Accenture Agrees to Acquire Mackevision

AccentureAccenture has entered into an agreement to acquire Germany-based Mackevision, a leading global producer of 3D-enabled and immersive product content. The acquisition will add state-of-the-art visualization capabilities to Accenture Interactive’s digital services portfolio – strengthening its ability to create compelling, next-generation customer experiences and industrial, extended reality applications. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Mackevision’s creation, visualization and production services are used for online product configurators, digital and print catalogues, virtual showrooms, point-of-sale kiosks, augmented and virtual reality experiences, as well as broadcast video and feature films. Mackevision has developed a differentiated ability to leverage engineering data to construct ‘digital twins’ of complex physical products. By applying the latest techniques in CGI, visual effects and AR/VR, Mackevision can generate nearly any type of visual content from these twins – effectively turning engineering data into immersive product experiences and virtual applications. This highly-specialized approach has the potential to transform product design as well as fuel the next generation of consumer experiences.

Mackevision has earned international acclaim for its work on the HBO Series “Game of Thrones” – for which it was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Visual Effects. The company’s high-end creative and visual effects capability is especially relevant in the growing field of extended reality, where life-like models and environments are considered critical to creating fully-immersive experiences.

Brian Whipple, head of Accenture Interactive, said, “Mackevision’s capabilities will add a whole new dimension of content innovation to our portfolio of services. The ‘digital twin’ concept has massive implications not only from a scaled media production and marketing standpoint, but also for our broader vision of helping clients render the most compelling experiences possible.”

Ireland, Dublin & Germany, Stuttgart

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The News Lens acquires tech news website Inside

The News LensThe News Lens has acquired Inside, a tech-focused Chinese language news website, making TNL the first digital media startup in Taiwan to buy another one. The move will raise TNL to the top ranks of Asian digital news sources on technology. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With Inside, TNL’s lifestyle sub-brand ELD and the original Chinese-language news site TNL, the TNL group now reaches close to 8 million unique visitors a month. From its offices in Taipei and Hong Kong, TNL produces three other digital editions – Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and the English-language international edition.

TNL also welcomed a new angel investor, Felix Hong, manager of Nest (an Alphabet company) to the Taiwan office. Hong will serve as an adviser to TNL. With his extensive background in tech, the internet of things and the startup ecosystem within greater China, Hong will strengthen TNL’s presence in content distribution, international reach and content advisory. He will also help TNL to position and build Inside.

Joey Chung, TNL’s CEO and co-founder, said, “As we start our next stage strategy of gradually consolidating and introducing different verticals for our target audience with an eye on leveraging TNL’s existing sales, video, IT and international market presence, we are eager to broaden the content offerings and international audience reach of Inside, while using this initial integration experience as a template for acquiring or introducing future brands.”

Taiwan

Merkle’s Dentsu Aegis Network Acquires HelloWorld

Dentsu Aegis NetworkDentsu Aegis Network has acquired HelloWorld, a digital marketing solutions provider focused on promotion and loyalty solutions. With 370 people and a proprietary technology platform, The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1999 in Detroit, Michigan, HelloWorld employs 370 people and has developed a differentiated practice that links response-driven consumer promotion with loyalty strategies and programme execution. HelloWorld creates promotional and gamified campaigns to spark interest, loyalty programs to retain and reward, insights-driven communications to continue the brand-consumer conversation, and analytics to optimise marketing execution. Long-standing clients include Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft.

Michael Hemsey, executive vice president of Merkle Loyalty Solutions, said, “The acquisition of HelloWorld increases our collective scale in providing loyalty strategy, technology, and engagement services that support the life cycle of our clients’ programs, across industries.”

USA, New York, NY & Detroit, MI

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Bowmark Capital sells Law Business Research to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners

lbrLevine Leichtman Capital Partners has acquired Law Business Research (LBR), a provider of research, news, data and insight on international business law and legal markets, from Bowmark Capital.

LBR, which was established in 1996, was sold to Bowmark in 2013. The sale was managed by Fusion Corporate Partners on behalf of its original founders, Richard Davey, Callum Campbell and Sebastian O’Meara.

LBR creates content spanning 120 jurisdictions across its brands, serving a client base that comprises major corporations, government agencies and the global legal industry.  It is a information provider in fields such as competition law, arbitration law, cross-border investigations and Latin American corporate law.

Since Bowmark acquired the company, LBR has more than doubled its sales and profits.  It has added new territories and products, including two new titles, ’Global Investigations Review’ and ’Global Restructuring Review’, as well as a new workflow application, ’Arbitrator Research Tool’.  It has also significantly enhanced its technology platform and opened offices overseas.   During this period, employee numbers grew by 80 per cent.

Julian Masters, Bowmark senior partner, added: “The fact that 96 per cent of the world’s top law firms work with LBR is a tribute to the quality of the business and its management team.  The company is well-positioned to continue its strong record of success under its new owner.”

