Berkery Noyes releases its Half Year M&A Trends Report for the Online & Mobile Industry

July 18, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet
Berkery Noyes has released its Half Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trends Report for the Online & Mobile Industry.

The report analyses merger and acquisition activity in the segment across 1st Half 2011 and compares it with activity for the four previous sixth-month periods from 2009-2010.

According to Berkery Noyes research, the Online & Mobile Industry’s robust growth over the past two and a half years continued across the last six months. Total volume in 1st Half 2011 increased by 23 percent over the previous six-month period, from 643 transactions to 788. Total transaction value increased even more significantly, climbing from $28.5 billion in 2nd Half 2010 to$43.3 billion in 1st Half 2011, a 52 percent jump.

Price multiples rose in step with this increasing activity, with 1st Half 2011 Online & Mobile transactions commanding a median EBITDA multiple of 15.3 and a revenue multiple of 2.1. Both of these numbers represent 30-month highs for the segment.

Google, Inc. remained acquisitive in the sector, purchasing 11 companies over the first half of the year, bringing its two-and-a-half year total to 39. The firm’s most recent purchases represented a wide range of companies and technologies in the Online & Mobile sector, including social network analytics, search engines, and messaging services.

The largest transaction during 1st Half 2011 was Microsoft Corporation’s announced acquisition of Skype Technologies SA from an investor group led by Silver Lake Partners for $9.08 billion.

A copy of the First Half 2011 Online & Mobile Services Industry M&A Report is available at the Berkery Noyes website.

USA, New York

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EnerNOC has acquired Australian demand response provider Energy Response

July 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

EnerNOC, Inc. a leading provider of demand response applications and services, at it has acquired Energy Response Pty Ltd, the largest demand response provider in Australia and New Zealand. This acquisition significantly strengthens EnerNOC’s presence in Western Australia’s Wholesale Electricity Market, where EnerNOC now has the opportunity to deliver 240 megawatts of demand response capacity in the 2012/2013 delivery year, up from its initial position of 100 megawatts. The acquisition also marks EnerNOC’s entry into Eastern Australia’s National Electricity Market and the New Zealand Electricity Market, where favorable opportunities for demand response and energy efficiency are emerging.

Michael Zammit, Managing Director of Energy Response, moves into a new role leading Market Development for EnerNOC’s operations in Australia and New Zealand.

“The electricity markets in Australia and New Zealand present tremendous opportunities for EnerNOC and Energy Response to join forces to provide a broad range of demand-side resources,” said Tim Healy, Chairman and CEO of EnerNOC. “Energy Response shares our strong commitment to engaging electricity users to promote cost-effective, clean energy management solutions, and we look forward to delivering these solutions in markets where they are highly valued.”

Energy Response is active in capacity, energy, and ancillary services markets and has established the largest network of commercial, institutional, and industrial demand response providers across Australia and New Zealand. “Demand response provides a valuable service to electricity users and utilities at a fraction of the cost of traditional supply-side measures,” said Ross Fraser, Founder and Chairman of Energy Response. “That is why Energy Response is committed to providing the most advanced range of demand-side resources available, and it is also why we have worked so diligently to integrate these resources into electricity markets in Australia and New Zealand.”

“As Australia and New Zealand move toward a lower-carbon energy future, solutions like demand response, carbon management, and data-driven energy efficiency will become even more important, both to electricity users and the nations’ electricity grids,” said David Brewster, President of EnerNOC. “Our applications are built to serve utilities, grid operators, and electricity users across the globe. With Energy Response, we are very excited about expanding our capabilities to deliver these solutions in Australia and New Zealand.”

EnerNOC anticipates this acquisition to be dilutive to earnings in 2011 and 2012, and accretive beginning in 2013. EnerNOC will provide additional details on its financial outlook and this transaction as part of its upcoming second quarter 2011 financial results conference call.

USA, Boston, MA & Australia, Melbourne

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News Corporation pays A$45 million for Kidspot

June 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

According to the Australian Financial Review, News Corporation has paid an estimated $45 million (Australian) for Kidspot, which runs websites for expectant and new parents.

Kidspot was established by Katie May and underwritten by the former lord mayor of Melbourne, Irving Rockman, who passed away last year.  John Hartigan, chief executive of News Corp’s Australian business, News Limited, said the deal would make News “the leading player in the highly valuable online parenting market.”

Australia, Melbourne

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RockYou acquires 3 Blokes game development studio

June 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Social gaming company RockYou has acquired social game developer 3 Blokes. Based in Brisbane, Australia. 3 Blokes will operate independently as a RockYou studio and develop strategy and combat-driven Facebook games. RockYou is expanding its studio system to support top independent developers around the world as it continues to grow their social game portfolio.

