ROUNDUPS
In the papers 18 February
18-02-2003
by John Cradden
Government expected to lobby for European information security agency | Founder of Germany's MobilCom files for bankruptcy
The Irish Times reports that US computer company Teradyne is expected to confirm the closure of its factory in Cavan town with the loss of 60 jobs, 39 full-time and 21 part-time. The plant has only been in operation for 18 months. It is believed the company intends to move its operation to its Blanchardstown plant, which employs over 300.
The paper also reports that the Government is to lobby intensively for a new European Union agency to be based in the Republic, possibly in the Digital Hub in Dublin. The agency, proposed last week by the European Commission, will be called the European Network and Information Security Agency and is being formed to provide information and resources to states to protect their computer networks from the threat of malicious hackers and viruses.
The Irish Independent reports that a review of Government's action plan to develop an information society has found 57 projects behind schedule. The progress report on the New Connections strategy shows that 14 projects have been completed so far and 83 are on target. See the full story as reported in ElectricNews.net on Monday.
The paper also reports that shareholders in Alphyra will see the company's preliminary results for 2002 when they are published on Wednesday. The results will show the profit or loss at the group last year and will also allow shareholders to estimate the net asset value per share and compare this with the EUR2.70 per share being offered by the management buyout team.
The Financial Times reports that Gerhard Schmid, the controversial founder of MobilCom, on Monday filed for bankruptcy because of the collapse in the share price of the German telecommunications group. Schmid, whose dispute with MobilCom's former partner France Telecom nearly led to the group's bankruptcy last year, said his private estate of shares and property was at risk. MobilCom amassed billions of euros in debt to finance an ambitious drive to build up third-generation mobile services.
The paper also reports that a handful of the best-known US venture capital firms made profits for investors of more than 100 percent a year during the technology boom of the 1990s, according to figures made public for the first time. The investment performance figures, released by the University of Michigan's pension fund, showed that Kleiner Perkins Caulfield & Byers, Silicon Valley's most renowned venture capitalist, notched up a massive 287 percent annual profit on its 1996 fund.
The Wall Street Journal reports that a German district court has charged six senior executives associated with Mannesmann AG in connection with the approval of excessive payouts for management when the German telecommunications company was acquired three years ago. The defendants, said to include Josef Ackermann, CEO of Deutsche Bank as well as Klaus Esser, the former CEO of Mannesmann, were charged with breach of trust or accessory to breach of trust, launching what could become one of the country's highest-profile corporate lawsuits.
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