Next Private gets nod to delist Altice Europe; Huawei appeals 5G court ruling

TOP NEWS IN TMT

* Shareholders at an extraordinary general meeting authorized Next Private BV to buy the remainder of Altice Europe. Next Private had increased its offer for all of Altice Europe's issued and outstanding common shares to €5.35 in cash per share from €4.11 per share.

* Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. filed an appeal against a court ruling allowing Swedish telecom authority PTS to push on with 5G spectrum auctions amid the exclusion of the Chinese telecom gear vendor from the country's 5G network deployment, Reuters reported.

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December 2020 continued growth in information technology deal-making with two 11-figure transactions. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Bank of America Corp. advisers will collect millions as they consult some of the biggest consolidators across the industry.

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Worldwide smart TV shipments made a sharp recovery in the third quarter with a 37% sequential growth on an estimated 44.3 million units shipped, fueled by pent up demand from the first half of 2020.

TECHNOLOGY

* The U.S. government is suspending the implementation of tariffs on French goods originally scheduled to take effect Jan. 6 in response to a new French digital services tax. The suspension comes amid an ongoing probe into similar digital taxes in 10 other jurisdictions.

* France's Atos SE made an unsolicited, preliminary and nonbinding offer to buy all of DXC Technology Co.'s shares. The unsolicited offer values the U.S. company at more than $10 billion, including debt, Reuters reported, citing two sources.

* Inflexion Pvt. Equity Partners LLP will make a significant minority investment in U.K.-based cloud wholesale platform Digital Wholesale Solutions Ltd. at an enterprise valuation of £1 billion.

INTERNET & OTT

* Facebook Inc. exempted users of WhatsApp Inc. in Europe and the U.K. from having to share their information with the parent company to be able to continue using the messaging app, BBC News reported. The users, however, would have to accept new terms.

* Kahoot! AS's board sought approval for the issuance of 67 million shares, corresponding to 15% of outstanding shares, to raise an estimated 6.7 million Norwegian kroner in new capital. The authorization would be considered at an extraordinary general meeting on Jan. 14.

MEDIA

* Channel 4 (UK) appointed Ally Castle as creative diversity and disability lead, effective March 2021.

* German media company FUNKE MEDIENGRUPPE GmbH & Co. KGaA is addressing the aftermath of a hacking attack that began before Christmas, Horizont reported. The breach had impacted the company's print advertising business.

* Dutch digital news service Blendle BV co-founder Alexander Klöpping will be leaving the company after eight years, according to a tweet.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* Belgium is expected to hold its 5G spectrum auction no later than the beginning of 2022, Telecompaper reported, citing Telecommunications Minister Petra de Sutter. Various regions' conflicts with the federal government over the distribution of the expected auction proceeds have caused delays in the auction.

* Ericsson named British Telecom executive Katherine Ainley CEO for the U.K. and Ireland, effective Feb. 1. Ainley succeeds John Griffin, who will return to the role of country manager for Ericsson Ireland.

* British communications regulator Ofcom confirmed local telecom operators EE Ltd., Hutchison 3G UK Ltd. or Three UK, Telefónica UK Ltd. or O2 and Vodafone Ltd. as bidders in the upcoming spectrum auction of airwaves in the 700 MHz and 3.6-3.8 GHz bands.

MARKETS

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Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Charlotte van Hek and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report.

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