A round up of today's other business stories in brief.
UK gas price rise may filter into Republic
The cost of gas and electricity in the UK is to rise by 22 per cent from the beginning of next month, a move that may in the future filter through to Ireland as the Republic imports 80 per cent of its gas from the UK.
The increase, announced by Centrica yesterday, comes against a backdrop of unprecedented gains in the wholesale cost of energy, something the regulator has attributed to a lack of open competition in European energy markets.
The cost of buying gas this year is 63 per cent higher than in 2005, and some 202 per cent higher than in 2003.
This could also be linked to shortages of supply as resources around the world dwindle.
Unlike in other European countries, Centrica is absorbing some of the wholesale price gains, which led to the group making a loss in the second half of last year.
Newman sells booking agent
Businesswoman Sarah Newman has sold her online hotel booking agent to US giant, Cendant.
It was reported yesterday that Ms Newman, partner of Kilkenny hurling star DJ Carey, sold her Dublin-based business to Cendant this week.
The company is based in Glenageary, Dublin, and employs 75 people. It books more than one million hotel rooms every year.
The company's services are used by travel agents and airlines, who book rooms on behalf of their customers.
Its clients include the main Irish agencies, Ryanair and Aer Lingus. It also has clients in the UK and Europe.
Ms Newman founded the firm 11 years ago. Last year, she was a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year competition.
Glencar raises £1.26m in sale
Exploration group Glencar Mining is raising £1.26 million (€1.84) in a share sale to fund further development at its exploration sites in Mali and Ghana.
Glencar, whose shares are listed in Dublin and London, plans to sell 18 million new shares at seven pence each. This is equal to about 8.7 per cent of the group's existing share capital. The shares will be admitted to the AIM and the IEX on February 23rd.
The company also said it will recommence drilling at its Komana site in Mali next month.
Lagardère buys Canal Plus stake
Lagardère, the media-to-missiles group, yesterday agreed to buy a stake in Canal Plus France, providing the final piece of a jigsaw that could lead to a single satellite TV operator in France.
Lagardère will exchange its 34 per cent stake in CanalSat and €€525 million ($624 million) in cash for a 20 per cent stake in Canal Plus France, which was created in December by the merger of Canal Plus and TPS, the country's rival satellite broadcasters.
