* Russia's Mail.ru Group Ltd. is in discussions with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. about potentially pre-installing its software on the Chinese company's devices, Reuters reports. Mail.ru owns social networks VKontakte Ltd. and Odnoklassniki LLC.
* BT plans to delist its American depositary shares from the New York Stock Exchange and terminate its American depositary receipt program. The company expects the delisting to become effective following market close on Sept. 13.
* Analysts agreed that Broadcom Inc.'s acquisition of Symantec Corp.'s enterprise cybersecurity business would support Broadcom's software strategy and give Symantec much-needed stability, even if it does not guarantee a growth story for either company.
* Ireland's Data Protection Commission asked Facebook Inc. to provide information on how it handled data during the manual transcription of its users' audio recordings, Reuters reports, citing a statement. Facebook has said no EU users were affected in the process, which is part of an effort to improve artificial intelligence systems on the Facebook Messenger app.
PAN-EUROPEAN
* Creator collective YouTubers Union has joined forces with the IG Metall European trade union to protest against unilateral decisions that demonetize videos on YouTube, Les Échos reports. The union is asking YouTube for transparency on the mechanisms that determine, among other things, creators' revenue.
UK AND IRELAND
* Comcast Corp.-owned pay TV giant Sky Ltd. rolled out the new Sky Go app, which combines the existing features of apps for its mobile video service Sky Go and entertainment platform Sky Q.
* U.K. telecom regulator Ofcom concluded its probe into BT's incorrect statements regarding its turnover for 2011 to 2015. BT agreed not to contest the watchdog's findings that the telco had breached its rules and paid administrative charges of about £3.7 million.
* HgCapital LLP-backed IRIS Software Group Ltd. agreed to acquire software provider FMP Global from U.K.-based lower-middle-market investor Tenzing Pvt. Equity LLP. Tenzing will exit FMP Global in the transaction which is expected to close by end-September.
* Funds advised by BC Partners agreed to buy North American IT solutions provider Presidio Inc. in an all-cash deal worth about $2.1 billion, including net debt. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
* Businessman David Montgomery is set to unveil a new listed acquisition vehicle that would target struggling newspaper publishers like Reach PLC, London's The Daily Telegraph reports, citing sources. The company would reportedly be called National World.
GERMANY, SWITZERLAND AND AUSTRIA
* Axel Springer SE announced a 7.7% increase in organic sales in the first half of the year. The company said it was focused on promoting long-term growth and is eyeing further acquisitions.
* Munich-based service provide Cancom SE expects operating profits and revenues to increase in 2019, driven by its cloud solutions. The company is predicting growth of 10%-15%.
* Constantin Medien AG, which would be renamed Sport1 Medien AG, announced group earnings of €2.3 million, marking a slight quarter-on-quarter improvement. The German media group's consolidated results improved from -€6.4 million to -€4.1 million, DWDL reports.
FRANCE
* Altice Europe announced that Iliad SA's Free must cease broadcasting the BFMTV, RMC Découverte and RMC Story channels in the coming days to comply with a decision of the Paris Court of First Instance. The group said the channels will remain available via authorized operator boxes, terrestrial TV, internet and satellite.
* Lagardère SCA signed an amendment to the mandate covering its stock repurchase program, Boursier reports. The amendment, valid until Sept. 30, concerns the acquisition of up to an additional 500,000 shares, or about 0.38% of Lagardère's share capital as of July 30.
NETHERLANDS,
* M7 Group SA saw its revenue grow by 2%, to €319 million in 2018, while also reporting net profit of €10.3 million compared to a net loss of €20.95 million a year ago, Telecompaper reports. Furthermore, the Luxembourg-based media company's EBITDA in 2018 decreased by 32% to €95.9 million, which would be due to operational costs increasing faster than turnover.
* Agency group Serviceplan Group will shortly expand its services in the Netherlands through the creation of Mediaplus, which will bring together the company's brand, media and communications services in Amsterdam, Emerce reports. Together with the office in Brussels, the Amsterdam location will serve the Benelux region.
* Two analysts from Israeli security company vpnMentor detected a leak of biometric data that allegedly included 2,000 fingerprints from employment agency Adecco in Belgium, De Tijd reports. The data breach would have been caused through Biostar 2, a Korean provider of biometric security platforms.
* The Dutch Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal has ruled that Radio Continue is entitled to a new support station in the province of Friesland, MediaMagazine reports. Two years ago, the court rejected the request from the Dutch radio channel to deploy a support channel.
NORDIC COUNTRIES
* Boozt AB acquired Danish app developer Touchlogic A/S, in a bid to boost its app and mobile web development competences. Touchlogic will be integrated into a new Copenhagen-headquartered company named Boozt Innovation Lab.
* NEXT Biometrics Group ASA signed a fingerprint sensor deal with an unnamed access control solution provider. The deal sees NEXT's One Touch ID 2010 FAP20 fingerprint sensor module incorporated into its partner company's access control readers.
* Modern Times Group AB's esports portfolio company ESL delivered strong growth across multiple metrics for major ESL tournaments in the January-August period. Viewership, in terms of unique users, rose by 90% in the said period, compared to year-ago figures.
SOUTHERN EUROPE
* Vodafone España SAU and Orange Espagne SAU will offer La Liga soccer content to bars and clubs, Digital TV Europe reports. The Vodafone Group PLC unit and the Orange SA unit acquired the rights to provide the content in public areas from Spanish broadcaster Mediapro.
* Orange Espagne has teamed up with Google to provide an augmented reality experience for visitors to the Aug. 17 RC Celta de Vigo-Real Madrid soccer match, Telecompaper reports.
EASTERN EUROPE
* Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection has imposed a fine of about 33 million Polish zlotys against UPC Polska Sp zoo for having prohibited clauses in its terms and conditions, Broadband TV News reports. In line with this, the Liberty Global PLC unit is said to have turned off certain channels and raised its subscription fees.
* T-Mobile Czech Republic as transferred about 5.6 billion Czech koruny in dividends from its 2018 earnings to shareholder Deutsche Telekom AG, Telecompaper reports, citing Mobilmania.cz. The 2018 dividend is the Czech operator's highest in the last five years and is higher by 1.2 billion koruny compared with the year-ago period.
FEATURED NEWS
SonyLIV expands to Middle East; Netflix, OSN part ways; FA Player nears launch: Subscription VOD service SonyLIV launched in several Middle Eastern markets; Netflix ended its partnership with pay TV operator OSN; and England's Football Association is close to launching streaming service FA Player for women's soccer.
FEATURED RESEARCH
Technology: Console gaming revenue drops in Q2'19 with new hardware on horizon: Kagan's first quarterly analysis of global console hardware, software and services revenue finds the industry down 4.0% year over year to $8.38 billion.
Economics of TV & Film: Netflix misses Q2 sub targets, loses domestic subs: Netflix reported in July that domestic streaming subscribers declined for the first time since the third quarter of 2011 when it began separately reporting DVD and streaming subscribers.
RECENT EARNINGS
Tencent Q2'19 revenue bolstered by gaming segment recovery: The Chinese internet company reported a 21% year-over-year growth in revenue in the June quarter, with CEO Pony Ma saying the company is "quite happy" with how its smartphone games segment has recovered from a tightening of local regulations.
Anne Freier, Sylvia Edwards Davis, Charlotte van Hek and Gerard O'Dwyer contributed to this report.
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