Deals done this past week


2 Apr 2012

Ireland's Taoiseach Enda Kenny, TD, arrives in Shanghai, China, to open the new Morgan McKinley offices on 26 March. The Irish Government has also signed an MoU on science and technology with the Chinese government

An overview of the week in deals in the Irish and global technology sector.

IDA Ireland signs MoU with China’s ICBC Financial Leasing

IDA Ireland has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Beijing with China’s ICBC Financial Leasing, a global leader in aircraft leasing and part of ICBC, which is currently the world’s largest bank. The aim of the MoU is to spur on future collaborations and commercial opportunities.

Under the terms of the MoU, IDA Ireland and ICBC Financial Leasing have agreed on increased co-operation and to hold regular meetings to explore further commercial opportunities of interest to both sides.

IDA Ireland’s chief executive Barry O’Leary signed the MoU together with Cong Lin, the CEO of ICBC Financial Leasing.

Rovio acquires Futuremark Games Studio

Angry Birds creator Rovio Entertainment has acquired Futuremark Games Studio, the gaming arm of benchmarking software developer Futuremark.

The acquisition comes as Rovio continues its expansion in entertainment, publishing, animation, and retail.

“Rovio’s success is founded on the excellence of our team, and Futuremark Games Studio is going to be a superb addition,” said Mikael Hed, Rovio Entertainment’s CEO.

Jukka Mäkinen, CEO of Futuremark, said Futuremark will now focus on supporting gamers and industry with 3DMark, its professional grade benchmark.

Netflix partners with TED to host TEDTalks Shows

Netflix has partnered with TED to host TEDTalks Shows on the Netflix platform for UK and Ireland users. There are 14 TEDTalks Shows available initially on Netflix.

The partnership will see content from TEDTalks Show hosted on Netflix. TED is an organisation which offers talks from hundreds of experts in a variety of different subjects and makes them available online.

Each TEDTalks Show is a curated selection of TED talks which aims to introduce Netflix viewers to new ideas.

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