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FB Roundup: Red Bull, Sky, and BMW

By Michael Finnigan

Red Bull heir indictment postponed once again

Red Bull heir Vorayuth 'Boss' Yoovidhya, whose grandfather co-founded the energy drink company, has seen his hit-and-run indictment over a 2012 incident with a policeman postponed once again.

For the eighth time in the past year, Vorayuth Yoovidhya missed a scheduled appointment to be formally charged and taken to court by Thai prosecutors. His lawyers said he was “away for business” in England.

There is widespread belief in Thailand that the rich and famous are treated more leniently by the legal system. Yoovidhya is accused of hitting a policeman in his Ferrari and then leaving him for dead, five years ago.

"We are aware of the urgency to deliver justice," Prayut said. "In principle, we will certainly carry the case through before charges expire."

Austria-based Red Bull was founded in 1984 when Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz partnered with Yoovidhya to market globally the energy drink Yoovidhya had created and sold in Thailand.

Sky takeover by Murdoch approved by European regulator

Rupert Murdoch's £11.7 billion bid ($14.6 billion) to take full control of Sky has been cleared by the European competition regulator, according to a press release.

“Based on the results of its market investigation, the European Commission concluded that the proposed transaction would raise no competition concerns,” it said.

“Fox and Sky are mainly active in different markets in Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy and the UK. They compete with each other only to a limited extent, mainly in the acquisition of TV content and in the wholesale supply of basic pay-tv channels.”

Sky posted revenues of £5.6 billion in 2015.

BMW posts record-breaking March sales

German carmaker BMW, owned by the Quandt family, has posted their most successful March with a 5.9% year-on-year sales increase.

It also posted a record first quarter with sales of the BMW Group's three premium brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls Royce, which increased by 5.3%.

BMW is part of the German “big three” luxury carmakers, along with Mercedes-Benz and Audi. It posted revenues of €94 billion in 2016.

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