Company news in brief

South Deep lay-offs "last-gasp measure"Gold Fields' plan to potentially cut up to almost 1 600 jobs at its struggling South Deep mine in South Africa is a "last-gasp measure", chief executive Nick Holland said yesterday.The company made the announcement on Tuesday, citing mounting losses and a "consistent failure to meet mining and production targets" among the reasons for the move that could see a third of its labour force trimmed."The choice is between this and serious risk to the future of South Deep and its many shareholders," Holland wrote in an article for the Business Day newspaper."In the past 12 years, shareholders have received no return at all on their initial investment of R22 billion, having seen only an outflow of funds," Holland said of South Deep.South Deep is Gold Fields' last South African asset and has been beset by problems as the company has tried to mechanise the operation in the face of challenging geology 3 kms below the surface. – Nampa/ReutersLG to launch 5G smartphone in 2019Sprint Corp said Tuesday it has partnered with phone manufacturer LG Electronics Inc to launch a 5G smartphone in the first half of next year, marking the first 5G device deal for the No. 4 US wireless carrier.Sprint is working to persuade antitrust regulators to approve its merger with larger rival T-Mobile US Inc in a US$26 billion deal, which the companies say will help them more quickly build the next-generation wireless network. That network is expected to eventually pave the way for new technologies like autonomous cars.The LG phone will be customised to Sprint's planned 5G network, and will be compatible with T-Mobile only on that carrier's existing 4G network, John Tudhope, Sprint director of product development, said in an interview.Tudhope said Sprint will continue to use content as a way to "bring to life the value of 5G," as one of the benefits of the 5G network will be faster download times of video content on smartphones.The company had previously announced it would initially launch its 5G network in nine cities in 2019, including New York City and Los Angeles. – Nampa/ReutersTinder founders sue parent IACA group of founders, executives and early employees of popular dating app Tinder on Tuesday sued IAC/InterActiveCorp, claiming the parent company deliberately undervalued Tinder to avoid paying them billions of dollars.The lawsuit filed in state Supreme Court in Manhattan stated that IAC and its subsidiary Match Group Inc deliberately prevented the plaintiffs from cashing in stock options they could exercise and sell to IAC. They are seeking damages of not less than US$2 billion.IAC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.IAC owns over 80% of Match, which owns Tinder.IAC shares dipped 0.5% to $190.25. – Nampa/ReutersCoca-Cola bets on Kobe sports drinkCoca-Cola Co is buying a minority stake in a sports drink brand backed by basketball star Kobe Bryant, it said on Tuesday, seeking to mount a stronger challenge to PepsiCo's Gatorade.Coca-Cola's investment in BodyArmor - which will make it the brand's second largest shareholder - comes as its Powerade drink steadily cedes market share to Gatorade. Coke has also been rattled by falling demand for its trademark fizzy drinks.While Coke says there is "much work to be done" at Powerade, PepsiCo said last month that Gatorade was seeing higher demand after launching zero-sugar versions.Gatorade and PepsiCo's other sports drinks account for nearly a third of a $20 billion US market, according to Euromonitor International. Monster Beverage and Red Bull follow close behind, with Coke trailing in fourth place with a 7% share. Coca-Cola also has a 16.7% stake in Monster.BodyArmor is also backed by Dr Pepper Snapple - now part of Keurig Dr Pepper - which made a US$20 million investment in 2015 and boosted its ownership to 15.5% in 2016. – Nampa/Reuters

Company news in brief

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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Company news in brief

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-15

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