FTI Consulting News Bytes – 17 April 2026

FTI Consulting News Bytes

This week, we kick off with a study from PwC which reveals that British businesses are falling behind global leaders in their adoption of AI tools. Elsewhere we look at Amazon’s $11.6bn takeover of satellite group Globalstar, as the tech giant looks to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink. We then move on to developments in the EU, which is looking to create “European champions” that can compete on a global stage via its biggest relaxation of rules around corporate mergers in decades. The bloc has also continued its work around a social media ban for teens, unveiling a digital age verification app aimed at shielding children from harmful content online. We close out with Gary Neville’s acquisition of Manchester United influencer Mark Goldbridge’s YouTube channels, via his sports media group The Overlap – highlighting YouTube’s growing influence in the sports broadcasting space.

This week’s news

Britain lags global leaders in the AI race

British businesses are falling behind global leaders with regard to the effective adoption of artificial intelligence tools, according to a study by PwC. The Times notes that the report found that UK companies spend proportionately less on developing AI tools compared with leading companies worldwide, and also see a smaller return on investment. While global leaders spend an average of 5% of revenue on AI, while British firms spend just 2% of revenue on the technology. Businesses have reportedly struggled to update IT systems and internal processes to incorporate AI and this has held back adoption: only 27% of UK businesses have redesigned workflows rather than bolting AI tools on to existing processes. Leigh Bates, the global risk AI leader at PwC UK, said the figures should be a “wake-up call” for British businesses. He said: “Businesses are being held back by legacy technology, underinvestment and a tendency to think about AI as a cost-cutting tool rather than an engine of growth.

Amazon shoots for the (Global) stars

Amazon has agreed an $11.6bn deal to acquire satellite group Globalstar, in what the Financial Times describes as a “major takeover” that will “bolster” Amazon’s ambitions to challenge Elon Musk’s Starlink with its own rival low Earth orbit satellite business. The deal, which saw Amazon offer either $90 per Globalstar share or 0.32 shares of Amazon stock, is one of the company’s largest ever acquisitions and will strengthen its efforts to catch up with SpaceX in the field. By acquiring Globalstar, Amazon will also secure immediate rights to radiowave spectrum, enabling the company to provide direct-to-device mobile communications in the future, a service which provides mobile connectivity to users who are outside terrestrial mobile networks. As part of the deal, Amazon agreed for its Leo unit to support satellite service for Apple’s iPhone and Watch products. 

EU to shake up merger rules to create “European champions”

The EU is reportedly planning the biggest relaxation of its rules on corporate mergers in decades as Europe faces “increasing pressure” to build “global champions” capable of taking on US and Chinese rivals, according to the Financial Times. The European Commission will give greater weight to “innovation, investment and resilience of the internal market”, when deciding whether to sign off on deals. The proposed change would mark the “most radical shake-up by Brussels since the 2000s”, when competition regulators put the effect of mergers on consumers at the forefront of decisions. One EU official described the guidelines as a “break from the past”, adding that they are an “ambitious approach that reflects the realities of increasingly challenging global competition”. 

EU unveils age verification app

The European Commission unveiled a digital age verification app aimed at shielding children from harmful content online, with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen declaring there are “no more excuses” for platforms that fail to act. The app comes as an increasing number of countries consider laws banning teens from social media. Bloomberg reports that users of the app will need to use a passport or ID card at set up, after which they can confirm their age anonymously. “Users cannot be tracked,” von der Leyen stressed, adding that the app is fully open source and compatible with any device and would help to align age verification requirements across the EU. The announcement comes ahead of the second meeting of the Commission’s Special Panel on Children’s Safety Online, which is due to deliver its recommendations by summer.

Gary Neville’s The Overlap snaps up Mark Goldbridge’s YouTube channels

Gary Neville’s sports media group, The Overlap, has bought Manchester United influencer Mark Goldbridge’s YouTube channels, in what The Times understands to be a “seven-figure deal.” Goldbridge’s ‘The United Stand’ and ‘That’s Football’ YouTube channels bring a combined 3.7 million subscribers to The Overlap, Neville’s group, which is looking to grow its specialist coverage of big clubs across Europe. The group said it aims to build “one of the most exciting football communities in the world.” With the deal aiming to tap into the large and growing demand for football analysis and post-match reaction content outside of live broadcasts, Goldbridge will help to drive engagement, with the YouTuber often going viral online for his outlandish reactions and controversial football opinions. The deal also highlights YouTube’s growing influence in the sports broadcasting space, with creator-led channels continuing to attract large, highly engaged audiences. 

Top Tweets of the Week

• Merryn Somerset Webb, Senior Columnist, Bloomberg: The AI podcast you have been waiting for. I trailed it last week. 1.6m X impressions. So here it is. Why LLMs might be a false start and data centre capex the biggest misallocation of capital EVER. Free to listen. 
• Financial Times: AI chatbots misdiagnose in over 80% of early medical cases, study finds https://t.co/PfbPwqDcxd 
• Bloomberg: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said that Anthropic’s Mythos breakthrough shows that the US should seek greater cooperation with China so AI researchers in the world’s two largest economies can agree on how to safely use the technology.

Number of the week

$10bn The amount Uber has committed to buying thousands of autonomous vehicles and taking stakes in their developers, marking a shift in the company’s asset-light “gig economy” business model, according to the Financial Times.