"If it is to be bought, it seems obvious it would be now or soon.". One analyst said: "There is no doubt he is making his presence felt. "It has only just come out and they have had other things on their minds," a spokesman said.Some analysts and investors feel that last February's appointment of Colin Short, theformer ICI finance director, as non-executive chairman has shaken up management. Institutional investors accept this and we have not had a single letter of complaint."The company said it had not yet decided to review the contracts in the light of the Greenbury report. Shareholders don't like that kind of sustained under-performance." Asked whether Mr Nicoli would survive the year in the job, the shareholder said: "He may have problems."Mr Nicoli and the rest of the United Biscuits executive directors enjoy the kind of three- year rolling contracts roundly condemned by corporate governance specialists and the Greenbury Committee. Mr Nicoli earned pounds 505,000 last year.Justifying the contracts, United Biscuits said: "Because the company is a perennial bid target, it needs to either pay thumping salaries or offer some degree of security to enable it to recruit top-flight people. Since Mr Nicoli's appointment in January 1991, the company's shares have underperformed the FTSE 100 index by more than 35 per cent.One institutional investor said: "That is dismal.

The stake is being sold by Hutchinson and Asian investor Richard Li's Genza group.The price attached gives Star TV a total value of $825m.. NIGEL COPE Pressure is growing on Eric Nicoli to stand down as chief executive of United Biscuits, the troubled McVitie's and KP snacks group which issued a profits warning on Monday and put its poorly performing US subsidiary up for sale. Under the company's controversial three-year rolling contracts, Mr Nicoli could be in line for compensation of up to pounds 1.5m for loss of office if he were to step down or be forced out by an successful bid for the group.Institutional investors are disenchanted at the company's poor run during his tenure and are awaiting visits from the company over the next few days to explain the situation. He is believed to want to return to active politics following his ousting as Prime Minister last year.Although a referendum aimed at forcing him to sell two of his three stations was voted down in June, the Italian government has continued to work on anti-trust legislation in an effort to reduce Mr Berlusconi's influence.Mr Murdoch and his aides have long made it known they were not unprepared to pay over the odds for the television stake.The decision to buy out the minority stake in Star TV underlines Mr Murdoch's interest in the fast-growing Asian broadcasting market. The Richmont Group, the tobacco and cable company, has expanded recently in the pay-TV sector and electronic media, as has Kirch.Mr Berlusconi entered negotiations with Mr Murdoch and the Saudi-led consortium earlier this year in a bid to defuse criticism about his dominance of the Italian television market. Mr Berlusconi's Fininvest holding company is to receive $2.2bn for the 45 per cent holding, and will retain management control.The new partners are expected to push Mediaset toward greater involvement in pay-TV services. MATHEW HORSMAN Rupert Murdoch has lost his bid to buy a stake in three television stations in Italy but is spending $299m to buy out minority partners of Star TV, the Asian broadcaster now owned 63 per cent by his News Corporation. Insiders at News Corporation confirmed that Mr Murdoch's insistence on taking a controlling stake of the Italian stations, put on the block by former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, scuppered negotiations."We have long said we would only be interested if we could take control," a News Corporation executive said.Under a deal likely to be announced today, a consortium of Saudi investor Prince al-Waleed, German media tycoon Leo Kirch and the Richmont Group of South Africa has bought 25 per cent of Mediaset, which groups Mr Berlusconi's television and advertising interests Italian banks are taking an additional 20 per cent.

"They had some catching up to do."Media analysts said further cost savings in the industry were likely to be achieved following the upgrading of technology.The rate at which new technology is introduced is expected to accelerate. "Gone are the days when newspaper publishers bought new technology and sat on it for 15 or 20 years," an analyst said.New technology is aimed at streamlining news gathering and production processes, allowing fewer staff to perform more functions.. "There was a lot of fat in the company," the chief executive of a competing newspaper said. Publishers have responded by cutting print runs and publishing fewer sections. Some newspapers, including the Independent, have cut staff.Mr Cameron said technological changes, including introduction of state- of-the-art scanning and text input systems, had also reduced staffing needs.The Express group has lagged behind other national newspapers in cutting staff, according to industry executives. The Sunday title, however, has experienced a drop in readership in the face of aggressive pricing from competitors.The UK national newspaper market has been hit by a 40 per cent increase in the cost of newsprint since last summer, while a national circulation price war has dampened revenues.