Microsoft to buy Norwegian data search firm FAST for $1.2bn
Microsoft has tabled an offer to buy business search and data firm Fast Search & Transfer - news of which has sent FAST's shares rocketing by more than 40%.
"Enterprise search is becoming an indispensable tool to businesses of all sizes, helping people find, use and share critical business information quickly," said Jeff Raikes, president of Microsoft's business division.
Two of Fast's largest owners, Orkla and Hermes Focus Asset Management Europe, which together hold 37% of the outstanding shares, have already accepted the bid.
The deal is expected be completed in the second quarter and requires a 90% acceptance rate from shareholders for approval with FAST's board of directors unanimously recommending acceptance of the offer.
Mike Davis, senior analyst at Ovum, called the almost-certain acquisition "a really good buy for Microsoft, putting it straight into the top league" of the enterprise business market, noting that it is the still-independent Autonomy which may be the "big prize" if a buy-up is sparked by this move.
Internet radio firm Pandora blocks UK users
Popular US internet radio station Pandora is to stop broadcasting to the UK after failing to reach a deal with music rights holders.
Pandora founder Tim Westergren has written what he described as "an email I hoped I would never have to send" informing all UK users that as of next Tuesday the service will be blocked.
Pandora blocked internet broadcasting to all other countries outside the US in July last year but had continued to transmit to the UK while working on a solution with music industry bodies PPL and MCPS/PRS.
"We did however hold out some hope that a solution might exist for the UK, so we left it unblocked as we worked diligently with the rights organisations to negotiate an economically workable license fee," said Westergren in his email, covered off here at law firm Pinsent Mason's blog. "After over a year of trying this has proved impossible".
Google gets into TV with Panasonic
Panasonic-owner Matsushita has signed a deal with Google that will see the company launch flat panel television sets that allow users to access YouTube and other Google services, says Reuters.
The non-exclusive deal will see the first "Google TVs" launch in the United States in Spring.
TechCrunch reckons that having YouTube built in as a default setting is a good move to keep the brand ticking over in the light of increasing competition in the online video sector.
European digital music revenues hit record in 2007, but not enough to stem CD sales decline
Jupiter Research has released its latest European digital music forecast.
On his blog Mark Mulligan, vice president and research director at Jupiter Research, describes says that the "cold reality" is that digital music is just not saving the industry, yet.
The key finding is that although European spending will total 2bn Euro (£1.5bn) by 2012 revenues will not fully compensate for declining CD sales until 2010 - by which point mobile music revenues will come in to play.
The "cold reality" is that 2007 was a record year of revenue decline for the overall European music market, says Mulligan, and although digital revenues experienced a record high of €401.2 million (£299m) this covered just 13 percent of the drop in CD sales.
Apple set to resolve European Union iTunes case
Apple is set to announce a resolution to European Commission charges that its iTunes stores broke EU rules by setting prices country-by-country, according to a vague Reuters report.
According the story - based on sources not an announcement - news of Apple's resolution will come by Thursday at the latest.
After that, the European Union competition regulator is expected to announce that it is closing the long-running case involving the pricing of online sales of music and video used on iPods.
In April 2007 the Commission said Apple had breached EU rules by agreeing with Vivendi's Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Group and Warner Music Group to curtail cross-border access to iTunes.
The case dates back to 2005, when Which? complained that iTunes stores in France and Germany charged 99 euro cents ($1.45), while Britons must pay 79 pence ($1.56), instead of letting all Europeans buy at one store.
