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Investment firm nears eir deal; Vodafone Malta, Melita merger scrapped

TOP NEWS

* Investment firm NJJ Capital SAS, owned by French telecom entrepreneur Xavier Niel, is close to acquiring a majority stake in Irish operator eir Group plc, U.K.'s The Sunday Times reports. The deal, which is expected to value eir in the region of €1.5 billion, is reportedly on track to be concluded before the year's end.

* Vodafone Group Plc, Apax Partners Midmarket SAS and Fortino Capital agreed to drop plans to merge Vodafone Malta with Melita plc. The decision follows the proposed merger failing to secure approval from the Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.

UK AND IRELAND

* Ireland's Commission for Communications Regulation is eyeing a record fine of almost €10 million on eir after the latter allegedly failed to comply with obligations to open its network to other operators, Dublin's The Irish Times reports. Eir, meanwhile, is countersuing the Irish government in its bid to block Comreg from imposing the fine.

* Legal veteran Sabine Chalmers is stepping in as British Telecom's new general counsel, London's Financial Times reports, citing sources. Chalmers, who joins from beverage company Anheuser-Busch InBev, will reportedly be confirmed in her new role in January 2018.

* Uber Technologies Inc. is set to appeal its right to operate in the U.K. as the ride-hailing company faces a Dec. 11 court hearing, Reuters reports. Uber will appeal regulator Transport for London's earlier decision in September to deny the company's license renewal.

* British content distributor Arrow Films launched subscription video-on-demand service Arrow TV, Rapid TV News reports. The platform will be available to British subscribers of Amazon.com Inc.'s Amazon Prime service via Amazon Channels.

GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA

* Bayerischer Rundfunk's broadcasting council has approved the budget of the German broadcaster, with planned savings worth €10 million.

* Germany's Federal Cartel Office searched the office of German media group DuMont Mediengruppe, DWDL reports. The search is related to an old case, but the media group refused to comment.

FRANCE

* The French government passed an amendment to ensure the tax on fixed network infrastructure would apply the same for copper lines and optical fiber and cable lines, Les Echos reports. The tax on copper lines brings in around €400 million a year to local authorities that need to keep revenues at the same level as subscribers switch to fiber optics.

* Paris-based startup campus STATION F launched French Tech Central, a facility that offers entrepreneurs and startups access to public services and advice on taxes, visas, intellectual property, customs and research, among others.

* Mediawan SA's AB Groupe SA has joined the Association des Chaînes Conventionnées éditrices de Services, CB News reports. The association represents non-terrestrial pay-TV broadcasters and includes 35 channels based in France.

NETHERLANDS, BELGIUM AND LUXEMBOURG

* Adyen, a Dutch payments company backed by Silicon Valley billionaires, is considering an IPO in early 2018, Bloomberg News reports, quoting people familiar with the matter. The startup, which counts eight of the 10 biggest U.S. companies among its clients, is speaking to advisers about a potential listing.

* The Flemish and French communities in Belgium concluded a first agreement on radio frequencies in the country after long negotiations, according to the website of Flemish Minister of Culture, Youth, Media and Brussels Sven Gatz. The two communities have been dealing with problems about the division of radio frequencies for a decade.

* The Dutch ombudsman urged Ziggo NV to solve the complaints it has been getting from customers, who say the Liberty Global plc unit refuses to give existing customers the same promotions as new ones, TotaalTV reports.

NORDIC COUNTRIES

* Industry analysts believe a takeover bid by KPN NV for TDC A/S is unlikely, Børsen reports. A possible offer for the Danish telco emerged as market speculation grew around KPN's long-term growth plans in Europe.

* Ericsson AB won a $75 million settlement in a patent case filed against Chinese handset maker TCL, Affärsvärlden reports. A U.S. court has ruled that TCL had infringed on Ericsson's patent rights.

* Techstep ASA unit Nordialog Oslo AS secured a distributor deal with Telenor ASA's Telenor Norge AS, which covers the sale of Telenor's business-to-business products in Norway, Techstep said. The deal is expected to strengthen Nordialog's supply chain business.

* Fingerprint Cards AB's rear-facing FPC1035 and FPC1028 sensors are featured in Xiaomi Inc.'s Redmi 5 and Redmi 5 Plus smartphones, Fingerprint said.

SOUTHERN EUROPE

* Türk Telekomünikasyon AS said it may consider a public listing for its subsidiaries in the future in line with its potential investment strategy. However, the company has yet to make a specific decision for any of the companies. Meanwhile, Türk Telekom CEO Paul Doany said the telco has no plans to borrow money for its business plan and will instead focus on dividend payouts, Reuters reports.

* Italian satellite TV provider TivuSat added VH1 and Spike to its lineup, Telecompaper reports. The two channels are operated by Viacom Inc.'s Viacom International Media Networks.

EASTERN EUROPE

* T-Mobile Polska subscribers will get 90-day free access to Naspers Ltd.-owned Showmax, following a deal between the Polish operator and the SVOD service, Broadband TV News reports. The offer follows Showmax's Polish debut in February.

* Russian direct-to-home platform operator Orion Express extended the reach of its Play Out distribution service to foreign broadcasters, Broadband TV News reports, citing a company statement. About 50 TV channels operating in Russia and CIS countries are already using the service.

* Mobile TeleSystems PJSC rolled out its own industrial internet-of-things platform, which has an open interface and is compatible with various types of data networks, Telecompaper reports.

* Vladimir Drozdenko stepped down as CEO of Russian regional operator Crimeatelecom, Telecompaper reports, citing Comnews.ru. Ivan Loginov has been named to replace Drozdenko.

FEATURED NEWS

Netflix adds more Asian content offerings; HBO launching five originals in Asia: Netflix is further ramping up its Asian content offerings, while HBO unveiled five new original productions in Asia.

FEATURED RESEARCH

Global Multichannel: Improving affordability, pay DTT rollouts boosting Africa's multichannel market: With TV households increasing at a 4.2% CAGR from 2016 to 2026, Africa is the fastest-growing regional TV market, which, coupled with low multichannel penetration, presents strong investment opportunities in the media sector.

Anne Freier, Amanda Kelly, Charlotte van Hek and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report. The Daily Dose has an editorial deadline of 7 a.m. London time. Some external links may require a subscription.