Facebook Buys Whatsapp For $16B In Cash And Stock

Facebook is purchasing messaging giant WhatsApp for$16B in cash and stock, according to aregulatory filing. The deal is being cut for$12B in Facebook shares, $4B in cash and an additional $3B in RSUs for employee retention.

A termination fee is attached to the deal that would cost Facebook $1B in cash and $1B in shares if the deal fails to pass regulatory muster.

Facebook hasposted on its blog, detailing the reasoning behind the acquisition as well. The

Sanusi Attacks NNPC Again: You haven’t accounted for $20bn

Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday, told the Senate Committee on Finance that of the $67 billion crude oil sales that was supposed to be remitted to the Federation Account, only $47 billion had been reconciled between the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and CBN.

But the Committee’s Chairman, Ahmed Makarfi, cautioned the CBN Governor over making wild and unsubstantiated allegations without concrete and specific figures to back them up.

The NNPC, in a swift reaction, however, dismissed the allegation of another unremitted $20

Dana Air back in the sky after deadly crash

Nigerian commercial airline Dana Air said on Monday it had resumed normal flights, some 18 months after a crash outside Lagos that claimed 159 lives.

“The airline is back in the sky. We are back in business. We have two flights today. The first has just left Lagos for Abuja,” company spokesman Sam Ogbogoro told AFP.

Dana’s operation was grounded after the crash on June 3, 2012. The airline was briefly cleared to fly

Drobga Invests In Mining Industry

Galatasaray FC striker and Ivorian footballer, Didier Drogba,has reportedly bought a 5 per cent stake in his country’s largest mining company.

The former Chelsea forward according to African Review made an investment of $74 Million to acquire part of the state’s shares in the company

Drogba had expressed interest in purchasing the stakes at the state owned mine in March

1% use of genuine software contributes $73bn to global economy – Microsoft

Software and Devices company, Microsoft Nigeria has made recommendations on ways to address software piracy at the anti-counterfeiting collaboration of Nigeria (ACC)’s 5th roundtable.

The ACC’s 5th Roundtable in conjunction with the International Trademarks Association (INTA) took place in Lagos, with Microsoft as a sponsor.

The ACC is the umbrella body for intellectual Property Rights (IPR) legalization and related issues in Nigeria with membership spanning across all sectors including the Intellectual

Second hand clothes,shoes record sales boom

Barely eight days to Christmas, dealers in second hand clothes and shoes in Jos have started making  brisk business in  sales.

A survey by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the various second hand clothes and shoes markets in the Jos metropolis revealed that the traders had been started recording higher patronage.

NAN reports that many women were now buying second hand clothes and shoes for their children and wards.

Some of the markets visited included Terminus, Miango Jnction and Katako that are known for various

We didn’t print N5,000 notes, coins – CBN Gov

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN weekend, refuted the rumour that it had printed the controversial new N5,000 notes and coins that the law makers had earlier stopped it from printing.

The CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, disclosed this while responding to a question on the scarcity of lower denomination and increase in the volume of dirty banknotes in the economy  after the  5th Bankers’ Committee retreat held in Calabar.

He said “as a result of all the noise around N5, 000 notes and coins, that process was

BlackBerry scraps search for buyer, ousts CEO

BlackBerry abandoned hopes of finding a buyer, and instead pegged its future on a $1 billion cash infusion as it shook up top management Monday and named a new chief executive.

The Waterloo, Ontario-based company’s announcement comes two and a half months after its largest shareholder Fairfax Financial Holdings Inc. offered to buy the rest of the business and take it private.

Fairfax instead announced it will invest $1 billion in a private placement, and Fairfax boss

World Bank ranks Nigeria 122nd best place to start business

The World Bank has ranked Nigeria 147th among the best places for doing business. It also ranked the country as the 122nd for best countries to start a business.

The report released, yesterday, said Nigeria’s low ranking is mainly caused by electricity problems, where the country is ranked 185th out of 189 countries evaluated. The first

Shell shuts-in 150,000 barrels of crude over pipeline fire

Nigeria crude output dropped by an additional 150,000 barrels per day, as Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, yesterday, shut down a section of its Trans Niger Pipeline, TNP, due to a fire outbreak along the pipeline’s right of way.

The Federal Government, as a result of the shut down, is losing about $16.05 million (N2.568 billion) daily, going by a crude oil price of about $107 per barrel.

According to a statement by the company, the fire outbreak was reported Monday, within

World Bank to cut extreme poverty by 2030

The President of the World Bank, Mr. Jim Yong Kim, has announced sweeping changes to make the institution more alive to its goals of ending extreme poverty by 2030, as well as boosting prosperity among the poor who constitute 40 per cent of the population in developing nations.

In his address, yesterday, at the plenary of the on-going 2013 annual meetings of the bank and the International Monetary Fund, IMF, in Washington, he announced $400 m cut in the

Sanusi insists on naira for dollar transfers …says he won’t re-visit N 5000 note

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday, said that Nigerians must accept Naira for dollar transfers.