Founded in 2006, 3 Blokes has developed four social games for the Facebook platform.

“We’re incredibly excited to welcome 3 Blokes into the RockYou family, and have been deeply impressed by their wealth of expertise in both traditional and social gaming,” said Jonathan Knight, RockYou’s SVP of Games. “Their unique design sensibilities are a bridge between the casual and competitive gaming landscapes on Facebook. We’re looking forward to supporting them on our collective mission to deliver the world’s very best social games.”

USA, Redwood, CA & Australia, Brisbane

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Survey of Private Equity fund managers indicates improved optimism – Rothstein Kass’s Private Equity in 2011 report

May 30, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Global professional services firm Rothstein Kass, has published “Private Equity in 2011,” a sector trends report that features the findings of an Internet survey of 207 private equity fund managers. Conducted in January 2011, the survey covered issues ranging from fundraising intent to regulatory concerns.  Sixty-five percent of managers participating worked at funds with assets under management (AUM) below $500 million, with 35 percent indicating AUM in excess of $500 million.

Among notable findings, nearly 80 percent of respondents indicated that there will be more attractive investment opportunities in 2011 than in 2010. Meanwhile, 67 percent suggested that there will be increased IPO activity by private equity portfolio companies this year. While a more stable economy and thawing capital markets are contributing to a general sense of optimism, managers polled also acknowledged challenges ahead. Roughly 45 percent of respondents indicated that the credit crisis would continue into 2012 or beyond. Nearly 86 percent agreed that provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act will increase compliance costs for private equity funds.

Read the report here

USA, Roseland NJ

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Internet Advertising Revenues Hit $7.3 Billion in Q1 ’11 Highest First-Quarter Revenue Level on Record According to IAB and PwC

May 30, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Internet advertising revenues in the U.S. hit $7.3 billion for the first quarter of 2011, representing a 23 percent increase over the same period in 2010, according to figures released today by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). This marks the highest first-quarter revenue level ever for the industry and a significant increase over last year’s first-quarter revenue level, which had been the highest on record to date.

“The consistent and considerable year-over-year growth we’re seeing demonstrates that digital media is an increasingly popular destination for ad dollars, and for good reason,” said Randall Rothenberg, President and CEO of the IAB. “As Americans spend more time online for information and entertainment purposes, digital advertising and marketing has emerged as one of the most effective tools businesses have to attract and retain customers.”

“The year-on-year 23 percent increase in first quarter revenues is not just impressive in its own right, but especially so when you take into account the fact that 2010 was a record-breaking year itself for Internet advertising revenue,” said David Silverman, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. “These numbers indicate that the interactive advertising field hasn’t simply bounced back since the recession; it’s growing with dynamic energy.”

The full report is issued twice yearly for full and half-year data, and top-line quarterly estimates are issued for the first and third quarters. Past reports are available at www.iab.net/AdRevenueReport.

USA, New York, NY

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VC Funding in the solar sector off to a Strong Start With Q1 Coming in at $658 Million

April 12, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Mercom Capital Group, llc, a global clean energy communications and consulting firm, today released funding and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the solar sector for the first quarter of 2011.Venture capital (VC) funding in the solar sector came in at $658M in 25 deals, compared to $238M in the previous quarter. The trend was similar with M&A activity amounting to $1.4B in 18 transactions for Q1, compared to $266M in Q4 2010.

“Looking at the first quarter funding activities, it is clear that VC investor’s appetite for solar has not gone away. In fact, this was the best VC funding quarter since Q2 of 2010 and the second best quarter since Q4 of 2008,” commented Raj Prabhu, Managing Partner at Mercom Capital Group.The top five funding deals were $201M raised by BrightSource Energy, a concentrated solar power (CSP) company. MiaSole, a CIGS thin-film panel maker raised $106M; Alta Devices, a GaAs thin-film developer raised $72M; Solopower, a CIGS flexible thin-film maker, raised $51.6M; and Kiran Energy, a project developer raised $30M.

Thin film companies attracted the most funding with $283M raised in seven deals. CIGS was the most popular technology within thin films accounting for $196M in four deals. CSP companies raised $212M in three deals, followed by $84M raised by solar downstream companies in six deals.Top VC investors included Crosslink, Vantage Point, Convexa, Hudson Clean Energy and Kleiner Perkins.

In continuing with last year’s trend, VC arms of companies remained active in the sector, including Alstom, BP, GE, Chevron, Dow Chemical, Intel and Hanwha. California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), a pension fund, also invested.

Of the $9.8B announced in debt and other funding, Jinko Solar received $7.6B in credit from Bank of China.

