Amazon purchases Blink to expand its connected home lineup

Amazon’s latest acquisition shows us how the company is taking the expansion of its connected home line very seriously. They just bought Blink, the company behind the wire-free home monitoring system. Blink offers both an indoor and outdoor home security camera models as well as a video doorbell. According to Blink, nothing will change for the company and its customers now and they will continue to operate as usual and support clients as needed.

Source: Engadget

Apple reportedly buying Shazam, deal might be announced on December 11

Apple is supposedly finalizing a deal with the company behind the music recognition app Shazam to buy the latter for a rumoured amount of US$401 million. The deal will reportedly be finalized over the weekend with the deal being officially announced on December 11, Monday. Shazam currently already integrates with Apple’s Siri and Apple Music—on top of working with Spotify and Snapchat as well. Both companies haven’t commented on the report. What this potential deal could mean to the other services Shazam is available on we can’t say. For now, we just have to wait for confirmation that this deal pushed through.

Source: NME

Sources claim Disney and Fox are close to reaching a deal, might announce plans next week

WDWNT.com

We reported earlier last month that Disney and 21^st Century Fox have been in talks for the former to acquire Fox’s studio and television production assets, with Fox retaining its news and sports arms. And report has it the two are close to reaching an agreement, even with Comcast in the picture, and sources claim the deal could be announced as early as next week. The deal will have Disney owning entertainment assets like 20^th Century Fox film and TV studios, FX Networks and National Geographic Cannels cable groups, regional Fox Sports and 39% interest in Euro satcaster Sky, as well as international channels like Star India outlet. Disney is also supposedly buying out Fox’s 30% interest in Hulu, which is seen as Disney’s initial step to building its standalone streaming service. The deal is expected to be an all-stock transaction with Fox’s assets valued at around US$60 billion.

The move is also seen as a way to resolve Disney’s CEO succession issue. Bob Iger has had to extend his contract twice since setting his retirement back in 2015. But with the likes of 21^st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch and 21^st Century Fox President Peter Rice in the mix, they’re seen as possible candidates to replace Iger.

Source:  Variety + CNBC 

Volvo’s parent company acquires flying car startup

Are flying cars going to finally make a leap from sci-fi fantasy to our reality? Volvo’s parent company Geely just completed its acquisition of Terrafugia, making the US-based company a fully-owned subsidiary of the Chinese automotive giant. Terrafugia under Geely will continue to work on flying cars in the US but will bring in both the deep pockets of Geely and their automotive experience. The company will take on a new board of directors that will have a mix of veteran Terrafugia backers, Geely execs, and Bell Helicopter’s managing director for China.

When it comes to concerns of the acquisition hurting the US economy, Terrafugia says it has received green light from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the country and it has supposedly “tripled” its engineer count to almost 100 in anticipation of the acquisition. So while the company isn’t US-owned anymore, it’ll contribute to the country’s workforce. It aims to release its first flying car in 2019 and the electric TF-X car you see above by 2023. The company seems to have been stuck in limbo when it comes to the development of these cars but perhaps the extra boost of cash and experience will help propel them forward. Of course, what we don’t know is whether the development of flying cars would see a need for them.

Source: Engadget