News in brief

Film Roman calls off Pentamedia deal

CHENNAI: The US-based animation producer Film Roman Inc has terminated an
agreement to sell an equity stake to Indian animation firm Pentamedia Graphics
Ltd., the firm informed the Securities and Exchange Commission at the weekend.
Earlier this month, the two firms had said Pentamedia would buy a 49.5 per
cent stake in Film Roman for a consideration not exceeding $10 million in
value. "Film Roman has terminated the transaction between the two
parties." the firm said in the filing. Pentamedia said in a statement it
was "caught unawares with this new development...and our legal counsels
are finding out the rationale". - Reuters

Intel to announce new chips, ad campaign

NEW YORK: Intel Corp. is expected to roll out a line of advanced chips and a
new advertising campaign to promote the company's prowess in high-end systems,
the Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition on Monday. Slowing demand
for personal computers and pressure to offer low prices have battered Intel's
income in recent months, so it is responding by focusing on other markets, the
paper said. Intel's new product will be an extension of its Xeon microprocessor
family, which is aimed at more powerful desktop workstations and server systems
than Intel has targeted in the past, the paper said. Compaq Computer Corp., Dell
Computer Corp. and others are expected simultaneously to announce workstations
that use the chips, the paper said. - Reuters.

Pentasoft, Shanghai Industrial sign JV

MUMBAI: Indian software firm Pentasoft Technologies Ltd., has formed a joint
venture with Chinese conglomerate Shanghai Industrial Holdings, the merchant
banker for the deal said in a statement on Thursday. The statement said the
joint venture would promote software education, software development, multimedia
production and broadband technology in China. It did not give the shareholding
pattern of the joint venture or the value of the investment - Reuters

Gerstner says Palmisano likely IBM successor

NEW YORK: International Business Machines Corp., chairman Louis Gerstner
confirmed on Thursday that IBM president and chief operating officer Sam
Palmisano is the leading candidate to replace him when he retires. Palmisano,
with a 27-year stint in IBM long has been considered the heir apparent and would
replace Gerstner as early as next year. Gerstner's contract would allow him to
retire as early as March 2002. "So IBM needs a world-class team and, for
the last 24 months, we have been putting in place a new team of leaders that are
going to take IBM to the future," he said. - Reuters.