Music streaming giant Spotify has acquired a significant double podcasting capability in one go.
Spotify said it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire Gimlet Media, an independent producer of podcast content, and Anchor which the music streaming service said is "the company leading the market for podcast creation, publishing, and monetisation services".
Terms of the transactions were not disclosed.
Spotify said that with the acquisitions it is positioned to become "both the premier producer of podcasts and the leading platform for podcast creators".
The company said that Gimlet will bring to Spotify "its best-in-class podcast studio with dedicated IP development, production and advertising capabilities".
Anchor will bring its platform of tools for podcast creators and its established and rapidly growing creator bas, it said.
The move is described as a key step towards building its original content.
Daniel Ek, Spotify co-founder and chief executive, said: "These acquisitions will meaningfully accelerate our path to becoming the world’s leading audio platform, give users around the world access to the best podcast content, and improve the quality of our listening experience as well as enhance the Spotify brand.
"We are proud to welcome Gimlet and Anchor to the Spotify team, and we look forward to what we will accomplish together."
Property portal On The Market has said its website traffic reached record levels in January, driven by a "heavyweight" advertising campaign.
Visits to OnTheMarket.com reached 23.5 million last month, over four times the number that visited in February 2018, the month it listed on London's AIM market.
The website has over 600,000 UK residential listings, and the company said its property stock in the UK is more than 80 per cent of Zoopla's and 60% of Rightmove's.
The number of estate agency branches covered by On The Market's property website is now above 12,500.
The European Commission has blocked the planned merger between the railway business of German industrial giant Siemens and France's Alstom.
EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that the merger would have resulted in higher prices for the signalling systems that keep passengers safe.
The two companies had argued that the merger would allow them to take on foreign rivals such as Chinese rail manufacturer CRRC.
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