Guardian News & Media sell paidContent to GigaOM

February 8, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Guardian News & Media has sold the assets of ContentNext Media, to business and technology media company GigaOM. The deal includes all the properties of ContentNext Media including paidContent.org, mocoNews, contentSutra and paidContent:UK. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Under the terms of the acquisition, GNM will take a minority shareholding in GigaOM. GigaOM has an online audience of more than 4.5 million monthly unique visitors. It also runs events and a market research service and digital community providing expert analysis and research on emerging technology markets. GNM is joining existing investors such as Reed Elsevier Ventures, Alloy Ventures and True Ventures.

Andrew Miller, Chief Executive Officer of Guardian Media Group (parent company of Guardian News & Media), said: “paidContent has a fantastic presence in the tech/media space and the match with GigaOM, itself a really smart and pioneering company, is a good one. We are delighted to become shareholders in GigaOM as part of the deal.

“The Guardian’s focus in the US is on building guardiannews.com, but we look forward to seeing paidContent thrive and grow in its new home and wish its staff all the very best for the future.”

Staci Kramer will remain the editor of paidContent.

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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UBM sells its Daltons business

February 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM has sold its Daltons business to Innovare Media Limited. Daltons provides a web-based marketplace for the sale and purchase of UK small and medium enterprises. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

UK, London

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Founders of Briefing Media to acquire UBM’s UK agriculture and medical general practitioner portfolios

February 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Neil Thackray and Rory Brown, the founders of Briefing Media Ltd, are to acquire UBM‘s UK agriculture and medical general practitioner portfolios – including the Farmers Guardian and Pulse titles – for a total cash consideration of £10 million (subject to a working capital adjustment at completion). The new business will be known as Briefing Media Group. It is funded by GCP Capital Partners, a mid-market private equity fund.

The agriculture portfolio – comprising the Farmers Guardian and Dairy Farmer titles and their associated online offerings – is based primarily in Preston and employs 57 staff.

The London-based general practitioner portfolio employs 33 staff and includes the Pulse and Practical Commissioning magazines and their digital and event products NAPC, the Mental Health Forum, Pulse Seminars, as well as Pulse Learning.

Commenting on the deal, Neil Thackray said, “When we founded Briefing Media we had a vision for creating a vibrant new business to business media company. This acquisition gives us both the scale and market opportunity to accelerate that ambition. We are delighted to be acquiring assets with such excellent pedigrees and reputations in important business markets and to be working with GCP Capital Partners. This will be the first but not the last acquisition we plan to make.”

The transaction is expected to close in the next four to six weeks. In total, these assets generated revenues of £12.1 million in 2011.

UBM has retained ownership of the Cropworld conference and the Chemist & Druggist magazine and data product portfolio.

Briefing Media article – A new chapter begins today for Briefing Media

UK, London

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UBM plc and Roularta Media Group form Belgian medical print journal joint venture business

February 3, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM plc thas contributed its Belgian medical print activities to a joint venture with Roularta Media Group (ROU), the Euronext Brussels-listed media group.

UBM Medica and Roularta have merged their respective Belgian professional medical print businesses into ActuaMedica, a 50:50 joint venture company.  The staff and assets relating to UBM Medica’s print and digital titles (Journal du Medecin / Arksenkrant, Belgium Oncology News and Le Magazine du Pharmacien / Apothekers magazine) and Roularta’s print and digital titles (De Huisarts / Le Generaliste, De Specialisten / Les Specialistes, De Apotheker / Le Pharmacien and De Tandards / Le Denttiste) will be combined.  The Prescription pads business of both companies will also be combined and the joint venture company will retain the rights to publish the Medex directory under licence. It will be headquartered in Roularta’s offices in Brussels.

ActuaMedica will be the market-leading provider of media-based marketing services for Belgian healthcare professionals.  UBM says it remains committed to the Belgium medical market through its continued 100% ownership of its digital data businesses in Belgium (Medibridge and drug information systems), as well as its 50% equity interest in ActuaMedica.

Henry Elkington, CEO of UBM Medica said, “By merging our Belgian media assets with Roularta we are creating the leading marketing services player in the local market and will be able to offer our clients unparalleled access and reach to healthcare professionals.  ActuaMedica is well placed to prosper in both print and digital as the media market evolves.  In parallel we will continue to to build our wholly-owned Belgian data business as part of our UBM Medica EMEA operations.”

