Quickbites

Audi finalises purchase of LamborghiniThe German car maker Audi, a unit of Volkswagen, said on Friday it had finalised the acquisition of...

Audi finalises purchase of Lamborghini

The German car maker Audi, a unit of Volkswagen, said on Friday it had finalised the acquisition of one of the most prestigious names in sports cars, Lamborghini. No financial details were disclosed. quot;We agreed with Lamborghini8217;s owners not to reveal the price of the deal,quot; said Audi spokesman Joachim Cordshagen. Analysts value the sports car maker at between 150 and 250 million marks 84-140 million. Until now, Lamborghini had been in the hands of Malaysian investment group Mycom Setdco and Indonesian group V8217;Power Corporation, which is 60 per cent owned by Tommy Suharto, the youngest son of the former Indonesian president. Audi had already said on June 12 that it planned to buy Lamborghini and indicated recently that it intended to conclude the deal at the end of July. The final contract was signed on Thursday evening in London, spokesman Cordshagen said. Under the terms of that contract, the German car maker will take over the entire capital of AutomobilLamborghini S.P.A., with retrospective effect from July 24.

BT launches global tie-up with ATamp;T

British Telecommunications PLC announced on Sunday that it planned a 10 billion global joint venture with America8217;s biggest carrier 8212; ATamp;T Corp 8212; in a deal to create a major new force in world telecom. BT, Britain8217;s biggest telephone group, whose transatlantic strategy was left in tatters after a failed merger last year with America8217;s MCI Communications Corp, said the new 50:50 joint venture would be completed within 12 months. In an attempt to capture the lucrative business of high-spending multinationals, BT and ATamp;T are pooling international assets into a new company which will have around 5,000 employees and annual revenues of more than 10 billion in the first full year. Operating profits of around 1 billion in the first year are expected, growing at 15 to 20 per cent per year. The venture would contribute to both BT and ATamp;T8217;s earnings from day one, the groups said in a joint statementissued in London.

quot;Future Colaquot; to take on Coke, Pepsi

A leading Chinese soft drinks company has initiated a fierce cola war against American giants Coca Cola and Pepsi by introducing its new brand quot;Future Colaquot;, the official China Daily Business Weekly reported on Sunday. quot;Promoting it as China8217;s own cola, the company is trying to put the squeeze on Coca Cola and Pepsi,quot; the paper said, adding that quot;Future Cola has sparked a fierce war in the country8217;s huge soft drinks marketquot;. According to figures reported by the newspaper, Coca Cola dominates China8217;s market with 57.56 per cent share while Pepsi comes a poor second with 21.29 per cent. The Chinese brands have a modest 21.15 per cent market share. quot;The emergence of Future Cola8217; is a normal action of market competition,quot; the paper quoted a Coca Cola official here. But Pepsi8217;s Beijing office indicated that the launch of the new cola brand is a welcome development as it will promote the mutual development of Chinese and foreign soft drinkproducers.