Bloomberg Acquires PolarLake

May 22, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Bloomberg LP has acquired Dublin-based software provider PolarLake.

“The PolarLake purchase is a strong signal to the marketplace that Bloomberg intends to be a leader in the enterprise data management business,” said Thomas Secunda, Bloomberg Co-Founder and Global Head of Bloomberg’s Financial Products and Services.

PolarLake, a leader in reference data management, distribution and integration, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Bloomberg, but will operate as an independent business unit. It will have separate facilities and operations staff, so it can provide the highest levels of security, privacy and permissioning for the data it receives. Geller & Co. advised Bloomberg on the transaction.

USA, New York, NY & Ireland, Dublin

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Acquisition of Xceligentby DMGT

April 27, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

dmg:: Information (dmgi), the Business information division of Daily Mail and General Trust, has agreed to make a strategic investment in Xceligent Inc. for a consideration of less than US$10 million.

Xceligent, based in Independence, Missouri, is one of only two companies in the United States that provide fully researched property and listing information to the commercial real estate community. The remaining shares in the company are owned by the founders, management and employees.

UK, London & USA, Independence, MI

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Thomson Reuters sells its Healthcare business to Veritas for $1.25bn

April 23, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Thomson Reuters is to sell its Healthcare business to an affiliate of Veritas Capital for $1.25 billion in cash. The sale is expected to close in the next few months. The sale is not subject to any financing condition. Veritas has obtained debt financing commitments for the transaction.

The Healthcare business provides data, analytics and performance benchmarking solutions and services to hospitals, health systems, employers, health plans, government agencies and healthcare professionals. With leading assets and solutions such as MarketScan, Advantage Suite, Micromedex, CareDiscovery and ActionOI, coupled with expert services and analysis, the Healthcare business provides its customers with solutions to identify savings, improve outcomes, fight fraud and abuse and more efficiently manage their healthcare operations.

“We are proud of our colleagues who built a very strong Healthcare business,” said James C. Smith, chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters. “I know they will continue to serve their customers with the same high standards under new ownership. With the completion of the divestiture, Thomson Reuters will be even more focused on our core global businesses.”

“The Healthcare business of Thomson Reuters is the preeminent healthcare analytics company in the industry today,” said Robert McKeon, chairman of Veritas Capital. “The acquisition will provide us with a unique and exciting opportunity to add a truly outstanding business and world-class management team to our portfolio and we look forward to building upon our experience in the healthcare analytics market. We look forward to welcoming the business and its talented employees, including its talented management team led by Mike Boswood, into the Veritas family.”

“We are excited to become part of Veritas Capital. Veritas is committed to helping us continue to grow and expand our business and our customers should expect the same level of high quality services after the transaction closes,” said Mike Boswood, president of the Healthcare business.

Morgan Stanley and Allen & Company are acting as financial advisors to Thomson Reuters for the proposed divestiture. Covington & Burling LLP is acting as legal counsel for Thomson Reuters.

USA, New York, NY

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Argus acquires Fundalytics

April 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has acquired Fundalytics, a specialist European natural gas fundamentals data service. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Founded in 2009, Fundalytics compiles, cleans and publishes fundamental data for European natural gas markets. Data sets include supply and demand, inventories, interconnector flows, nominations, allocations and many other types of key information useful for planning and analysis. Data are available on an intra-day basis and can be delivered in multiple formats.

Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: “Fundalytics data are a complementary service to the pricing and analysis services provided by Argus for international natural gas markets. This acquisition means that Argus can provide a fuller service to our clients. Argus prices are already used extensively as benchmarks in physical and derivative contracts for natural gas and other forms of energy. High quality fundamentals data will add a further valuable information source.”

Fundalytics director Chris Dodds said: “I am very pleased to be working with Argus. Argus has the price reporting expertise and analysis skills that will help to develop our data services further. The two companies together will be be able to offer a first-rate full service to our complementary client and prospect databases.”

UK, London

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DMGT – trading update for the six-month period to the end of March 2012

April 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

DMGT has issued an update on the Group’s progress in the current year. It covers the six-month period to the end of March 2012.

Summary

-       Solid Group revenue performance, up 2% underlying

-       Good underlying growth from B2B operations

-       Resilient revenue performance at Associated; circulation and digital revenue growth largely offsetting print advertising weakness

-       Active portfolio management; targeted acquisitions and disposal of non-core assets

-       Outlook for the year remains unchanged.

