EC appeals against ruling in Apple's Irish tax case; Atos, DXC end deal talks

TOP NEWS IN TMT

* The European Commission filed an appeal with the Official Journal of the European Union over the General Court's decision to annul a decision to impose €13 billion in Irish back taxes against Apple Inc.

* Atos SE and U.S.-based DXC Technology Co. agreed to discontinue talks for the French company's proposed acquisition of the latter. DXC's board earlier found that Atos' offer undervalues the company.

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Early industrial adopters of 5G form part of the technology's major commercial opportunity. But thus far, uptake remains slow going, according to industry experts, even as 5G equipment makers tout massive benefits from early studies.

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Russia's broadband sector has overcome the results of the economic crisis of 2014-2015 that caused a decrease in average revenue per user, and revenues have grown by 14.4% over the two years to year-end 2019.

TECHNOLOGY

* Finnish company HMD global Oy is planning to make India its global supply chain hub, Techradar reported, citing a statement from Vice President Sanmeet Kocchar.

* Private equity firm Vitruvian Partners LLP reached an agreement with Paris-based Apax Partners SAS, to acquire a majority shareholding in Expereo, a provider of managed internet, cloud access and SD-WAN solutions, for an undisclosed sum. Apax Partners will remain as a minority shareholder alongside Vitruvian Partners and the company's management team.

* The European Commission set a provisional deadline to decide on whether to approve or deny Microsoft Corp.'s proposed acquisition of ZeniMax Media Inc. on March 5.

* Swedish software company Cint AB formalized plans to launch an IPO of its shares during the first half of 2021.

* Swedish company Doro AB agreed to acquire assets of FirstCall 24/7 from Trent and Dove Housing on a cash and debt-free basis.

* uCloudlink Group Inc. through its uCloudlink (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. subsidiary invested in French open virtual SIM platform iQsim SAS.

INTERNET & OTT

* Liberty Global PLC-owned Swiss network provider UPC Schweiz acquired the cable networks in Glarus, Kaltbrunn and WeggisVitznau-Gersau from Technische Betriebe Glarus, Fernsehgenossenschaft Kaltbrunn and Genossenschaft Antennenanlage Weggis-Vitznau-Gersa. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

* A new advertising-based video-on-demand service, YouLook, launched in the U.K. and Ireland in a beta version, Advanced Television reported. The service is slated to be available on iOS, Android, and Amazon.com Inc.'s Firestick platforms next month.

* Amazon, DAZN and Discovery Inc. are among the contenders for the French broadcast rights for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 matches. The professional soccer league LFP confirmed the consultation process was unsuccessful as the reserve price was not met.

* Spotify Technology SA, the parent entity of Spotify AB, launched its audio-streaming subscription service in South Korea.

* Dutch provider DELTA Fiber Nederland BV is taking over the fiber and coax connections from provider Rekam in the Midden-Holland region, which covers more than 50,000 connections.

* Russian operator MegaFon, through its research and development subsidiary CJSC Megalabs, increased its stake in Digital Media Holding LLC to 50% for an undisclosed sum, Telecompaper reported Jan. 29, citing Kommersant.

MEDIA

* A consortium comprising former New York Times Co. CEO Mark Thompson and former Financial Times Group Ltd. Editor Lionel Barber backed a management purchase of weekly publication, The New European, from U.K. publisher Archant Ltd., The Guardian (London) reported.

* Cyprus-based mobile and social game developer Nexters Global Ltd. signed a merger agreement with special purpose acquisition company Kismet Acquisition One Corp. The transaction will see Nexters becoming a public company on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.

* Bonnier AB-owned Tv4 Sverige Ab announced a new cost reduction plan that will lead to staff cuts and reduced service offerings.

* British Telecom's BT Sport is launching Matchday Experience, a feature that uses augmented reality and 360-degree cameras for sports matches. Subscribers can access the new feature on the BT Sport app on iOS and Android.

* Russia's National Media Group JSC named Svetlana Balanova as its new general director, replacing Olga Paskina, who will step down from the role on Feb. 5, Broadband TV News reported.

* Czech broadcaster Ftv Prima Spol. S R.O. appointed Ladislav Musil as CFO, replacing Petr Babulik, Broadband TV News reported.

TELECOMMUNICATIONS

* The German Federal Network Agency, Bundesnetzagentur, sought applications for frequencies ranging from 24.25 to 27.5 GHz, reported Telecompaper. Applications will be accepted until March 31.

* Telefónica UK Ltd. and NEC Corp. conducted an open RAN trial on the Telefónica SA unit's network.

* Telia Co. AB's Finnish unit decided to switch-off its 3G network by the end of 2023, which will release capacity for 4G and 5G networks as well as new technologies in the country.

* Telia and DNA Oyj agreed to expand their joint mobile network further southwest to the Raahe-Loviisa line, covering cities such as Oulu, Kuopio and Kouvola. The plan is also intended to speed up 5G construction in the area.

* Orange SA unit Orange Belgium SA appointed Antoine Chouc as the company's new CFO from March 1, replacing Arnaud Castille who decided to pursue other activities.

* Nokia Corp. and Singapore's StarHub Ltd. partnered to deploy a cloud-native 5G core network to manage 5G stand-alone bandwidth demand.

* Bulgarian operator Neterra EOOD aims to become carbon neutral by end of 2021.

FILM & TV

* BT Sport renewed an agreement to continue airing MotoGP matches in the U.K. and Ireland until at least 2024.

MARKETS

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

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