TNT’s hit series The Closer has been looked upon for a potential spin-off.  The network has decided to further milk the successful cop drama by getting creator and executive producer James Duff to spawn a new series based on The Closer, which stars Kyra Sedgewick as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, a skilled detective and officer at the Priority Homicide Division of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The yet-untitled spin-off is currently code named The Fixer, and is being co-written by The Closer co-executive producer Adam Belanoff and Michael Berchem.  However, it is still unclear whether the spin-off will focus on an existing Closer character, or an entirely different individual.  Nonetheless, TNT confirmed that they have ordered a script, without disclosing any more details.  Additionally, Greer Shephard and Michael Robin will executively produce the yet-untitled new show.
The Closer stars Kyra Sedgwick, an Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning actress who debuted on television soap opera Another World at the age of sixteen.  During the 1990s, she appeared on films such as Something to Talk About in 1995 and Phenomenon, where she played a role opposite John Travolta.  In 1992, she starred in the Emmy Award-winning made for television film Miss Rose White, and in 2007, she picked up the Golden Globe Award for her portrayal in The Closer.  Also in 2007, Sedgwick appeared in the film The Game Plan with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Catch The Closer at 9pm on TNT, as “Tijuana Brass” airs on Monday. The episode will follow a drug cartel, police malfeasance and an FBI informant bustle around an investigation of two murdered Tijuana cops. The case creates a frenzy when a newspaper bashes the Priority Homicide Division, thus putting the team on the defensive.

Fans tune into TNT on Monday, 9pm for the latest episode of The Closer.

TNT NV, Europe’s second-biggest express-delivery service, rose to the highest in almost six months in Amsterdam on a report that United Parcel Service Inc. may bid for the Dutch company as soon as this weekend.

Hoofddorp, Netherlands-based TNT gained 1.70 euros, or 6.9 percent, to 26.45 euros, the highest since Feb. 28. That values the company at 9.7 billion euros ($14.4 billion).

UPS and TNT may meet to work out a deal over the weekend, with the U.S. company offering 34 euros to 38 euros a share, U.K. newspaper the Times reported today, without citing anyone. TNT surged 26 percent on July 14, its biggest jump since first selling shares to the public in 1998, after the Financial Times reported that FedEx Corp., the second-biggest U.S. package- shipping company, was in talks to buy its Dutch rival.

“If UPS started calculating and put together a team when FedEx rumors emerged in July, they should be ready to make a bid by now,” said Thijs Berkelder, an analyst at Petercam in Amsterdam, in a telephone interview. He said TNT may be worth about 40 euros a share in a takeover bid.

TNT declined to comment on “rumors and speculation,” spokesman Cyrille Gibot said today by telephone.

“UPS will never comment on rumors or speculation about mergers and acquisitions,” said Norman Black, a spokesman for the Atlanta-based company.

UPS in Europe

UPS controls about 10 percent of the European express market, according to Amsterdam-based Landsbanki Kepler analyst Andre Mulder. Buying TNT would add about 16 percent, he said in an Aug. 11 interview.

The time is right for a takeover offer, Berkelder said, as an economic slowdown and increasing fuel costs drive down the stock prices of mail and express-delivery companies. Berkelder, with a “hold” recommendation on TNT shares, said he’s betting UPS will team up with CVC Capital Partners Ltd., which would buy TNT’s postal unit.

CVC, a London-based buyout firm, bought 22 percent of Post Danmark in 2005 for 1.27 billion kroner ($250 million). Post Danmark and CVC in 2005 bought almost half of Belgium’s postal service for 300 million euros, following market deregulation that began in 2003.

TNT has kept its Dutch monopoly this year for handling mail items weighing 50 grams (1.8 ounces) or less. The Dutch Cabinet decided in May against allowing full competition for letter deliveries by July 1, a date that had been considered for deregulation, after Germany protected its own market by introducing a minimum wage for letter carriers.

In the world of package companies, there is one story you can rely on to come up with mind-numbing regularity: speculation that either United Parcel Service Inc (UPS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) or FedEx Corp (FDX.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) are in talks to buy TNT NV (TNT.AS: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

The latest speculation that UPS is in talks to buy TNT for 10 billion euros ($15.2 billion) sent the Dutch mail company’s stock up more than 5 percent. A mid-July rumor that FedEx was doing the same sent TNT stock up nearly 30 percent in a single day. Ten days later, TNT’s stock fell 18 percent on a report that talks had ended.

While this talk almost invariably comes to naught - and both companies have consistently refused to comment on the recurrent rumors - some day TNT would make a good fit for UPS and an even better one for FedEx. TNT’s stock rises on rumors of an imminent bid because a deal is seen as a good long-term strategy for either company.

“The rumors come up every couple of months, and every time nothing happens,” said Jason Seidl, an analyst at investment bank Dahlman Rose. “The problem is that a deal makes sense, FedEx needs TNT, and UPS could use it, so that’s why TNT’s shares react.”

“Eventually, I am convinced there will be a deal, but in the meantime it’s like the little boy who cried wolf,” he said.

Most analysts greeted the latest episode in what Seidl termed the “TNT saga” with more than a dash of skepticism. They rolled out reasons why the Dutch company would be a good buy but also stressed that any announcement of a deal by UPS or FedEx would result in a bidding war.

“Recently, there has been increased press speculation about first FedEx and now UPS purchasing all of TNT or its Express division,” Edward Wolfe of Wolfe Research wrote in a note for clients. “We … believe at this point there remains little evidence of such a deal occurring.”

Tags: TNT takeover talk

KODIME is pleased to announce that the marketing department at TNT Post are receiving the Power User Award 2008 for their advanced ongoing use of its ZOOMtxt® mobile marketing software solution.

Nico Köpke, CEO of KODIME Ltd, the company behind the ZOOMtxt software solution, commented: “Our solutions and their features are driven by our active user community and their requirements. KODIME’s annual Power User Awards are in recognition of pro-active and advanced use by the chosen company’s marketing team. TNT Post have been tremendously proactive in their use of mobile over the past 12 month, and we are delighted to announce this year’s award for the team, who set new standards in the creative use of mobile by companies embracing the direct marketing opportunities now available from the use of mobile.”

Simon Dolph, Head of Marketing TNT Post, remarked: “Over the past year we have begun to actively use Mobile marketing in a variety of scenarios, from recruitment via B2B information services to supporting our efforts to lower the carbon emissions of our entire supply chain. In all cases, ZOOMtxt has proven itself to be a very flexible and reliable solution, and has allowed us to easily explore and learn what works best for TNT Post in mobile communications.”

ZOOMtxt is KODIME’s complete software solution for mobile marketing. Enabling a complete set of mobile marketing and messaging scenarios, ZOOMtxt is 100% software as a service (hosted solution), connects to all UK mobile operators, is easy to use and backed by an experienced support team. From two-way SMS communication to shortcode numbers, mobile internet sites, instant response and outbound push campaigns, interactivity such as SMS to win, SMS to vote, mobile content distribution and more, ZOOMtxt enables organisations to easily operate a range of mobile marketing activities without occurring overheads.

KODIME’s annual Power User Awards are presented for the product categories property, music and media and direct marketing. Past winners include the London Symphony Orchestra, Lifecycle Marketing and St. James Homes.

Tags: TNT Post