 

Acquisition activity

Active portfolio management has seen further bolt-on acquisitions, including:

-       Intelliworks – a top provider of relationship management solutions for higher education (dmgi – Hobsons)

-       PrepMe – a leader in adaptive learning technologies and test preparation programs (dmgi – Hobsons)

-       SpringRock – a cutting-edge provider of dynamic production forecasts for the oil & gas industry (dmgi – Genscape)

-       Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia – international grain trading conferences (Euromoney) (A Fusion deal – click here for details)

-       Jobrapido – one of the world’s largest job search engines (Associated -Evenbase)

This continuing portfolio management activity has also seen A&N Media selling its interests in Top Consultant, motors.co.uk and Teletext.

Yesterday, the Office of Fair Trading gave clearance for the proposed merger between the Digital Property Group and Zoopla to go ahead.

Read the full announcement here

UK, London

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Hearst Corporation acquires 20% stake in Stylus Media Group

March 28, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Hearst Corporation has acquired a 20 percent stake in Stylus Media Group, which provides business intelligence to consumer companies. The announcement was made jointly by Frank A. Bennack, Jr., CEO of Hearst Corporation, and Marc Worth, CEO and founder of Stylus. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Stylus tracks consumer behavior and cultural shifts across consumer industries, including automotive, technology, media, retail, fashion and hospitality. Stylus is used by design, marketing, branding and business development departments inside companies to stimulate new ideas about consumer products and services.

As part of the agreement, Kenneth A. Bronfin, president of Hearst Interactive Media, will join the Board of Directors of Stylus. The Interactive Media group will manage Hearst’s stake in Stylus as it does with its numerous portfolio businesses.

Since its launch in September 2010, Stylus has grown to cover 20 sectors across 50 countries with a worldwide staff of 100. More than 200 major corporations have subscribed to Stylus data, including Saatchi & Saatchi, Starwood Hotels, Mulberry, Sony, Ford, Colombia Sportswear, The Container Store, Marks & Spencer and Interbrand. Its mission is to become a global leader in primary research, tapping into opportunities in emerging markets and meeting demand from business and design professionals for research and information.

Commenting on the acquisition, Bennack said, “For all businesses to be competitive, spotting the next trend can mean success or failure. We believe that Stylus offers information that no company should be without. The growth potential is very promising, as is the benefit to our own brands and businesses.”

“This strategic partnership signals a wealth of new opportunities for Stylus,” Worth said. “Hearst’s global presence will help drive Stylus’ business forward in Asia and Latin America as well as its core markets of U.S. and Europe. Hearst’s investment in both technology and new media businesses makes it an ideal partner and will allow us to meet demand for cross-sector, cross-country design intelligence.”

“We have been quite impressed with the tremendous amount of progress that Stylus has made since its launch in terms of content development and brand-name client acquisition,” Bronfin said. “We look forward to working with Stylus as it expands its reputation as an authoritative business intelligence resource for design and creative professionals.”

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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IHS Acquires IMS Research for $46M

March 22, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

IHS Inc. has acquired IMS Research, an independent provider of market research and consultancy to the global electronics industry, for approximately $46 million.

“The acquisition of IMS Research will help us expand our products and services in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) value chain, and better position IHS to deliver a more robust product offering to our customers in the global technology marketplace,” said IHS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerre Stead. “The annual delivery nature of the IMS Research business is also an excellent fit for our subscription-based model.”

IMS Research provides research with proprietary data and market insight to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), component manufacturers and systems suppliers in the global electronics industry. The company’s products and services include syndicated market studies, custom research, consultancy services and events that deliver comprehensive, value-add data and in-depth actionable market intelligence, across the technology spectrum. It serves diverse industries across the technology spectrum, from semiconductors and wireless to industrial systems and alternative energy, helping clients in more than 50 countries better understand markets and shape strategies.

IMS Research was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Wellingborough, U.K. The company employs more than 140 people in the U.K., U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

USA, Englewood, CO & UK, Wellingborough

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LexisNexis acquires Law360

March 21, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

LexisNexis has acquired Portfolio Media, the parent company of Law360, an online provider of legal news and analysis for business lawyers, primarily in the United States.

“Breaking legal news and analysis are critical for legal professionals as they drive success for their businesses and clients,” said Bob Romeo, CEO of Research and Litigation Solutions at LexisNexis. “Law360 is a key element of our growth strategy because it adds legal news and analysis, a crucial part of an attorney’s workflow and a key entry point to legal research.”

Law360 publishes breaking news and analysis with a particular focus on high-stakes litigation across more than 30 practice areas. This content is distributed through online daily newsletters that are read by over 100,000 law firm and business professionals ranging from litigators, corporate counsel and transactional attorneys to law librarians and legal administrators.

