Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – The news is official: Skype of Luxembourg will wed Microsoft of Washington State in the US, with the American company paying a hefty wad of cash for its new partner. Skype 10 May joined Microsoft in stating that “Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Skype Global S.à.r.l. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Microsoft will acquire Skype, the leading Internet communications company, for $8.5 billion in cash from the investor group led by Silver Lake. The agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both Microsoft and Skype.”
The news caught the financial and technical worlds by surprise, and not even WikiLeaks appears to have had a lead in knowing about it.
Links to other sites: Bloomberg, Financial Times, Seattle Intelligencer, Wired
Kai Althof, Gladstone Gallery, NY, Art Basel 2011
Basel, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - Art Basel’s owners have agreed to buy a majority stake in Art HK – Hong Kong International Art Fair, effective 1 July 2011. MCH Group, which organizes Art Basel, the world’s largest modern and contemporary art fair, and Art Basel Miami Beach, signed the purchase agreement with Asian Art Fairs Ltd, the Swiss group announced 6 May.
The Basel group will have a 60 percent stake, but the price has not been disclosed.
The mid-term goal, the Basel group says, is to convert the Hong Kong fair to the Swiss brand. The 2012 show will take place under the Art HK name, but the date will be moved up from late May to February, and the name and branding change will take place after that.
The Basel fair is held in June. This year the dates are 11-19 June.
“Since its inception in 2008, Art HK has established itself as the leading art show in Asia,” MCH Group said in its statement announcing the deal. “The strong momentum this provides, combined with the great experience and know-how of both organizations, and the expanding art markets throughout Asia, offer great potential for MCH Group to establish a premier art show in this key region, and expand the reach of its art shows globally.”
Art Basel will hold its 42nd edition this June, while the two others shows are much younger: the Miami show opened in 2002 and the Hong Kong art fair in 2008.
Baboo to continue operating until 2011 consolidation; 52 employees reportedly laid off
The Baboo brand will be retained for some products, says new owner Darwin
Geneva and Lugano, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Darwin, Swiss regional airline based in Ticino, is buying out Baboo, in a bid to strengthen its position. It expects to double its balance sheet from CHF40 to 80 million, with more than half a million passengers a year. The company will continue to fly Baboo’s network and will retain the name Baboo for some of its products. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, will be completed in early 2011.
The enlarged Darwin airline will have more than 20 destinations, mainly in Switzerland, Italy and France, and to some extent other European countries.
People on the US government’s terrorist watch list may legally purchase guns, according to a report published 22 June (pdf) by the investigative arm of the US Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Ninety percent of gun buyers, who undergo mandatory background checks and who come up on the NCTC’s (National Counterterrorism Center) terrorist list, are allowed to purchase guns because there is no other information to disqualify them. A previous felony conviction or irregular immigration status would be a disqualifying factor. Senator Frank Lautenberg, who commissioned the report, has introduced legislation to close this loophole.
The ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) said last year that one million names are on the terrorist watch list, many unjustifiably. The National Rifle Association, a gun lobby, says that “the integrity of the terror watch list is poor, as it mistakenly contains the names of many men and women, including some high-profile Americans, who have not violated the law.” The GAO has said that being on the terrorist watch list does not mean the person is involved in terrorist activity. CNN
Bern, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) - The CHF5 you now pay if you’ve rushed onto a Swiss train without buying your ticket in advance will go up to CHF10 on Switzerland’s national day, 1 August. The CFF rail company and public transport authorities have agreed to the increase in order to discourage the growing number of people who get on trains without a ticket, slowing down ticket-checkers and making it difficult for them to complete their tour of the train.
