GE in the shopping spirit

Significant acquisitions by GE, Siemens and Samsung dominated the international ICT market last week.

At home, the positive interim figures from Telkom was the main local ICT story.

* Good interim figures from Telkom SA, with revenue up 20.6% and profit up 300.5%.
* Mixed interim numbers from Vodacom, with revenue up 4.1% but profit down 2.7%.
* A positive trading update from Ansys.
* A mixed trading update from Naspers.
* The Huge Group intends to raise R300 million via a share issue.
* A renewed JSE cautionary by the Huge Group.

* Agilysys, a global provider of next-generation hospitality software solutions and services, has opened a UK office to serve the EMEA region, with James Slatter as its MD.
* Seacom has partnered with IOX Cable, a subsidiary of Indoi, to build a new, $150 million telecommunications cable system to connect Mauritius to Africa and the rest of the world. It is expected to be ready for commercial service by the first quarter of 2019.

Good interim figures from Telkom SA, with revenue up 20.6%.

* Avnet acquired Hackster, an online community that helps users globally learn how to design, create and program Internet-connected hardware.
* BlueStream, a provider of planning, implementation and maintenance services for wireless and wireline communications networks, bought selected assets and ongoing business of the program management and field installation services arm of Andrew Services, a division of CommScope.
* Cohu purchased Kita Manufacturing, a Japanese semiconductor component designer and manufacturer.
* GE acquired ServiceMax, an inventory and work management software company, for $915 million.
* GE also bought two AI start-ups, Bit Stew Systems and Wise.io, in moves that will expand its Predix platform for industrial Internet applications. This connects big machines such as power plants and aircraft engines to databases and analytical software.
* LiveRamp, an Acxiom company, purchased Arbor and Circulate, two companies at the forefront of helping publishers connect people-based data to the marketing ecosystem. The deal was worth $140 million.
* Planar acquired NaturalPoint, which makes optical tracking and motion control technology, for $125 million.
* Samsung bought Harman International Industries, marking a major push by the former into auto-related technology and the biggest overseas acquisition ever by a South Korean firm. The deal was worth $8 billion.
* Siemens purchased Mentor Graphics, which makes software for designing semiconductors, for $4.5 billion.
* Verint Systems acquired OpinionLab, a provider of continuous voice of the customer listening solutions that drive smarter, real-time digital engagement.
* Verisk Analytics bought The Geoinformation Group, a UK-based provider of geographic data solutions.
* Verizon purchased LQD WiFi, a provider of Palo unified technology hubs.
* Viacom acquired Argentine broadcaster, Television Federal SA (Telefe), from Telefonica, in a deal worth $345 million.
* ViaSat bought Arconics, a provider of software solutions to the aviation industry.
* Koch Industries made a $2 billion plus investment in Infor, an enterprise software provider.
* Robi Axiata (Bangladesh), a part of Malaysia's Axiata Group, merged with Bangladesh's Airtel in a deal that creates Bangladesh's second biggest operator.
* A strategic partnership has been formed between GE and Exelon, an energy company, in a move designed to develop new software applications and technologies for the energy sector.
* A strategic partnership has been formed between UAE-based satellite operator Yahsat and Talia, an established teleport, satellite and terrestrial network operator, in a move designed to provide Talia's customers in the Middle East and Africa with a tightly integrated offering and a tailor-made solution to fit the changing demands of their customers.
* An arbitrator ruled for Mobily in a Saudi Arabian mobile dispute, but awarded only $58 million, ie, 10% of the compensation requested.
* Excellent quarterly results from Yintech.
* Very good quarterly figures from Applied Materials, Asure Software (back in the black), Micro-Star International, Tencent Holdings and TowerJazz.
* Good quarterly numbers from Formula Systems and Mobileye.
* Satisfactory quarterly results from Bouygues Telecom, Iliad, Kulicke & Soffa and Nuance Communications (back in the black).
* Mediocre quarterly results from Cellcom Israel, Cisco, Mobile TeleSystems and NetApp.
* Mixed quarterly figures from Alarm.com, with revenue up but profit down; Asustek Computer, with revenue down but profit up; Ceragon Networks, with revenue down but profit up; Keysight Technologies, with revenue up (just) but profit down; MACOM, with revenue up but profit down; Marvell Technology Group, with revenue down but back in the black; and Wistron, with revenue up but profit down.
* Mixed half-year figures from TalkTalk, with revenue down but profit up.
* Quarterly losses from Amtech Systems, Diebold, Everspin Technologies, Gilat Satellite Networks, Intuit, JD.com, NII Holdings, Salesforce.com, Stratasys, Top Image Systems and Zebra Technologies.
* A half-year loss from Vodafone.
* A planned IPO on the Helsinki Stock Exchange from Finnish operator DNA.
* A planned IPO in the US by China-based Best Logistics Technologies, a logistics company backed by Alibaba and Foxconn.
* An IPO filing for the NYSE from cyber security company Optiv Security, which is majority owned by Blackstone Group.
* An IPO filing from Snapchat, the messaging app.

EMEA/Africa:
* Mobile subscriptions in Africa are expected to reach 1.02 billion by the end of 2016, and 1.33 billion by 2021, according to Ovum.

Worldwide:
* There will be 6.8 billion smartphone subscriptions globally by the end of 2022, up from 3.9 billion in 2016, according to Ericsson.

* JSE All share index: Up 0.7%
* FTSE100: Up 0.7%
* DAX: Down 0.3%
* NYSE (Dow): Up 0.1% (highest weekend close)
* S&P 500: Up 0.8%
* Nasdaq: Up 1.6% (highest weekend close)
* Nikkei225: Up 3.4%
* Hang Seng: Down 0.8%
* Shanghai: Down 0.1%

International:
* The outcome of talks by International Data Group, a pioneer in technology publishing and owner of such venerable names as PCWorld and the market research firm IDC, to sell itself for more than $1 billion to a Chinese investor group, headed by IDG of Greater China chairman Hugo Shong.

South Africa:
* Further developments regarding the future of the Neotel/Liquid Telecom deal.
* Further developments regarding the Huge Group/ConnectNet deal.

The 25 Best Global Companies to Work For is a new set of research and rankings by Fortune magazine. The list includes:

* 1: Google
* 2: SAS Institute
* 4: Dell EMC
* 6: NetApp
* 8: Autodesk
* 14: Cisco
* 15: Cadence Design Systems
* 22: Adobe