Altice eyes bigger stake in BT; Nvidia-Arm deal to face further probe in UK

TOP NEWS IN TMT

* Altice Europe President Patrick Drahi is looking to acquire a bigger stake in British Telecom in a transaction that could involve Deutsche Telekom AG, Reuters reported, citing three sources. Altice acquired a 12.1% stake in BT through Altice UK SARL in June, emerging as the largest shareholder of the U.K. operator, preceding Deutsche Telekom.

* U.K. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries is set to launch the second phase of the investigation into Nvidia Corp.'s proposed acquisition of Arm Ltd., The Sunday Times (London) reported. The U.K. government is expected to examine antitrust concerns, including potential national security issues.

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TECHNOLOGY

* German software company SAP SE allegedly spied on competitors, reported Spiegel. Former SAP board member Gerhard Oswald reportedly approved data theft from U.S. company Oracle Corp.

INTERNET & OTT

* Walt Disney Co.'s Disney+ streaming service unveiled original commissions for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, including Marvel Studios LLC's "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings."

* Sweden-based Storytel AB agreed to acquire audiobook streaming and download service Audiobooks.com from global investment firm KKR & Co. Inc.

* MásMóvil Ibercom SA-owned operator Euskaltel SA launched a new version of its Edonon TV app that supports Alphabet Inc. unit Google LLC's Chromecast, Digital TV Europe reported.

MEDIA

* Daily Mail and General Trust PLC's majority shareholder, Rothermere Continuation Ltd., is under pressure to boost its offer for the U.K. publisher after investors said the proposed acquisition price is an "opportunistic" bid at an unfair price, The Daily Telegraph (London) reported.

* Eurosport SA alleged that Canal+ Group failed to settle its dues when several sports competitions were canceled, Les Echos reported. The Discovery Inc. unit is claiming €10 million for "unfair competition." Eurosport receives around €40 million every year from Canal+ as part of a distribution agreement.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* Nokia Corp. is aiming for 100% purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025 to power its operations, including offices, research and development labs, and factories.

* Vivendi SE, a top investor at Telecom Italia SpA, is still unsatisfied with the role of Telecom Italia CEO Luigi Gubitosi, despite a recent boardroom meeting that tackled concerns about the executive's leadership, Reuters reported, citing two sources.

* The U.K.'s BT TV unveiled implemented changes to its flexible TV packages that now include Netflix Inc. under its entertainment, big entertainment and VIP plans.

* BT developed an epidemiology-based cybersecurity prototype called Inflame, which uses deep reinforcement learning to automatically detect and respond to cyberattacks.

* France-based Eutelsat Communications SA is joining the Net Zero Space initiative, intended to create a sustainable outer space environment in 2030 by containing and mitigating the generation of in-orbit debris.

* T-Mobile Netherlands BV gained about 52,000 new mobile customers and 14,000 new customers for fixed services in the third quarter of 2021. The Dutch telco now has about 6.9 million mobile customers and 721,000 fixed customers in the Netherlands.

* Telenor ASA's Finnish operator, DNA Oyj, appointed Christoffer von Schantz as vice president of its broadband and TV business, effective Nov. 22. Von Schantz is currently a member of DNA's executive team.

* Telenor entered into a partnership with Microsoft Corp. on Operator Connect, which integrates the companies' telephony into Teams. The solution will be made available in Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

* Orange Belgium SA will raise the monthly subscription prices for fixed internet and TV for all customers by €2 to €3, effective Jan. 17, 2022, De Standaard reported. The Orange SA unit cited increased wholesale tariffs and more expensive modems and decoders as the reasons behind the price increase.

FILM & TV

* AMC Networks International – Central and Northern Europe and the Union of European Football Associations agreed to provide live broadcasts of Slovak national football matches on Sport1 from 2022 to 2028. The AMC Networks Inc. unit also secured a package of European qualifiers and UEFA Nations League matches for a further six years, to be aired on Sport1 and Sport2 in Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

* beIN Media Group LLC's beIN Sports acquired the exclusive broadcasting rights to the Qatar Ooredoo World Padel Championship across 37 territories in the Middle East and North Africa, Asia-Pacific and North America regions.

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Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Koen Pijnappels and Esben Svendsen contributed to this report.

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