Life360 acquires Foundog.com

March 25, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website

 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-366
  
Life360, a company that provides sevices to manage family safety, has bought lost property tagging service, Foundog.com.
 
Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  Life360
ACQ Web:  http://www.life360.com
Location:  USA, San Francisco, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Online service for managing family safety and security
Category:  Social Network 
 
Vendor:  Foundog.com
Vendor Web:  http://www.foundog.com 
Location:  USA, San Francisco, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Property retrieval service that provides rewards for people reporting found propert.
Category: Consumer service
  
Link: Press Release
  
Related articles: Life360 Locks Down $750k in Latest Funding Round Posted 25 November 2009

Posted in Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Alexander Lebedev’s Independent Print Limited buys the Independent newspaper for £1

March 25, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-365
  
Independent News & Media PLC (INM) has sold The Independent and The Independent on Sunday to Independent Print Limited (IPL), a company controlled by the family of Alexander Lebedev. Lebedev is the Russian billionaire and former KGB agent who bought the London Evening Standard last year.

IPL will acquire all rights to The Independent, The Independent on Sunday and the related website, www.independent.co.uk. Existing Independent and Independent on Sunday staff will transfer to IPL, who will continue to operate from the current premises in Kensington, London. As a result of this disposal, Ivan Fallon, chief executive of Independent News & Media UK has retired from the Group.
 
Aprox. Value:  The consideration payable by IPL is £1. As part of the transaction, INM will pay IPL £9.25m over the next ten months for use within the Titles, in exchange for IPL assuming all future trading liabilities and obligations. The disposal is subject to certain conditions, including Irish Competition approval. The value of the assets being disposed of was nil at 31 December 2009 and the operating loss (i.e. before exceptionals, interest and tax) for the 12 months ended 31 December 2009 was Stg£12.4 million.
  
Vendor:  Independent News & Media PLC
Vendor Web:  http://www.inmplc.com 
Location:  Ireland, Dublin/UK, London
Region:  Europe
Description: A leading international newspaper and communications group, with its main interests in Australia, India, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom.

The Group publishes over 200 newspaper and magazine titles, delivering a combined weekly circulation of over 32 million copies, with a weekly audience of over 100 million consumers and includes the world’s largest read newspaper, Dainik Jagran, in India. The Group has established a strong and growing online presence, with over 100 editorial, classified and transactional sites.

INM is the largest radio operator – over 130 stations and an audience of almost six million people – and outdoor advertising operator in Australasia and also has leading outdoor advertising operations in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and across Africa.

 The Group manages gross assets of €2.2 billion, revenue of €1.4 billion and employs approximately 8,700 people worldwide.

Category: Newspaper, Media
Contact 1:  Gavin O’Reilly, Group Chief Executive Officer
Contact 2:  Vincent Crowley, Chief Operating Officer
Contact 3:  Dónal Buggy, Chief Financial Officer
 
Link: Press Release

Related articles: Independent News & Media’s 49% of Verivox sold to Oakley Capital Private Equity for €18.3M Posted 7 December 2010

Posted in Publishers, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

Good news for UK “wealth creators and innovators”- entrepreneurs’ relief for Capital Gains Tax doubled

March 24, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 

 

United Kingdom – Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget statement

Alasdair Darling, Chanceller of the Exchequer for the UK Governement has announced an extension of Entrepreneurs’ Relief from the first £1 million to the first £2 million of gains made over a lifetime.

Entrepreneurs’ Relief supports business owners and those investing in businesses with growth potential by providing an effective 10 per cent Capital Gains Tax rate on qualifying disposals.

This change will take effect from 6 April 2010.

The Chancellor also announced that the normal rate of capital gains tax (CGT) remains unchanged at 18 per cent.

Direct quote from the Budget statement

“I am also going to make it more attractive for wealth-creators and innovators to set-up their own businesses. To do this, I am doubling entrepreneurs’ relief for Capital Gains Tax. At the moment, the first million pounds of lifetime gains are taxed at a lower rate of 10 per cent, rather than the main rate of 18 per cent.

