Thames Tech Wire

NTL to Replace CEO Simon Duffy with Comcast's Burch

London -- NTL, a U.K.-based cable firm, announced that it will appoint
Stephen Burch, a top executive at U.S.-based cable operator Comcast,
to replace Chief Executive Officer Simon Duffy, who will step down
on Jan. 16. NTL said Duffy would become executive vice chairman,
with a focus on external management issues including group strategy
and business development. The executive shake-up will be a major
surprise for many investors and analysts as it comes at a pivotal time
for the company, which recently made a bid for local mobile operator
Virgin Mobile and is currently in the process of merging with local
rival Telewest.
http://shorterlink.com/?C18T0P

Interregnum Firm Red-M Secures £4.6-Million Investment

London -- Interregnum Plc, a U.K.-based technology merchant bank
listed on London's Alternative Investment Market, announced that its
portfolio company Red-M Group has secured £4.6 million in venture-
capital financing. Pi Capital -- an independent, U.K.-based private-
equity firm investing in local unquoted businesses -- led the round, with
Octopus Asset Management, Apax and Interregnum also participating.
Red-M was formed in April by the merger of Cellular Design Services
(CDS), a wireless consulting services provider, and Red-M
Communications, a vendor of wireless security probes and monitoring
software.
http://www.interregnum.com/News.htm

EU Proposal Would Allow Product Placement in TV Shows

Strasbourg, France -- The European Commission has proposed new
rules to govern the distribution of "moving images" in the EU that for
the first time could allow the practice of including product placement in
TV shows, Reuters reported. The use of product placement is growing
in the U.S., alongside the growing popularity of digital video recorders
that let viewers skip past TV commercials. But the practice has been
banned in many EU nations, where current rules also limit the amount
of TV advertising to 12 minutes per hour. The new "television without
frontiers" proposals still must gain approval of the European Parliament
and EU member states.
http://tinyurl.com/8tnhw

RealNetworks Re-Launches U.K. Streaming-Radio Service

London -- RealNetworks has re-launched its Radio Pass streaming
music subscription service in the U.K., re-branding the service as
RealMusic, according to the Register. The service, similar to one
recently launched by the company in the U.S., can operate through a
plug-in for Internet Explorer. For about £8.50 a month, RealMusic
offers access to more than 300 pre-programmed stations, from
providers including the BBC and other stations where bands can post
their own songs. Users can also purchase song downloads for about 99
pence each. RealNetworks said it planed to expand RealMusic into
other European countries in the first quarter of 2006.
http://shorterlink.com/?P2ZPVY

U.K.-Based Civica to Acquire Comino Group for £50 Million

London -- Civica, a U.K.-based council outsource firm, announced that
it has agreed to acquire Comino Group Plc, a social housing software
firm, for approximately £50 million. Under the terms of the deal,
Civica will pay 335 pence in cash for each Comino share. Civica said
the acquisition of Comino would provide it with greater scale and focus
in the provision of public-sector systems and strengthen its position in
the local government IT market. "The businesses have been working
together in the market for some time, and the acquisition provides a
great strategic fit for customers and makes sound commercial sense for
both companies," said Civica CEO Simon Downing.
http://shorterlink.com/?CWJVLF

Siemens Division to Acquire U.K.-Based Electrium

Frankfurt -- Siemens, a Germany-based technology group, announced
that its Automation and Drives (A&D) division has agreed to acquire
Electrium, a U.K.-based supplier of electrical installation systems, for
an undisclosed sum. "The acquisition of this profitable vendor puts us
among the top three vendors in the U.K.," said A&D's Godehardt
Schneider. "In addition, the strong Electrium brand is an outstanding
supplement to our portfolio in the export markets of the Near and
Middle East." Electrium currently employs around 700 people at four
sites.
http://shorterlink.com/?0R6V0Z

U.K. Mobile Operator O2 Teams Up with Buongiorno

London -- U.K.-based wireless network operator O2 announced that it
has partnered with Buongiorno, an Italy-based provider of multimedia
mobile content, to launch a mobile TV sports talk show for O2's U.K.
subscribers. "Soccer Addicts" will be a weekly four-minute-long show
that incorporates both in-studio hosts and guests and video, picture and
text contributions from viewers. The first episode is set for wireless
broadcast on Dec. 19.
http://shorterlink.com/?D9L23P

U.K.-Based GUS Acquires U.S.-Based PriceGrabber.com

London -- Aiming to expand its Internet capabilities, GUS Plc, a U.K.-
based retail and business-services group and owner of Argos and
Experian, announced that it has acquired PriceGrabber.com, a U.S.-
based online price-comparison service, for approximately £273 million
($485 million). Based in California, PriceGrabber.com is currently the
third-largest Internet shopping search engine in the U.S., representing
more than 9,000 online retailers. "When combined with the
complementary skills, expertise and scale of Experian, in both
interactive and marketing, we are very excited about the future growth
prospects for PriceGrabber.com," said Experian CEO Don Robert.
GUS said it expected PriceGrabber.com's sales and profits to grow by
about 50% this year.
http://shorterlink.com/?DQ43R3

Seagate Technology to Invest £83 Million in Northern Ireland

Belfast -- Seagate Technology, a California-based maker of hard disc
drives, announced that it is investing £83 million in two factories in
Northern Ireland. Seagate said the investment, which is expected to
create at least 300 new jobs, included more than £24.8 million in
support from Invest Northern Ireland. Seagate has two facilities in
Northern Ireland. At the Springtown wafer fabrication facility, the
company develops and manufactures recording heads, which write
information onto and read information from the recording disc inside a
computer's hard drive. The company's Limavady facility produces
nickel-plated aluminium substrates, the core material on which
computer hard disc drives read, write and store digital information.
http://shorterlink.com/?BWEBAI

Cambridge-Based ARKeX Secures £5.5-Million Investment

Cambridge, England -- ARKeX, a Cambridge-based developer of a
technology (FTGeX) that allows energy companies to find deposits
more efficiently, announced that it has raised £5.5 million of second-
round venture-capital financing. Energy Ventures, a Norway-based
venture-capital firm, led with round, with existing investors, including
Scottish Equity Partners, also participating. ARKeX said it would use
the investment to speed up its international expansion with the opening
of a new office in the U.S. "In a short time, ARKeX has gone from
launch to having field crew out generating revenue with a product that
is in high demand by major energy companies," said Scottish Equity's
David Sneddon. "The FTGeX has impressed clients this year."
http://shorterlink.com/?40PIT9
http://www.arkex.co.uk/