Facebook is to launch a cryptocurrency next year - backed by the likes of Mastercard, Visa and PayPal - which will allow people to move money from their smartphone.

The currency is known as Libra, which the social network says it has "no special role" in governing and will manage the reserve equally with a group of big companies.

So far, it has enlisted 28 firms, including Spotify and Uber, who each had to invest a minimum of 10 million US dollars (£8 million) to be a founding member of the Libra Association, an independent not-for-profit membership organisation - it wants to attract 100 businesses in time for launch, which it is aiming for the first half of 2020.

Libra is supported by a reserve of the world's best assets and the world's most trusted central banks, who gave the cryptocurrency "general cautious support", according to David Marcus, who started exploring blockchain at Facebook a year ago.

READ MORE: Government and FCA to hold consultations on crypto-asset industry

"Libra holds the potential to provide billions of people around the world with access to a more inclusive, more open financial ecosystem," he explained.

The social network is hoping that its collaborative approach can ease volatility concerns of existing blockchains and cryptocurrencies.

Facebook will operate its own digital wallet for people to spend Libra, known as the Calibra Wallet, which will be available in WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and as a standalone app.
Users will be able to send money to each other initially, at low to no cost, the social network said.

Eventually, it intends to open the Calibra Wallet up to additional services, so that people can pay bills, buy goods by scanning a code or accessing public transport.

Account information from Calibra will not be shared with Facebook to improve things like ad targeting, except for "limited cases" where this data may be shared "to keep people safe, comply with the law, and provide basic functionality to the people who use Calibra", the social network added.

Libra is open source, meaning anyone will be able to launch their own digital wallet and include the currency.

"As a Founding Member of the Libra Network, Vodafone will extend its commitment to digital and financial inclusion by supporting the creation of a new global currency and encouraging a wide range of innovative financial services to be developed through its open-source platform," said Stefano Parisse, group director of product and services at Vodafone Group.

"This has the potential to be truly transformative and will benefit those who have never used, or are struggling to access, financial services around the world."

Auction house Sotheby's has announced it has signed an agreement to be purchased by French-Israeli media mogul Patrick Drahi for £2.95 billion.

The deal will see the 275-year-old London-founded company become a private entity after 31 years trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

"After more than 30 years as a public company, the time is right for Sotheby's to return to private ownership to continue on a path of growth and success," board chairman Domenico De Sole said.

Mr Drahi is the founder and controlling shareholder of French telecommunications firm Altice as well as companies in Israel, Portugal and the US.

READ MORE: Drinks veterans launch bid to drive Scottish exports

He said he was "honoured" that Sotheby's had recommended his offer, which will see shareholders compensated at £45.5 per share and represents a 61% premium on the New York-based company's closing price on Friday.

"Sotheby's is one of the most elegant and aspirational brands in the world. As a longtime client and lifetime admirer of the company, I am acquiring Sotheby's together with my family," he added.
The purchase by Mr Drahi's BidFair USA company is expected to close in 2019's fourth quarter after shareholder approval.
Sotheby's auctions various works including fine art, books, jewels and wine.

It has 10 different salesrooms in cities including London, New York, Paris and Hong Kong.

Videogame developer Team17 Group has seen shares jump after upping its earnings and revenues outlook for the full year thanks to strong sales of new and old titles.

Shares in the group behind the popular Worms series rose more than 7% on the results cheer, which came after it notched up good first half sales growth of its back catalogue and saw a "solid" performance for a raft of new games.

The Yorkshire-based group also said trading has been boosted by a growing proportion of revenues relating to licence income.

It said a busy first half saw a raft of new titles launched, including the multi-platform release of My Time At Portia along with Hell Let Loose earlier this month.

The group has also released new downloadable content for a number of titles, including The Escapists 2 and Overcooked 2.

Team17 said it announced several new partnerships in the half-year, including with Blacklight Interactive for the popular Golf with Your Friends! game and with Hermes Interactive for the indie kitchen puzzle game Automachef, set for launch on Nintendo Switch.