This threshold will now increase to £2m, enabling entrepreneurs to benefit more from their effort and investment.

And I can also confirm today that I am not increasing the main rate of Capital Gains Tax.”

Link: HM Treasury Budget website

Posted in Broadcasting, Conference/Exhibitions, e-Retail, Energy & Environmental Services, Games, Internet Media, Market Data & Information, Publishers, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

Vibes Media acquires Zeep Mobile

March 24, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-364
 
  
Vibes Media has acquired self-service mobile advertising company, http://www.zeepmobile.com. Under the terms of the agreement, Zeep’s mobile messaging technology will be integrated into the Vibes platform and all Zeep employees will become part of Vibes Media. Zeep’s network of over 10,000 developers will also be integrated into Vibes. Additionally, Zeep President and CEO Scott Robertson will relocate to Vibes’ headquarters in Chicago, as will the engineering team currently located in Vancouver, Canada, joining Head of Engineering Rishi Bhatia and the team he just brought to Vibes with him from AOL Third Screen Media.
 
Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  Vibes Media
ACQ Web:  http://www.vibes.com  
Location:  USA, Chicago, IL
Region:  North America
Description:  Mobile marketing company, Vibes delivers hundreds of millions of mobile messages for a wide range of clients in the marketer and publisher categories.
Category:  Advertising, Mobile
Contact 1:  Jack Philbin, co founder and president
Contact 2:  Alex Campbell, Vibes’ co-founder and CEO.

Vendor:  Zeep Mobile
Vendor Web:  http://www.zeepmobile.com 
Location:  Canada, Vancouver
Region:  North America
Description:  Enables developers to send and receive ad-supported SMS messages from any website.
Category: Advertising, Mobile
Contact:   Scott Robertson, President and CEO
 
Links: 

Posted in Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

WebMediaBrands acquires Rotorblog.Com

March 24, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-363
 
  
WebMediaBrands Inc. (Nasdaq: WEBM)  has acquired the assets of Rotorblog.com. Rotorblog was created in 2006 to cover the social media space. It currently attracts approximately 200,000 unique visitors a month.

“Rotorblog.com will be a terrific addition to our stable of blogs covering the social media space,” stated Alan M. Meckler, Chairman and CEO of WebMediaBrands. “In recent months we also acquired the blogs All Facebook and Social Times along with a variety of trade shows dealing with social gaming and media topics.”
 
Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  WebMediaBrands
ACQ Web:  http://www.webmediabrands.com 
Location:  USA, New York, NY
Region:  North America
Description:   Global provider of events, education, jobs, and content for business, media, and creative professionals
Category:  Media, Blog
Contact:  Alan M. Meckler, Chairman and CEO Twitter 
 
Vendor:  Rotorblog.com
Vendor Web:  http://www.rotorblog.com 
Location:  USA, Los Angeles, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Founded in May 2006 by Maris Dagis in order to provide latest Web 2.0 news and startup reviews, later focusing on social networks and online communications.
Category: Blog
Contact 1:  Maris Dagis Founder, Editor 
 
Link: Press Release

Related articles

Posted in Internet Media, ~North America. 1 Comment »

The9 Limited acquires a majority interest in Red 5 Studios

March 24, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-362
 
 
The9 Limited (Nasdaq: NCTY), an online game developer and operator in China, is to invest a total amount of approximately US$20 million for a majority interest Red 5 Studios, Inc., an online game developer in the United States.
 
