Endemol takes stake in Italy's Palomar
Endemol Entertainment, soon to be acquired by Spanish multimedia giant Telefonica, is taking a controlling 51% stake in Italian film and TV producer Palomar. Endemol, which produces successful format Big Brother, already owns Italian sitcom producer Aran and has subsidiaries and joint ventures in 14 other European countries. The company also owns a 25% share of German film distributor Helkon. Palomar co-founder and managing director Carlo Degli Esposti, retains a 49% share of the company.

UPC to acquire German cable operator
Pan-European cable operator UPC is acquiring German cable operator EWT/TSS for euros935m in cash and stock. Despite the large acquisition, the Dutch-based cable giant is continuing talks to buy part of Deutsche Telekom's cable assets which the company has been forced to offload by the European Commission. UPC, which reported 1999 losses of euros784m due to its aggressive expansion programme, also recently announced the acquisition of SBS Broadcasting in a deal that values the Scandinavian company at $2.8bn. EWT/TSS is Germany's fourth-largest cable operator with 1999 turnover of euros57.7m.