Global Corporate - Skyline Updates

Global Corporate |Update| - Issue 127

(A weekly update on Global Business )
Skyline Business School
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Global Corporate

1 Mobile firms 'eyeing T-Mobile UK'
Vodafone, France Telecom and Telefonica are all in talks with Deutsche Telekom over buying its T-Mobile UK unit, the Financial Times (FT) has reported. The FT said people familiar with the situation had told it that all three were eyeing the UK mobile operator, although talks were at an early stage. The recent stock market rally meant a sale could raise about 4bn euros ($5.7bn; £3.5bn), the paper said. France Telecom owns Orange UK, while Telefonica owns O2. T-Mobile is currently the fourth-largest mobile operator in the UK, with a 15% share of the market. O2 is the largest UK operator, with a 27% share, followed by Vodafone (25%) and Orange (22%).
4th September 2009, www.bbc.co.uk

2 National Express gets £765m bid
The largest shareholder in National Express has made a £765m ($1.25bn)takeover offer for the transport group. Spain's Cosmen family - which owns an 18.5% stake - together with private equity firm CVC has offered 500p a share, up from an earlier bid of 450p. Rival Stagecoach also said it had agreed in principle to buy National Express's bus and rail operations from the consortium if a deal went through. National Express's shares surged 13.8% to 469p, the biggest gain since May. The CVC-Cosmen consortium said its latest offer was final, and would be withdrawn if not recommended by the board of National Express. The offer follows recent turmoil at National Express, which lost the rights to the East Coast route this year.
3rd September 2009, www.bbc.co.uk
(Post by Skyline College www.skylinecollege.com)




3 Pfizer whistle-blower's drug fear
A whistle-blower in the Pfizer healthcare fraud scandal has said he felt he was swimming upstream when the firm was illegally promoting drugs. "It's hard to do what's right when everyone else around you is following management sales directive," John Kopchinski told the BBC's World Today. Mr Kopchinski was awarded $50m (£31m) for helping expose Pfizer's wrongdoing. Pfizer is paying $2.3bn after promoting four drugs for conditions different to those for which they were approved. Ray Kerins, a spokesman for Pfizer, said the company had a strong commitment to compliance transparency.
2nd September 2009, www.bbc.co.uk

4 Google China chief leaves company
The man who led Google's expansion into China is leaving the company to start his own business. Lee Kai-Fu, who joined from Microsoft in 2004, will step down as president of Google in greater China in September, the company said. When he joined, Microsoft sued Google and Mr Lee, claiming he had violated an agreement that prohibited him from working for a rival for one year. The two sides later settled out of court, without releasing details. Mr Lee went on to become the face of Google China. But during his reign Google China had a difficult relationship with Beijing censors. In June, access to Google in some parts of China was disrupted, amid a row over what Chinese citizens should be allowed to view over the internet. A Chinese official also accused Google of spreading pornography and breaking Chinese law.
5th September 2009, www.bbc.co.uk

5 Bausch & Lomb set to axe 500 jobs
About 500 jobs are to be lost after contact lenses manufacturer Bausch & Lomb announced plans to move production from West Lothian. The American company has entered a 90-day consultation period with staff at its factory in Livingston. The company plans to move the work to existing sites in Ireland and the US. Bausch & Lomb, which has been in Livingston since 1996, announced a phased withdrawal from the site over the next year and early 2011. Gerald Ostrov, chairman and chief executive officer of Bausch & Lomb, was at the plant when local management informed employees of the news.
5th September 2009, www.bbc.co.uk

6 Pepsico among best employers for entry-level workers
India-origin Indra Nooyi-led Pepsico along with the US State Department and General Electric have been named among the best employers to launch a career in the US by BusinessWeek magazine. The league of best employers is topped by accounting major Deloitte followed by three of its competitors, Ernst & Young (2nd), PriceWaterhouse Coopers (3) and KPMG (4). In the list of 'Best Places to Launch a Career 2009', featuring 69 entities, soft drinks and beverages major Pepsico is placed at the 53rd position. The US State Department is at the fifth spot while industrial conglomerate General Electric is ranked 16. It also features the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) at 23rd place. Regarding the list, the publication said virtually all of them are hiring far fewer entry-level employees than they did in 2008.
6th September 2009, www.economictimes.com

7 Alcatel-Lucent appoints Subhash Bana as VP R&D for India ops
Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent has appointed Subhash Bana as Vice President R&D for its India operations. Bana will oversee engineering performance across the carrier and applications software activities, the company said in a statement. He has over 24 years of experience in defence, telecom, media and entertainment markets, including 14 years in Alcatel-Lucent.
2nd September 2009, www.economictimes.com

8 Onida to give brand a makeover
In the face of India's changing consumer tastes, Onida has decided to say goodbye to the 'devil', the company's mascot that for years aroused envy of neighbours who didn't own its TV sets, and relaunch the brand. The company's 'devil' ad campaign, whose tagline was 'neighbour's envy, owner's pride, was a rage at one point in time, but the Indian multinational feels it has outlived its objective due to change in taste and financial capability of the consumer. At the time this famous campaign was launched, owning a television was a matter of pride for Indians. However, things have changed in the last 20 years due to liberalisation which has expanded market for both domestic and global brands as well as spending capabilities and owning a TV is no more a subject of neighbours envy.
7th September 2009, www.financialexpress.com

9 Kraft in £10.2bn move for Cadbury
US giant Kraft Foods has proposed buying UK confectionery firm Cadbury in a £10.2bn ($16.7bn) move. Kraft said that the purchase of the maker of Dairy Milk would protect jobs in the UK - including saving a factory earmarked for closure. Cadbury, whose shares leapt 36% on the news, had unequivocally rejected the approach, Kraft said. The US firm added it wanted to create a global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery and quick meals. As well as Dairy Milk, Cadbury also owns the Green & Black's chocolate brand and Halls lozenges, Trident and Dentyne gum brands, and liquorice allsorts maker Bassett's. It span off its drinks division as a separate business last year.
8th September 2009, www.bbc.co.uk

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About Skyline College

Skyline College is a premium MBA, BBA, Mass Communication and Travel & Tourism institute in Delhi and Gurgaon.

The faculty of Skyline Business School is primarily drawn from the best B-Schools of the country
like IIMs, XLRI, MDI and many more.

Skyline Education Group comprises Skyline Business School, Skyline School of
Communications, and Skyline Institute of Travel & Tourism.
The mission of Skyline is to provide its students with the best professional career prospects
in the emerging global workplace and to equip them for more effective and organised
contributions to their chosen professions and fields.
Source: www.skylinecollege.com