively with Morning Wire this morning, shows that people in the UK are nearly twice as likely as other Europeans to prefer applying for financial products and services online via website or app, including through online chat [...]
Mobile games to dominate a £400bn gaming industry by 2030 September 15, 2022 Mobile games will make up half of gaming industry revenues in 2030, as tech firms continue to pump money into the sector. According to a fresh report from GlobalData, games played on smartphones and tablets will make up over 50 per cent by 2030. It also predicts that the market will swell to $470bn (£409bn) [...]