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By Deborah Schofield, 17 January 2001 09:30

NEWS Rock promoter and company founder Power, accredited with positioning the Reading Festival at the height of summer entertainment, floated the majority of Meanfiddler.com on the Alternative Investment Market in May last year, but retained ownership of the 'bricks and mortar' businesses. The decision has now been taken to reunite the traditional and ebusiness sides of the company for 'strategic logic'. The transaction will not be a cash-raising exercise for Power, who retained nearly all the shares of Mean Fiddler Holdings, and payment will be largely in paper, with 'a few million pounds' in cash. The move follows 'detailed investigation' into the changing music business and future plans for the group include further acquisitions and the launch of a digital television channel. Mean Fiddler retains the rights of live performances at the festivals and venues. Artists have included industry heavyweights Oasis, Courtney Pine and Bjork... The Financial Times reports that BT is in talks with its partners over a possible flotation of Airtel, Spain's second largest mobile operator. The news will come as no surprise to analysts, who have predicted for some time BT's need to spin off assets to repay a debt estimated to balloon to around £30bn early this year - bumped up yesterday with confirmation of its purchase of Viag. The sale of BT's 17.8 per cent stake in Airtel could net the UK telecoms operator up to £2.5bn. Talks have been initiated with Vodafone, which owns a 73.8 per cent share, and it is understood that BT has the power to enforce flotation under the terms of its agreement with Airtel... Swedish Stock Exchange operator OM Gruppen estimates that its attempt to take over the LSE would cost SKr95m (£6.7m) in advisory and consultancy fees. According to a report in The Times, profits are to be substantially dragged back by fees to advisors, including investment banking boutique Lazards and law firm Lovells...