Aprox. Value:  Approximately US$20 million for a majority
 
Acquirer:  The9 Limited
ACQ Web:  http://www.the9.com/en/ 
Location:  China, Shanghai
Region:  Asia
Description:  Online game operator and developer in China. The business is primarily focused on developing and operating games for the online game market. The9 Limited directly, or through affiliates, operates licensed MMORPGs and advanced casual games including Soul of The Ultimate Nation, Granado Espada, EA SPORTS FIFA Online 2 and Atlantica, as well as its proprietary games World of Fighter and Jiu Zhou Zhan Ji, in mainland China.
Category:  Online games
Contact:  Mr. Jun Zhu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 
 
Vendor:  Red 5 Studios
Vendor Web:  http://www.red5studios.com/ 
Location:  USA, Irvine, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Online game developer located in California, formed in 2006 by former executives and developers from Blizzard Entertainment.
Category: Online games
Contact:  Mark Kern, Chief Executive Officer 
 
Link: Press Release

Posted in Games, Internet Media, ~Asia, ~North America. 1 Comment »

FUND RAISING: WEEKLY ROUND-UP week ending 21st March 2010 (part two)

March 21, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 

 

We posted the Fusion DigiNet “Fund Raising Round-Up” early this week as we had thought that logistical plans would prevent us from creating the round-up on Sunday evening (our normal time). However, that is not the case and we can now add a few stories we missed from Friday night’s round-up.

Here is the original round-up

FUND RAISING: WEEKLY ROUND-UP week ending 19th March 

Additional stories

1. Nival Network has raises $7 million

  • Details: Social games business Nival Network has raised $7 million from DST, 1C Company and Nival Group founder & CEO Sergey Orlovskiy valuing the business at  $32 million. DST has invested $4 million for a 12.5% of Nival Network. Exisiting shareholders 1C Company also invested $1 million and will now own 26.56% and Nival CEO, Sergey Orlovskiy invested $2 million,and will now own 60.94%.
  • Location:  Russia, Moscow
  • Category: Online games
  • Links

2. Smartling raises $4 million in first funding round

  • Details: Smartling, Inc., a provider of real-time, crowdsourced translations for Internet based businesses, has secured a US$ 4 million Series A round of investment. The company will use the funding to expand its operations and support product development.
  • Investors: Led by Venrock. The round also included funding from US Venture Partners, First Round Capital and several angel investors.
  • Contacts: David Pakman, Partner at Venrock: Jack Welde, CEO of Smartling
  • Location:  USA, New York, NY
  • Category: Language services
  • Links: Press  Release

3. Videoplaza raises $5 million

  • Details: Videoplaza, the European ad serving technology provider for managing and monetising online video, has raised $5 million. The capital was raised to support the company’s commercial development as it continues on its expansion path into Europe. The funding will enable Videoplaza to accelerate the deployment of its Monetizer ad server platform technology for managing, displaying and tracking advertising in and around publishers’ online video content into more European territories.
  • Investors: led by the Nordic´s two leading Venture Capital firms Creandum and Northzone.
  • Contacts: Sorosh Tavakoli, Videoplaza Founder & CEO: Pär-Jörgen Pärson, General Partner at Northzone: Fredric Cassel, General Partner at Creandu.
  • Adviser: Frederic Laziou of Alta Venture
  • Location:  Sweden, Stockholm
  • Category: Advertising, Video
  • Links

4. Weedle raises $4 million

  • Details: Weedle, a social media business that connects people with skills to those who need them, has raised $4 million. The funds will enable the Ireland based company to expand into the U.S. and other global regions. The announcement was made during an Enterprise Ireland-supported Trade and Investment Mission to the U.S. led by Taoiseach (Ireland’s Prime Minister) Brian Cowen.  Enterprise Ireland is the Irish state agency responsible for the development and promotion of the indigenous Irish business sector.
  • Investors: Weedle’s investors include well-known Irish business entrepreneurs Dr. Michael Smurfit and Weedle co-founder and CEO, Iain MacDonald, as well as the Irish government agency, Enterprise Ireland.
  • Location: Ireland, Dublin
  • Category: Social Network, Search
  • Links:  Weedle Blog
Posted in Internet Media, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

FUND RAISING: WEEKLY ROUND-UP week ending 19th March

March 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 

 

The best way to receive Fusion DigiNet information is to subscribe to the free email service available from the home page.

