WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING
FINANCIAL TIMES
BAE CONSIDERS CUT TO TYPHOON PRICE
BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence contractor, has signalled its willingness to reduce the price of the Eurofighter Typhoon to win back a $20bn Indian tender from France’s Dassault. Ian King, BAE’s chief executive, told the Financial Times that BAE needed to consult with its partners in Germany, Italy and Spain, but said all options were open.
FRESH BLOW TO TCI AS ANALYST JOINS RIVAL
The Children’s Investment Fund has lost another of its stars to rival hedge fund Thélème Partners in a sign of tensions among top managers at the activist investor. Oscar Hattink, a portfolio manager at the $6bn TCI and a firm partner since 2008, resigned last year, leaving the firm in August. He has now surfaced as a partner at Thélème, people familiar with the matter told the Financial Times.
VERIZON TIE-UP SET TO CHALLENGE NETFLIX
Verizon and Coinstar, owner of the Redbox DVD rental service, are teaming up to take on Netflix. The two companies announced a joint venture yesterday that was thin on details but telegraphed their ambition to compete in the booming market for subscription video services.
TNT EXPRESS SHAREHOLDER FIGHT GROWS
Dutch express mail company TNT Express is engaging in an open feud witgh a group of activist shareholders, rejecting their request to appoint three new directors on the grounds they had been paid directly by the shareholders. In a letter of response, the leader of the shareholder group said TNT Express’s “lack of good faith and reasonableness” was “stunning”.
THE TIMES
COURT RULING OFFERS HOPE TO DRUG COMPANIES OWED £6BN
British drugs companies owed millions by Spanish health authorities may resort to the courts to get their money back. According to the industry lobby group Farmaindustria, regional authorities owe €5.83bn (£4.87bn) to companies including Astrazeneca, Shire and GlaxoSmithKline.
FRENCH BUSINESSES READY TO PACK BAGS FOR BRITAIN
Dozens of French businesses are considering crossing the Channel if François Hollande defeats France’s current President Nicolas Sarkozy in the election this spring, as the opinion polls predict, The Times has learnt. His programme is also likely to drive wealthy French families to Britain, according to lawyers and accountants.
The Daily Telegraph
3M RISKS TURBULENCE WITH $250M DEAL TO REPLACE FIVE PRIVATE JETS
US industrial group 3M is to risk antagonising shareholders by spending up to $250m (£158m) replacing its fleet of private jets. The company is understood to be looking at plans to update its five jets, including buying state of the art Gulfstream G550s.
FARMERS GUARDIAN IS SOLD AS UBM SHIFTS FROM PRINT
UBM forged its reputation producing trade magazines such as Property Week and Famers Guardian, but has now offloaded its medical and agriculture titles as part of its ongoing shift away from print. The founders, of Briefing Media, Neil Thackray and Rory Brown, yesterday acquired the portfolio of magazines, which also trade publication Pulse, in a £10m deal backed by GCP Capital Partners, the private equity fund.
THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
DISNEY AND UNIVISION IN TALKS TO LAUNCH NEWS CHANNEL
Walt Disney and Univision Communications are in talks to create a new 24-hour cable-news channel, in an effort to keep pace with changing demographics among US Hispanics and reach a new audience of English speakers, people familiar with the negotiations said. The channel would plunge Disney’s ABC News more directly into the fractious cable-news wars, competing alongside CNN and Fox News.
HASBRO NET SLIPS ON HIGHER TAXES
Toy maker Hasbro said yesterday that higher income taxes and choppy sales weighed on its profit in the fourth quarter, and business in the US and Canada last year was weaker than expected. The maker of the Transformers and Nerfs said sales in the US and Canada slid two per cent.