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Murdoch rumoured to be in talks with Nokia and Vivendi

By Tony Hallett

Published: Tuesday 01 February 2000

News Corporation is rumoured to be considering a tie-up with Nokia less than one month after the announcement of AOL's $350bn merger with Time Warner,

News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch is reported to have held talks with Nokia executives in the last few weeks. Meanwhile, the Finnish telecoms equipment company posted record results this morning - sales and profits jumping 48 and 57 per cent respectively from 1998 to 1999 - and is already a valued partner of companies such as HP and Palm Computing.

Making textual and audio-visual content available over next-generation mobile handsets is something most major media companies are known to be looking at, and News Corp - through its 25 per cent stake in One.tel - is in the race for a third-generation UMTS operator's licence in the UK.

In related news, Jean-Marie Messier, chief executive of French conglomerate Vivendi, has handed an olive branch to News Corp. A long time rival of Murdoch's, Messier told Le Monde that BSkyB and Vivendi's Canal Plus should consider working together, given current consolidation in the media and communications industries.

News Corp owns 40 per cent of BSkyB, but Vivendi has built up a 24.5 per cent holding in the firm. Fuller co-operation across other holdings has been predicted.