| Sotheby's Auction of Islamic Art Beats the Pre-Sale Estimate
April 22 (Bloomberg) -- Sotheby's sold 4.6 million pounds ($8.8 million) of Islamic art, almost a quarter more than the pre-sale estimate. The most expensive item at the April 18 auction was an Ottoman silk, velvet and metal thread calligraphic band, which sold for 311,200 pounds, more than twice the initial estimate, Sotheby's said in e-mailed statement on the day of the sale. Increasing interest in Islamic, Arab and Indian art has prompted the world's largest auction houses, including Sotheby's, Christie's International and Bonhams, to set up offices in the Middle East. The rage of buyers at the April 18 auction reflected ``the global appeal of Islamic art,'' Edward Gibbs, head of Sotheby's Islamic and Indian Art department, said in the statement.
Alliance Boots auction
The dramatic auction for Alliance Boots could have further to run. Terra Firma believes it will be able to submit a firm 10.9bn ($21.8bn) offer but will then face a higher counterbid from Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, its rival private equity suitor. .
DoubleClick: Google bids $3.1bn
New York - In its largest acquisition yet, internet search giant Google will purchase online advertising firm DoubleClick for $3.1bn, US media reported on Saturday. The acquisition had pitted Google against Microsoft, which also wanted to acquire DoubleClick, a key player in the $28.8bn internet advertising business, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Yahoo and AOL had also shown interest in the acquisition. The deal, which was announced on Friday after the close of markets, is nearly twice the amount Google paid last year, when it acquired video site YouTube for $1.65bn. DoubleClick is controlled by private equity firms Hellman & Friedman and JMI Equity, which acquired the firm in 2005 for $1.1bn. New York-based DoubleClick specialises in online display ads that direct customers to clients' websites when they click on an online ad.
Christie's to auction mammoth, meteorite
For sale: a mammoth skeleton, a 150-kilogram meteorite and a kind of giant pearl formed in the stomachs of certain animals. Christie's auction house in Paris is hosting an unusual auction of paleontological curiosities, including several prehistoric mammals. The sale takes place Monday. Bidders interested in buying the star specimen - a 15,000-year-old Siberian mammoth dubbed "The President" - will need at least 150,000 euros ($A244,000). Also a lot of floor space: Tusks and all, it's 3.8 metres high and 4.8 metres long. Skeletons of a 10,000-year-old, 4.1-metre-long rhinoceros and a 2.3-metre-high cave bear are also going under the hammer. These skeletons are currently owned by a private collector, but buyers could include museums or artists, said Christie's spokeswoman Capucine Milliot.
William Hill Bids to Break up Greece’s Gambling Monopoly
Bookmaker and online casino giant William Hill announced that it has requested a license to open betting shops in Greece, challenging the stronghold over the market established by the countrys official betting organisation, OPAP.
If the license is not granted by the Greek government, as some expect will happen, the firm is prepared to fight it out in the in European courts in an attempt to put a dent in OPAP's monopoly.
William Hill chief executive David Harding said, We believe the recent European cases mean that what is happening is in breach of EU law. If it is rejected we will go to the courts to argue our case and that could involve going to the European Court of Justice.
The company may receive the EUs support to enter the market after Marchs European Court of Justice (EJC) ruling barring Italy from using criminal law to shut out foreign bookmakers in a case presented by Stanley Leisure.
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