Belgium, Brussel

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Energos acquires BioGen Power

January 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

UK clean energy recovery from waste business Energos Holdings Limited, part of the ENER-G group, has acquired waste to energy business BioGen Power Limited through a share swap arrangement.

Energos, which is gasification technology partner to BioGen Power and already had a 28% shareholding in the business, has released shares to the former BioGen Power owners as part of the reciprocal agreement.

This brings together a joint portfolio of six fully consented UK sites, with a total generating capacity of 60MW and waste treatment capacity of 650,000 tonnes, plus additional sites in the development pipeline.

In addition, the seven previously developed Energos gasification from waste facilities across Northern Europe, have a combined operating experience of almost 500,000 hours over a 15-year period.

Nick Dawber, Managing Director of Energos, said: ‘The combined portfolio of development-ready sites and pipeline of opportunities – now under the control of Energos – provides an exciting opportunity to deliver a UK network of small-scale advanced thermal conversion plants. This offers commercial waste operators a proven, cost effective, environmentally friendly alternative to mass-burn incineration and landfill for their non-recyclable, non-hazardous waste streams.’

He added: ‘This acquisition brings further specialist planning and waste contracting expertise into the organisation and adds to the strength of Energos. We look forward to starting to roll out the UK development portfolio in 2012.  Our community-sized model of operation means that the renewable energy facilities can sit alongside businesses and supply them with heat. Financial viability is increased by our ability to utilise the full combined heat and power potential of waste and flexibility to process a mixed residual waste feed.’

Energos expects to start construction on two of its six approved sites in 2012, with the remaining sites in the following two years. The consented sites are  at: Knowsley, Merseyside; Irvine, Scotland; Newport, South Wales;  Barry, South Wales; Doncaster, Yorkshire; and Bradford, Yorkshire. BioGen Power has closed its Blackpool office, with staff relocating to Energos’ headquarters in Warrington, Cheshire.

UK, Warrington, Cheshire

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Ogilvy buys 33.3% stake in DTDigital

January 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Ogilvy & Mather has acquired a 33.3% position in STW’s digital communications firm, DTDigital.

Australian digital agency DTDigital joined STW Group in 2003 and during the next eight years grew revenues from $1 million per annum to forecast revenue for 2012 of $14 million. Clients include Bunnings, Myer and NAB.

For the past four years, DTDigital has been working alongside Ogilvy in Melbourne. Today DTDigital has more than 110 full-time staff in its Melbourne office. STW Group owns 66.7% of Ogilvy Group Australia, with WPP holding the remaining 33.3%. The investment by WPP in DTDigital brings its ownership in line with that of Ogilvy Australia.

“Ogilvy know brand, social and CRM while DTDigital provides great digital, channel and technology skills making the combination a winning formula. We have worked in partnership for the past four years and acquiring part of DTDigital cements that relationship, allowing us to offer first class integrated digital to clients inside Australia and across Asia,” said Paul Heath, CEO, Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific.

Australia, Sydney

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Publicis Groupe acquires Mediagong

January 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has acquired French digital agency Mediagong.

Founded in 2002, Mediagong employs some 50 communications professionals on the conception and development of innovative digital tools and interactive campaigns. Mediagong will retain its current name and will continue to operate under the leadership of its founding partners Guillaume De La Brosse, David Oks and Olivier Zetlers. They will take the title of Deputy Managers of Mediagong, an entity within Groupe Leo Burnett France, and will report to Jean-Paul Brunier, President of Groupe Leo Burnett France.

Mediagong has demonstrated strong growth (more than 25% in 2011) and is particularly noted for its creation of vivid, playful and highly interactive narrative campaigns.Its many core sectors include digital and community strategizing, social media, the development of brand content, advergaming and mobile. Mediagong’s client list is particularly strong in the food, beauty and luxury industries, as well as financial services and retail, and includes market leaders Accor hotels, Bel, Crédit Agricole, Danone, Dessange International and Lindt. Mediagong will be aligned with Leo Burnett France, one of the top ten full-service agencies in the country, which has experienced very high growth over the past two years.

“Mediagong is a smart young company with a track-record that’s already very solid and a management team that is very impressive indeed,” said Jean-Paul Brunier, President of Leo Burnett France. “They’re energetic, rigorous, structured and driven to achieve high levels of return on investment for their clients. Every project they undertake is carried out with the same passion for perfection. Digital has become key to our clients, and the French market has the potential for strong growth. This strategic acquisition means Leo Burnett will be among the very few full-service agencies with such a strong grounding in digital expertise.”

