Microsoft to acquire ScreenTonic
Seattle: Microsoft Corp said on Thursday that it has agreed to acquire European mobile phone advertising company ScreenTonic in order to acquire a foothold in the rapidly growing space of placing ads on mobile phones. It did not disclose any financial details of the deal.

Paris-based ScreenTonic is one of the first companies in Europe to develop a platform to manage and place ads on the mobile Internet. It also serves as an ad agency for companies looking to develop marketing campaigns on cell phones. Investors in the start-up include venture capital firm 3i and I-Source Gestion, as per ScreenTonic's website.

Mobile phone advertising is still a nascent industry compared to web advertising, but it is an area of significant interest and is being targeted by Microsoft, and its rivals Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc.

Advertising on the Internet, especially pay-per-click ads alongside search results, erupted into a multibillion industry within a few years and online companies hope mobile phones will follow a similar growth trajectory.

As per Steve Berkowitz, senior vice president at Microsoft's online services group, the acquisition of ScreenTonic will be part of a long-term strategy to deliver ad experiences that map to the mobile Internet.

ABI Research forecast global mobile marketing and advertising will increase sixfold to $19 billion by 2011 from an estimated $3 billion by the end of 2007.

Google, the Web search leader, has built a dominant online advertising business around its search engine, and has strengthened its position by agreeing to acquire online ad supplier DoubleClick for $3.1 billion last month.

Microsoft, which was slow to recognise the power of web advertising, has been playing catch-up by building its own search engine years after Google, and is developing its ad placement system. Its online advertising is still dwarfed by Google.
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Starbucks brews healthy quarterly numbers
Los Angeles: Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) reported an 18.5 per cent rise in quarterly earnings on Thursday, on the back of new stores and demand for new products, including hot breakfast sandwiches and a sugar-free version of its popular Cinnamon Dolce latte which were made available in several new markets.

The company bettered operating margins and also backed its 2007 earnings forecast. Shares were up 1.4 per cent in extended trading. Second-quarter net income was at $150.8 million, or 19 cents per share. For the same quarter last year, earnings were at $127.3 million, or 16 cents per share.

Operating margins in the recent past were somewhat lower than what some investors had expected, on account of higher labor and commodity costs, and the costs of opening new stores. Revenue rose 19.6 per cent to $2.26 billion. Same-store sales, a measure to track sales at outlets that opened in the past 13 months, rose 4 per cent.
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Blacstone Group interested in GM's Allison Transmissions
New York: The Blackstone Group is reportedly amongst the private equity suitors expressing interested in Allison Transmissions, as interest increases in the General Motors Corp. (GM) subsidiary.

Centerbridge Capital Partners and Carlyle Group are among the others said to be interested in the division. Allison's cash flow is pegged at excess of $500 million, and that it's expected price could hover around $3 billion.

GM Chief Financial Officer Fritz Henderson said on Thursday that the company was working on the process, and that talks were on with a number of likely investors. Investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co. is advising the company on the process.

In January, GM had said that it was evaluating strategic options for the Indianapolis-based division which manufactures transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems for commercial trucks, buses and military vehicles.
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Dutch court freezes sale of ABN American subsidiary LaSalle
Amsterdam: A Dutch court ruled on Thursday that ABN AMRO must freeze its $21 billion sale of U.S. unit LaSalle, to allow a group of rival suitors to bid for the whole of ABN, and in effect waylay an agreed takeover by UK based Barclays.

ABN can appeal the decision by June 14th. ABN earlier argued that LaSalle's sale to Bank of America did not need approval as it amounted to less than a third of the bank's total value. However, the commercial court in Amsterdam is of the view that the sale should be put to shareholders, just as any other decision to sell the entire bank, or part thereof.

The LaSalle sale could now be on hold for over a month on account of the notice period required for the shareholder's meeting.

LaSalle's sale had been agreed alongside Barclays' proposed $90 billion takeover of ABN.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Spain's Santander and Belgian Dutch Fortis have indicated their interest for a higher bid for the group - possibly high as $98 billion if LaSalle were to remain a part of ABN.
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