Last Week’s Fund Raisings

1.  Foundry Group and industry angels invest $2.2 million in Trada

  • Details : Trada launched to the public today the first online marketplace allowing small and medium businesses and agencies to leverage the skills of hundreds of paid search experts, who in turn earn money by generating low-cost clicks and conversions for advertisers. Trada entered private beta in January 2009 and has more than 70 advertisers and 280 experts to date.
  • Investors:  Foundry Group, Seth Levine, Managing Partner of Foundry Group, Carlos Cashman, Jamie Crouthamel, Stuart Larkins, Dan Murr, Alan Warms and Robert Wolfe – Bios
  • Contacts: CEO and founder of Trada,  Niel Robertson
  • Location:  USA, Boulder, CO
  • Category: Search, Advertising
  • Links:

2. GyPSii raises $11 million

  • Details : GyPSii, developer of location-based social networking applications, has closed an $11 million private funding round. The funds will be used to support marketing and additional development of GyPSii applications including Twitter app Tweetsii, GyPSii. This latest infusion brings total fundraising to $40 million.
  • Investors:  Led by U.K.-based Schroders
  • Contacts: Dan Harple, Executive Chairman,
  • Location:  The Netherlands, Amsterdam   
  • Category: Social Network, Apps
  • Link: The fund raising is announced in the Press Release that also announced thelaunch of new app Tweetsii

3. Hunch raises $12 million

 4. Plastic Jungle raises $7.4 million

  • Details: Plastic Jungle, a website that enables readers to buy, exchange, and donate gift cards in a trusted environment, has raised $7.4 million in Series B funding. Plastic Jungle previously secured $6 million in Series A funding, bringing its total equity funding to $13.4 million. The Series B financing was completed at an increased valuation over the prior round, which occurred in March 2009. Plastic Jungle will add Allen Beasley, Partner at Redpoint Ventures, to its board of directors.
  • Investors: New investor Redpoint Ventures led the round and previous investors Shasta Ventures, First Round Capital and Bay Partners, as well as other existing investors also participated.
  • Contact: Garry Briggs, CEO: Bruce Bower, President: Dave Worthington, Chief Financial Officer: Ashmit Bhattacharya, Chief Technology Officer
  • Location: USA, Mountain View, CA
  • Category: Consumer website
  • Link: Press Release

5. PowerReviews raises $6.1 million.

  • Details: PowerReviews, the company behind the review sections of many e-coomerce sites, including RadioShack, ToysRUs and Staples, has raised $6.1 million.
  • Investor: Led by Menlo Ventures and Tenya Capital
  • Contact: Pehr Luedtke – CEO, Andy Chen – Founder and VP, Strategic Partnerships, Robert Chea – Founder and COO
  • Location: USA, San Francisco, CA
  • Category: Reviews, Technology
  • Link: Caterina Fake talks about the deal on her Blog

6. Second Porch closes a £1 million Series-A investment

  • Details: Second Porch has closed a £1 million Series-A investment. The investment will be used to continue the company’s expansion into the vacation home rental and home exchange markets, which are among the fastest growing segments in online consumer travel. Second Porch enables owners and renters to tap into real world relationships in order to rent and trade vacation homes, where trust between owner and guest is of paramount concern on both sides of the transaction
  • Investor: Led by the Oregon Angel Fund (OAF)
  • Contact: Brent Hieggelke, CEO of Second Porch
  • Location: USA, Portland, OR
  • Category: Holiday, Rental
  • Link: Press Release

7. World Golf Tour raises $10 million

  • Details:  World Golf Tour has raised $10 million in a third round of funding.  The funds will be used to expand globally and to create a stripped-down version of its web site game for Facebook
  • Investor: Led by JAFCO Ventures. Existing investors also participated. World Golf Tour was founded in 2006 with the backing of l venture capital firms Battery Ventures and Panorama Capital, as well as prominent individual investors.
  • Contact: Yuchiang Cheng, chief executive
  • Location: USA, San Francisco, CA
  • Category: Games
  • Link: Venturebeat
Posted in e-Retail, Games, Internet Media, ~North America. 1 Comment »

Morningstar to acquire statistical ratings organisation Realpoint

March 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-361
 
Morningstar, Inc. a leading provider of independent investment research, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Realpoint, LLC, a Statistical Ratings Organisation (NRSRO) that specializes in structured finance. Realpoint had revenue of approximately $12 million in 2009. Morningstar expects to complete the transaction in the next few months.