For a complete list of solar transactions, visit: http://mercomcapital.com/cleanenergyreports.php

USA, Austin, TX

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Investments in green companies and technologies globally now total more than $2 trillion

February 22, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

A new report from Ethical Markets Media which tracks private investments since 2007 in green companies and technologies globally, says investments now total more than $2 trillion.

The Green Transition Scoreboard® (GTS) represents time-based, global research of non-government investments and commitments for all facets of green markets. This update of the GTS totals  $2,005,048,785,088 from 2007 to the end of 2010. This is significant because many studies indicate that investing $1 trillion annually until 2020 will accelerate the Green Transition worldwide.  The updated 2010 finding puts global investors and countries on track to reach the $10 trillion in investments goal by 2020.

Hazel Henderson, D.Sc.Hon., FRSA, former US government technology advisor and president of Ethical Markets Media said, “this new total is remarkable in spite of economic uncertainty.  It indicates that the global transition away from the 300-year fossil-fueled Industrial Era is accelerating toward the cleaner, greener, information-rich economies of the 21st century.”

Timothy Nash, M.Sc., Senior Advisor to Ethical Markets Media, adds, “This over $2 trillion total does not include nuclear, ‘clean’ coal or CCS, nor biofuels from food or agricultural sources, which we consider unsustainable.”

Rosalinda Sanquiche, Ethical Markets Media’s Executive Director and editor of the Green Transition Scoreboard® report, points out, “this startling amount does not include thousands of deals under $100 million, which we hope to include in future reports.  We have added and will continue to track our exclusive Corporate R&D sub-report and invite companies to alert us to any investments we may have missed.”

The full report is available at www.greentransitionscoreboard.com.

USA: St. Augustine, FL

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West Australian Newspaper Holding to take over Seven Media – Aus$4.1bn deal

February 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

According to a report by Reuters, West Australian Newspaper Holdings (WAN) is to takeover Seven Media Group from Kerry Stokes and private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR). The A$4.1 billion deal involves issuing shares, repaying a loan and taking on debt.

WAN will raise A$1.154 billion to fund the acquisition and will combine its newspaper interests with Seven Media’s television network and magazines businesses.

KKR will hold a 12.6 percent stake in the new combined group, down from 45 percent in Seven Media while Stokes’ Seven Group Holdings will hold 29.6 percent in the combined entity versus 45 percent in Seven Media.

Stokes’ Seven Group will received A$1.081 billion in WAN shares at $5.99 per share and A$250 million in convertible preference shares for a total value of about A$1.3 billion under the deal.

WAN would also repay an existing A$650 million loan owed by Seven Media to Seven Group.

KKR bought a 50 percent stake in Seven for A$3.2 billion in 2006 at the peak of the buyout boom and has since trimmed its stake to 45 percent following a period of losses that forced Stokes to write down his shareholding in Seven Media to zero.

Read the rule story on Reuters

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Yahoo!7 Acquires Spreets – Australian and New Zealand online group buying company

January 25, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Online media company Yahoo!7 has acquired Australian online Group Buying site, Spreets Pty Ltd, including its New Zealand operations. The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Spreets (spreets.com.au and spreets.co.nz) was the first Group Buying site in ANZ having been in operation for almost a year with 500,000 members and more than 274,000 vouchers purchased since inception.

The Yahoo!7 business delivers a new audience to the Spreets site through distribution on the Yahoo!7 Network as well as access to the benefits provided in Australia and New Zealand through its joint venture partners Yahoo! Inc. and the Seven Media Group, including marketing and promotions.

The acquisition helps Yahoo!7 to deliver on its Local and Social strategies as well as providing further diversification of revenue streams outside of display advertising. “After carefully reviewing the market it was clear that Spreets is a market-leader in what is becoming a highly competitive and fast growing market. The Spreets management team in Dean McEvoy and Justus Hammer come with strong expertise and experience in the Australian Group Buying market,” said Rohan Lund CEO of Yahoo!7.

“At its core Spreets is about leveraging insights to deliver the best local deals through an online social experience, and this maps perfectly to the Yahoo!7 Local and Social strategies. The acquisition of Spreets means we can bring the best of Yahoo!7 to grow the business even further,” he said.According to Dean McEvoy, CEO of Spreets, the Group Buying model has rapidly evolved over the past year delivering cost-effective marketing to small businesses and addressing an unmet and growing demand from consumers for online coupon deals.

“Australians and Kiwis love an amazing deal and Spreets has seen significant growth delivering over $40 million in savings to consumers over the past year. We’re proud to be an Australian born company leading the market in this rapidly evolving space,” he said.“We’re thrilled with the acquisition by Yahoo!7 as we see the huge potential that one of Australia’s leading online media companies, which has huge momentum in the market, will bring to the Spreets business.”

Australia

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