In our latest roundup of technology news:
- Siemens to buy Oregon-based Mentor Graphics for $4.5 billion
- Facebook tweaks race-based ad targeting policy
- Disney embraces streaming as ratings sag
- Naver launches $43 million fund to seek content for Snow
The details:
- Siemens to buy Oregon-based Mentor Graphics for $4.5 billion
German industrial equipment maker Siemens AG says it has agreed to buy U.S.-based software firm Mentor Graphics Corp. for $4.5 billion, broadening Siemens digital capabilities.
The companies said in a joint statement Monday that Mentor’s board recommended shareholders approve the deal.
Siemens said it would pay $37.25 a share in cash, or 21 percent more than Mentor’sclosing price on Friday.
Mentor, based in Wilsonville, Oregon just south of Portland, specializes in software used to design computer chips, technology with broad potential applications to smart and connected devices such as autonomous vehicles. It has customers in industries ranging from aerospace to consumer electronics and 5,700 employees in 32 countries. Mentorhad revenues of $1.2 billion in its last fiscal year.
Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser said in a statement that Mentor was “an established technology leader with a talented employee base that will allow us to supplement our world-class industrial software portfolio.” Siemens’ businesses include factory automation, power generation and transmission, medical scanners and trains.
- Facebook tweaks race-based ad targeting policy
Facebook says it will no longer allow advertisers to use ethnicity as a filter when it comes to targeting or hiding ads offering housing, employment or credit.
The changes come after ProPublica reported that , besides hobbies and interests, advertisers could exclude specific races from seeing their ads. This could be illegal in some circumstances, such as with housing ads.
Although Facebook doesn’t actually ask users their race, the service can make a pretty good guess based on other information users share.
On Friday, Facebook said discriminatory ads have “no place” on the site. Rather, it says the filters are designed for reaching “multicultural audiences with more relevant advertising.” Race and ethnicity filters will still be allowed for ads that aren’t about housing, employment or credit.
- Disney embraces streaming as ratings sag
As more and more people get their favorite TV shows and movies online, Disney is also learning to embrace the stream.
The Walt Disney Co. once resisted offering channels like ESPN directly over the internet, preferring old-fashioned cable subscriptions. Its investors are fretting over ratings as more people cut the cord and cancel cable or satellite service. NFL game viewership is also down, and the contentious election drew viewers away from Disney networks like ABC to cable news networks.
Disney stock was down 9.6 percent for the year, at Thursday’s closing. But despite a weaker-than-expected earnings report, which showed a drop in ESPN revenue, shares rose more than 2 percent late Thursday after an initial dip in extended trading.
The media conglomerate, which owns Marvel, Star Wars and its own Pixar and DisneyStudios, is forging ahead with new streaming deals involving Netflix, Hulu and others.
“Disney is the one media company that can succeed in taking its brands directly to consumers,” said Nomura analyst Anthony DiClemente. He expects Disney could one day offer ESPN as a stand-alone service, for example, similar to HBO’s $15-a-month “HBO Now.”
Burbank, California-based Disney hasn’t gone that far yet. But last quarter it took a $1 billion stake in BAMTech, which provides streaming for Major League Baseball. The company said it plans to use that technology to offer an ESPN streaming service that offers live game streaming and programming not offered on regular ESPN.
The BAMTech deal is a “great way for us to move ESPN and probably other Disney assets into digital, mobile platforms in a more effective way,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said at a Goldman Sachs conference in New York in September. It’s also a way for Disney to learn more about its viewers for advertising purposes, he told analysts on a conference call Thursday.
- Naver launches $43 million fund to seek content for Snow
South Korean internet giant Naver Corp. has launched a $43 million fund with Japan’s Softbank to invest in content and technology startups.
The investment fund will scout for new technology and talent for Naver’s mobile services with global ambitions, the company said Monday.
Naver spun off its video communications app Snow into an independent unit in August, hoping that it could replicate the success of its Line messenger app. Akin to Snapchat, Snow has been one of the most popular social media apps among young Asians since it was launched in September last year.
Chiefs at two of Naver’s popular mobile services, Snow and Naver Webtoon, will join the investment fund as advisers. Softbank Ventures will run the fund, to which Naver will contribute $34 million.
Kim Chang-wook, chief of Naver’s wholly owned subsidiary Snow, said that he will seektechnology companies that can add fun and creative twists to its video app.
Yahoo took its time investigating massive security breach
MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Yahoo detected evidence that a hacker had broken into its computer network at least 18 months before launching an investigation that discovered personal information had been stolen from about 500 million user accounts.
The timeline outlined in a regulatory filing raises further questions about why it took Yahoo so long to realize the severity of its security breakdown. It also could provide Verizon Communications with reason to revise or terminate its $4.8 billion deal to buy Yahoo’s online services.
Yahoo disclosed the size of the breach seven weeks ago. At that time, Yahoo traced its findings to an inquiry opened in late July, around the same time that Verizon announced its agreement to buy Yahoo’s email service, digital advertising tools and sections devoted to news, sports, finance and entertainment.
Verizon says it wasn’t informed of the hacking attack until a few days before Yahoo told its users in late September.
In its regulatory filing late Wednesday, Yahoo acknowledged the company first became aware of the hack in late 2014. The Sunnyvale, California, company said its board is now investigating how much was known back in 2014.
Verizon declined to comment on Yahoo’s latest disclosure. The company’s executives have previously said Verizon is re-evaluating its deal with Yahoo because the breachcould alienate a large swath of users who may rely on Yahoo’s email and other services less frequently in order to protect their privacy. If there is a user backlash, Yahoo’sservices wouldn’t be worth as much to Verizon, which is counting on a large audience to sell more digital advertising.
Yahoo has sought to reassure its users that the hacker no longer has access to its computers. The company also has prompted users to change their passwords and security questions to protect their accounts.