Once the acquisition is completed, Realpoint will become a business unit of Morningstar, reporting to Catherine Odelbo, Morningstar‘s president of equity research. Over time, the company will be rebranded under Morningstar. Dobilas will continue to run the business, and the company will retain its offices in Horsham, Pa.
 
Aprox. Value:  The purchase price is $52 million, subject to post-closing adjustments, and includes approximately $42 million in cash and $10 million in restricted stock.
 
Acquirer:  Morningstar

Location:  USA, Chicago, IL
Region:  North America
Description:  Provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on approximately 350,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 4 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. The company has operations in 20 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based in two other countries.
Category:  Finance, Publishing
Contact 1:  Joe Mansueto, chairman and chief executive officer
Contact 2:  Catherine Odelbo, Morningstar’s president of equity reseach
  
 
Vendor:  Realpoint, LLC
Vendor Web:  https://www.realpoint.com 
Location:  USA, Horsham, PA
Region:  North America
Description:  Realpoint offers securities ratings, research, surveillance services, and data to help institutional investors identify credit risk in commercial mortgage-backed securities. More than 225 institutional investment firms subscribe to Realpoint‘s ratings and analytics, including the majority of money managers who invest in commercial mortgage-backed securities.
Category: Ratings, Research, Finance
Contact:  Robert Dobilas, chief executive officer
 
Link: Press Release

Related article

Posted in Market Data & Information, Publishers, ~North America. 5 Comments »

Sandow Media acquires Interior Design and Furniture Today from Reed Business Information-US

March 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-360
 
Reed Business Information – US has made another divestiture. This is the third RBI-US divestiture we have reported in the last two months.

Sandow Media has acquired several print and online brands serving the commercial/residential design and home furnishings and accessories industries. Included in the purchase from Reed Business Information is the iconic Interior Design magazine and the entire Furniture Today group of publications, including Furniture Today, Gifts & Decorative Accessories, Home Textiles Today, Casual Living, Home Accents Today, Kids Today and Playthings.

Sandow Media will hire more than 100 employees with this transaction and substantially expand its current New York City operations. Reed Business Information’s Greensboro, North Carolina, facility will also become part of Sandow Media.

Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed

Previously reported on Fusion DigiNet

Acquirer:  Sandow Media
ACQ Web:  http://www.sandowmedia.com 
Location:  USA, Boca Raton, FL
Region:  North America
Description:  ”Founded by Adam I. Sandow in 2002, Sandow Media‘s flagship brands include the beauty publication NewBeauty; Worth, the business and finance magazine for the ultra-affluent; Watch Journal; and Luxe Interiors + Design, the nation’s largest network of luxury home and design magazines. With over 285 employees nationwide, Sandow Media produces over 200 publications annually. Veronis Suhler Stevenson (VSS) is an investor in Sandow Media.
Category:  Magazine publisher
Contact 1:  Adam I. Sandow, chairman and CEO
Contact 2:  Mark Strauss, publisher and vice president
Contact 3:  Kevin Castellani, vice president and publishing director  
 
Vendor:  Reed Business Information – US
Vendor Web:  http://www.reedbusiness.com/us.html
Location:  USA, New York, NY
Region:  North America
Description:  Business-to-business information provider, with more than 80 market-leading publications and Websites, as well as a range of services
Category: Media Owner, Publisher
Contact 1:  John Poulin, Chief executive Officer

Adviser: Reed Business Information-US and its parent company, Reed Elsevier, were represented by The Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc., a New York City-based investment bank that specializes in media, information, marketing services and related technologies.

Link: Company Announcement

Posted in Publishers, ~North America. 4 Comments »
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