“We are excited to have our premier legal news and analysis offering join the LexisNexis family. We see it as a great opportunity to extend our reach, expand our portfolio of content, and create new and innovative ways to deliver it to customers,” said Marius Meland, co-CEO and co-founder of Law360. Headquartered in New York City, Law360 was founded in 2004 by Meland and co-CEO Magnus Hoglund. They will continue to run the company as a stand-alone business, while leveraging the content and analytical resources and distribution of LexisNexis.

Law360 distinguishes itself through the unique combination of speedy delivery of more than 130 original legal news stories daily, the journalistic standards of its experienced editorial team, and its content generation platform that tracks in real-time dockets and regulatory filings – enabling reporters to break major developments in litigation, deal making and legislation before anyone else.

USA, New York, NY

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Axel Springer achieves double-digit growth in revenues and earnings in 2011

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Axel Springer has announced full year results for 2011.

Highlights

  • EBITDA rises 16.2 percent to EUR 593.4 million
  • EBITDA margin improves to 18.6 percent
  • Revenues grow by 10.1 percent
  • Digital Media with significant increase in revenues and earnings
  • Proposed dividend of EUR 1.70

Axel Springer achieved record results in 2011. Group EBITDA rose by 16.2% and total revenues improved by 10.1% over the previous year. This was due to significant growth of earnings and revenues in the Digital Media and Print International segments as well as the continued high profitability of the national print media. The Magazines National segment even posted a record EBITDA. The company grew both organically and through acquisitions. The EBITDA margin rose from 17.6% for the previous year to 18.6%. The results slightly exceeded Axel Springer’s earnings guidance, which was issued in March and later revised upward due to the anticipated revenue growth. The dividend is expected to increase to €1.70 per share (PY: €1.60).

The 2011 annual report can be downloaded from www.axelspringer.de/fy11

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Germany, Berlin

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Tarsus Group plc – Final results for the year ended 31 December 2011

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Tarsus Group plc, the international business-to-business media group, has published final results for the year ended 31 December 2011. Adjusted pre-tax profits are up 77% and net debt has been halved. Tarsus also continued to implement rapidly its strategy of developing businesses in the Emerging Markets, with these operations now contributing approximately 38% of Group revenues.

Financial highlights

  • Revenue up 42% to £61.7m (2010: £43.6m)
  • Like-for-like revenues up 8%
  • Adjusted profit before tax up 77% to £16.8m (2010: £9.5m)
  • Adjusted earnings per share up 63% to 17.0p (2010: 10.4p)
  • Proposed final dividend of 4.2p, total for year up 5% to 6.3p (2010: 6.0p)
  • Net debt halved to £13.7m (31 December 2010 £28.6m) – ahead of expectations

Operational highlights

  • Emerging Markets continued to grow strongly – 38% of proforma Group revenues
  • Major strategic expansion into Turkey – acquisition of IFO
  • Medical Division achieved 23% organic revenue growth
  • Labelexpo Europe and Asia (China) both produced record results
  • Dubai Airshow, the Group’s largest event, grew revenues by 3%, attendance up 7%

Outlook

  • Forward bookings represent approximately 53% of anticipated full year revenues (2010: 49%).
  • Off Price February 2012 revenues up 7%

Financial Results

 

2011

2010

2009
Revenue (£m)

61.7

43.6

57.5
Like-for-like* revenue growth

8%

6%

1%
Profit before tax (£m)

3

5.3

6.8
Adjusted profit before tax* (£m)

16.8

9.5

14.6
Adjusted EPS* (pence)

17

10.4

17.4
Dividend (pence)

6.3

6

6
Net Debt (£m)

13.7

28.6

30.8

Neville Buch, Chairman of Tarsus, commented, ”2011 was a record year with the Group achieving a strong financial performance, both on a year-on-year and biennial basis, and we have halved our debt level. “We are on course to achieve our target of securing 50% of our revenues from the Emerging Markets by 2013 with revenues currently at 38% on a proforma basis. This was achieved alongside a stronger than expected performance by the US business. “We have now established strong positions in the US, China, Turkey and the Middle East and are focused on continuing to build our portfolio in these markets through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth. Our increasing exposure to the higher growth opportunities across these markets, in the short to medium term, should drive earnings and dividends. In the current year we are encouraged by the momentum in both our US and Emerging Markets businesses, where bookings are tracking ahead of their comparative events.”

UK, London

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