Fielding questions from journalists on the sidelines of the 2013 World Bank/ International Monetary Fund , IMF, annual general meeeting in Washington, he explained that there was nowhere in the world where those sent money from abroad were being paid in foreign

Gov. Fashola Finally Unveils The Tallest Hotel In West Africa

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola, yesterday, unveiled the N30 billion tallest hotel in West Africa, the Intercontinental Lagos.

The hotel located at Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, is a 23-storey building with 358 rooms, 37 suites and a presidential suite.

The Intercontinental Lagos, a subsidiary of the Intercontinental Hotel Group, IHG, is owned by the Milan Group.

Fashola said the new hotel showed that the economy of the country was witnessing growth daily but without corresponding employment.

BREAKING NEWS: Blackberry Company Up For Sale At $4.7bn

BlackBerry, once the biggest name in mobile and worth more than $200 billion at its peak period in 2007, may soon be sold for less than $5 billion, according to a statement issued by the former smartphone giant.

BlackBerry on Monday said it has signed a Letter of Intent to sell the company to a group of investors led by a Canadian insurance company, Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited for $9 per share, in a deal that would total $4.7 billion. Fairfax currently owns about 10 percent of BlackBerry’s shares.

Lagosians Spend N36billion Annually On Parties - Gov Fashola

Lagos state governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, this weekend revealed that more than N36 billion is spent by Lagosians annually to organise parties. The governor said this at the 4th edition of the Lagos Ignite Enterprise and Employability project, a joint youth empowerment programme between the government and the Afterschool Graduate Development Centre, AGDC.

Governor Fashola said:

BlackBerry Unveils Z30 Smartphone With 5-inch Display

The company on Wednesday introduced the BlackBerry Z30, a new model that features a 5-inch display, stereo speakers, a bigger battery, and the latest version of its BlackBerry 10 operating system. 

The Z30, which was previously known as the BlackBerry A10 when it was in development, and which CEO Thorsten Heins has alluded to, is the company's newest flagship smartphone, occupying the tier above the Z10 and Q10.

The Z30 comes as BlackBerry is actively "exploring strategic alternatives," which is business-speak for looking for a buyer. Speculation has ranged from partnerships and joint ventures to the company getting broken up into pieces that would be more palatable for purchase.

Concerns have mounted on BlackBerry's viability after a brutal first quarter, which saw a disappointing number of BlackBerry 10 devices sold. The company reports its fiscal second-quarter results next week. Reports of layoffs have only exacerbated those fears. 

FG Plans To Ban Importation Of Vehicles

THE Federal Government has revealed plans to ban importation of vehicles into the country, to encourage local production, even as revival efforts for the nation's moribund assembly plants were yet to be visible.

Besides, the government has stepped up moves to reposition the nation's transportation system, in line with its transformation agenda.

Already, the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) has concluded arrangements to kick-off passenger service on the Eastern railway route before the end of December.

President Goodluck Jonathan stated these while declaring open the 2013 yearly national management conference of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM) in Uyo, Monday.

FG Spent N4.7B To Import Umbrellas & Headgear In 3 Months

The amount spent on the importation of those materials notwithstanding, the country recorded a favourable balance of trade, with export volume exceeding import volume, as the total value of external merchandise trade amounted to N5,341.1 billion in the second quarter 2013, an increase of N242.3 billion or 4.8 per cent from N5,098.9 billion recorded in the previous quarter.

A document on Q2 trade statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Abuja, at the weekend, showed that the change resulted from an increase in the value of exports from N3,452.1 billion in the first quarter of 2013 to N3,742.9 billion in the second quarter (an increase of 90.8 billion or 8.4 per cent) and a 2.9 per cent decline in the value of imports from N1,646.7 billion in the first quarter of 2013 to N1,598.2 billion in the second quarter.

PHOTO: Inside the $9 billion Dangote petroleum refinery

Aliko Dangote is a business juggernaut whose middle name is entrepreneur. He is never dissuaded from entering new businesses despite the general inclement operating business environment. Given his foray into many different business terrains and the successes he has recorded thereof, it would appear he has the uncanny ability to juggle different balls at the same time and get results.

He has been declared the richest black man on the planet earth, yet his humility will surprise you. He remains unaffected by the lofty heights he has attained in business.

His business acumen is unparalleled. From the humble beginning, Dangote has nurtured a trading company to a pan-African conglomerate and a force to be reckoned with in the global arena using creativity, innovation, style, patience and commitment to his dream.

Microsoft launches MSN Nigeria Portal

Devices and services company, Microsoft has partnered with Kagiso Media to officially unveil the MSN Nigeria portal in Lagos.

Accordingly, the partnership with Kagsio sees Ad Dynamo providing contextual advertising on Microsoft’s network of sites, including Windows Live Hotmail with over 800,000 users in Nigeria and Windows Messenger with over 820,000 active users in Nigeria.

This is part of the strategy to expand the Microsoft Network (MSN) Portal to deliver locally