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Bang & Olufsen outsources TV production to LG

Bang & Olufsen, the Danish maker of upmarket sound systems and televisions, said on Friday it had entered a partnership with LG Electronics to outsource its production of televisions.

Bang & Olufsen outsources TV production to LG
A B&O employee assembles a 105-inch TV in Struer. Photo: Henning Bagger/Scanpix
The struggling Danish firm, which said in November it was in talks with a potential buyer, said the deal “will address Bang & Olufsen's key challenges related to scale and complexity”.
 
It would enable the group “to stay at the forefront of innovation in the TV category, a category which is currently undergoing significant change,” chief executive Tue Mantoni said in a statement.
 
The group, which also makes sleekly designed speakers, soundsystems and headphones, said it would now focus on its core know-how in design and acoustics.
 
The move would result in annual savings of between 150 and 200 million kroner ($23 million-$30 million, €20-27 million), it said.
 
The partnership's first TV using organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays — screens that deliver a more vivid picture quality and consume less electricity — is expected to be launched next year.
 
In February, South Korean LG unveiled its first modular smartphone, the G5, which came with a sound system developed by Bang & Olufsen.
 
Shares in the Danish company soared in November after it said it was in talks over a potential takeover offer.
 
On Friday it said that the talks were continuing but that no binding offer had been made.
 
Founded in 1925, the Copenhagen-based company has posted annual losses over the past three fiscal years as more people listen to music on their mobile devices and after failing to attract younger consumers.

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Bolivia clips wings of Spanish airport firm

Bolivia's President Evo Morales has ordered the nationalization of Spanish airport operator SABSA after accusing the firm of failing to invest enough in local business.

Bolivia clips wings of Spanish airport firm
Morales has a history of nationalizing Spanish firms operating in Bolivia. Photo: Aizar Raldes/AFP

Morales on Monday announced he plans to take over the SABSA airports serving Bolivia's three largest cities.

Morales, who made the announcement at a news conference in the city of Cochabamba, promised negotiations with SABSA, an affiliate of the Spanish firms Abertis and Aena, within 180 days on the amount of compensation.

He also ordered the military to take control of the three airports "to safeguard the public interest" and warned that any attempt to impede the nationalization would mean  prosecution for those involved.

The company has run the airports serving La Paz, Cochabamba and Santa Cruz since 1997, when they were privatized. It was acquired by the Spanish group Abertis-Airports in 2005.

It is the third nationalization affecting Spanish investments in Bolivia in less than a year.

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