France, Paris

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Berkery Noyes releases 2011 year-end Financial Technology & Information Industry M&A Acquisitions Report

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet
Berkery Noyes has released its 2011 Full Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trend Report for the Financial Technology & Information Industry.

The report analyses the sector for 2011 and compares it with similar activity in 2009 and 2010. This market includes information and technology companies in capital markets, payments, banking, insurance and other related financial services.

  • The most active acquirer between 2009 and 2011 was Thomson Reuters with 11 transactions.
  • Total transaction volume in 2011 increased by 2 percent over 2010, from 266 to 271 transactions.
  • Total transaction value in 2011 increased by 43 percent over 2010, from $20.52 billion in 2010 to $29.78 billion this year.
  • The median revenue multiple increased from 2.2x in 2010 to 2.6x in 2011, while the median EBITDA multiple decreased from 13.5x to 11.6x.

There has been a consistent improvement in the number of Capital Markets transactions, which was the only segment that saw an increase from 2010 to 2011. Indeed, the most active market segment tracked by Berkery Noyes between 2009 and 2011 was Capital Markets with 254 transactions, 100 of which were announced or closed in 2011. The segment’s transaction value for the year was $18.17 billion.

“At present we are seeing destructive creativity going on in a number of financial service sectors,” said Peter Ognibene, Berkery Noyes managing director. “For instance, smart phones have become digital wallets and are enabling a host of banking and other mobile commerce activities. There has also been an increase in consumer focus on wealth management strategies. And as always in times of turmoil and uncertainty – there is a desire for more precise and forward looking risk management tools, especially enterprise-wide.”

Click here to read the full report.

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January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Mountain News Corporation, publisher of OnTheSnow Norwegian snow sports website Skiinfo. This acquisition will increase Mountain News Corporation’s reach in key European ski markets and creates a total audience of more than 23 million unique visitors per year. The combined companies will operate in 14 languages and 20 countries.

Established in 1996 in Oslo, Norway as a snow reporting website, Skiinfo.com expanded over the years adding offices in Germany, France, Italy and Slovakia, and had an audience of 11 million unique users in 2011.

“This acquisition allows us to combine the dominant snow sports leader in North America with the leader in Europe to create the first ever, truly global snow sports media platform,” said Chad Dyer, global managing director of Mountain News Corporation. “With a combined 23 million unique visits per year, we will be able to offer advertisers access to skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts around the world — one of the most coveted demographics in media. The combined companies also will be able to offer skiers and riders the most comprehensive global snow sports content and most robust worldwide snow reports.”

The acquisition is expected to close on February 1st, 2012.

USA, Broomfield, CO & Norway, Oslo

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Berkery Noyes releases 2011 year-end Online & Mobile Industry M&A Report

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Berkery Noyes has released its 2011 Full Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trend Report for the Online & Mobile Industry. The report analyses the sector for 2011 and compares it with similar activity in 2009 and 2010.

  • Total transaction volume in 2011 increased by 33 percent over 2010, from 1299 in 2010 to 1723 this year.
  • Total transaction value in 2011 increased by 55 percent over 2010, from $46.34 billion in 2010 to $71.95 billion this year.
  • The median revenue multiple rose from 1.9x in 2010 to 2.4x in 2011. The median EBITDA multiple increased from 11.4x to 12.5x.
  • The segment with the largest increase in volume in 2011 over 2010 was E-Marketing & Search with a 53 percent increase from 263 in 2010 to 403 in 2011.

“M&A activity for social media and analytics companies continues to grow as a broader range of players seek to capitalize on this evolution in media and marketing communications,” said Kathleen Thomas, Managing Director at Berkery Noyes. ”The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, entered the market in April with their $300 million acquisition of Kosmix Corporation, and Kosmix, now known as @WalmartLabs, has already completed four deals.”

  • Microsoft Corporation’s acquisition of Skype Technologies SA, a portfolio of Silver Lake Partners, was the largest transaction for 2011, with an acquisition price of $9.08 billion.
  • The most active acquirer in the Online & Mobile Industry was Google Inc. with 21 transactions (not including the acquisition of Motorola Mobility).
  • There were 192 financially sponsored transactions with an aggregate value of $11.93 billion, representing 11 percent of the total volume and 16 percent of the total value, respectively.

Total acquisitions involving social media and analytics companies rose 39% from 116 transactions in 2010 to 161 in 2011. The median revenue multiple for this sector between 2009 and 2011 was 5.5x.

Click here for a copy of the Full Year 2011 Online & Mobile Industry M&A Trend Report.

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