Alvarez & Marsal

Springbok rugby, Formula 1, golf and tennis remain reserved for premium customers paying 799 rand.

So has DStv genuinely made premium sport more affordable, or has it simply moved the paywall? Well, Arthur Goldstuck is founder of the research company Worldwide Works and watches the media and technology space closely.

Arthur, how significant then, and welcome to you, is the 399 rand package for DStv's competitive position?

Thank you, Jeremy.

Those are the two critical, uh, numbers, and of course it'll reflect overall in revenue as well, and that's the bottom line finally, what impact it has on revenue.

I suspect we'll see a further decline.

Arthur Goldstuck is the founder of the tech research company Worldwide Works.

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And I'm now an independent consultant advising football clubs, advising businesses and investors on regulation.

And I'm also a senior advisor to Alvarez and Marcel, the corporate finance experts.

Yeah.

It was interesting for those of us who can be a bit cynical about politics.

Meanwhile, Poundland owner Gordon Brothers launched a formal sale process following unsolicited approaches from potential buyers.

Advisor Alvarez and Marçal is seeking a swift conclusion following a restructuring of Poundland's offer and store portfolio that has helped the retailer return to positive EBITDA.

Elsewhere, the entertainer will relaunch Meccano with a new product range, including an Aston Martin Formula One car model, targeting demand for construction, licensed and collectible toys.

Turning to John Lewis, the retailer launched its online Christmas shop 17 weeks before Christmas, after searches for Christmas jumped by more than a third immediately following the World Cup final.

And in Lebanon, attention is turning to what happened to billions of dollars during the country's financial collapse.

Banque du Liban has formally launched a new forensic audit by Alvarez and Marsal covering selected foreign asset operations between October 2019 and December 2023.

The review will examine fund flows connected to subsidy programs, transfers to banks and the public sector, and letters of credit used to finance fuel imports.

That period covers the first four years of Lebanon's financial crisis, when the central bank drew billions of dollars from its foreign currency reserves.

Auditors will examine whether payments and transfers had legal authorization, followed the required procedures, and ultimately reached their intended beneficiaries.

Alvarez and Marsal began the work on August 17th.

The firm also conducted the previous forensic audit of Banque du Liban, published in 2023.

That review estimated financial engineering operations under former governor Riad Salameh cost nearly $76 billion, but auditors said they were unable to obtain all requested information because Banque du Liban cited banking secrecy.

Two, three months ago was the last time I was there, and meeting with, with clients and people on the ground asking those exact same questions because the war was underway.

And believe it or not, we have yet to see, at least with the work we're doing at Alvarez & Marsal with our clients, we have yet to see what I'll call a meaningful impact of the Iran war on the Japanese economy.

M&A activity is still robust.

I, I think the challenges to the Japanese economy and the opportunities are not being driven primarily by, um, the Iran war or, or the c- price of crude coming from Iran.