USA, Beverley Hills, CA & UK, London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marlowe plc acquires Guardian Water Treatment for up to £2.8M

gwtltd-marlowe-logoSupport services group Marlowe plc, the has acquired Guardian Water Treatment Limited (which includes GPCS Limited) for up to £2.8 million on a cash and debt free basis.

Founded in 2000, Guardian operates nationally from headquarters in Basildon, Essex, and employs around 90 staff. Guardian provides a portfolio of water treatment services to over 400 customers with a significant presence within the facilities management, engineering and manufacturing sectors.

For the year to 31 March 2017, Guardian reported revenues of £6.4 million, adjusted profit before tax of £0.4 million and net assets of £2 million. Marlowe are paying £2.4 million cash upfront and a cash earn-out capped at £0.85 million.

The key members of Guardian’s operational management team will be staying with the business.

Alex Dacre, Chief Executive of Marlowe plc, commented: “The acquisition of Guardian is a further significant step in our strategy of consolidation of the UK water treatment sector. The business benefits from strong recurring revenues, longstanding customer relationships and will further strengthen our capabilities in the attractive London market.”

UK, London & Essex

Penske Media acquires controlling interest in Wenner Media and Rolling Stone

Penske Media CorporationPenske Media Corporation has acquired Wenner Media, majority owner of Rolling Stone. The multi-media brand features music reviews, in-depth interviews, political commentary and award-winning journalism across various platforms including magazine, digital, mobile, social and event marketing. The financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Since its founding in 1967 by Jann Wenner and Ralph J. Gleason, Rolling Stone has defined pop culture for generations of readers and is an iconic brand in publishing and music. Five decades later, Rolling Stone has evolved into a multi-platform content brand reaching over 60 million people per month.

Penske Media chairman and CEO Jay Penske said, “Our interest in Rolling Stone is driven by its people, its cultural significance, and the globally-recognized brand that has no peer in its areas of influence. We believe that Penske Media is uniquely qualified to partner with the Wenners to ensure the brand continues to ascend for decades across multiple media platforms.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA & New York, NY

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Merkle’s Dentsu Aegis Network acquires DWA digital media and marketing agency

Dentsu Aegis NetworkDentsu Aegis Network has acquired the global B-to-B digital media and marketing agency, DWA. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Established in 1996, DWA applies expertise in ad-tech, real-time insight, and management decision support to a range of integrated, global media including Programmatic, Search, Social, and Demand Generation.

The move will expand the B-to-B offering at people-based marketing agency, Merkle, increasing existing capabilities and offering brands in the technology and B-to-B sectors greater sophistication, integrated technology, data, creativity, and performance marketing. The new business will be branded “DWA, a Merkle company”.

David Williams, President and CEO of Merkle, said, “There’s a growing group of enterprise level, B-to-B and technology businesses, all moving at breakneck pace to adopt the best advertising solutions and platforms. DWA’s client list reflects a clear early-mover advantage. The shift toward people-based marketing, led by Merkle, is as relevant in B-to-B as it is elsewhere. This acquisition will strengthen our ability to deliver those capabilities for B-to-B clients, at scale.”

USA, New York, NY & San Francisco, CA

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YouGov acquires Galaxy Research in Australia

YouGovYouGov plc, the market research and data analytics group, has acquired Galaxy Research Pty Ltd, a market research agency in Australia. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Galaxy, based in Sydney, has a market research offering comparable to YouGov’s Data Services offering. The agency known in the Australian market for opinion polling and as the administrator of the local political opinion polling brand, Newspoll.

YouGov’s existing Australian business, established two years ago, operates in keeping with YouGov’s core model of using data collected from its proprietary panel of members to provide syndicated data products and services. The combined business will be in a position to expand its data products and services offering.

GalaxyDavid Briggs, the founder and Managing Director of Galaxy, will lead the combined business and team of 11 employees in Australia, which will initially operate under the brand YouGov Galaxy.

Stephan Shakespeare, CEO of YouGov, commented: “With its reputation for accuracy and an excellent roster of corporate market research clients, Galaxy was an obvious fit for the YouGov Group. This acquisition increases our presence in Australia which is a significant market and one which is strategically important to our international clients.”

UK, London & Australia, Sydney

Certain Acquires Gather Digital, Investing in the Next Generation of Mobile Event Applications

CertainCertain, the leader in enterprise event automation, today announced it has acquired Gather Digital, a mobile event application suite for enterprises, associations and educational institutions. With this acquisition, Certain is further strengthening its mobile development and data integration capabilities, taking advantage of the experience that Gather Digital’s extended team brings and offering customers unprecedented insight into the mobile journey to determine the event attendee’s true sentiments. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Gather Digital creates native and mobile web event applications with integrated personalized agendas, event content, live polling, surveys, continuing education credits, group meetings, lead retrieval and gamification. Gather Digital’s engagement apps allow the company’s clients to leverage mobile as a channel to capture intent throughout events, and build deeper relationships with their event attendees. Their customers include five of the world’s largest financial services companies, the nation’s leading pharmaceutical/ life science organization and premier technology and Fortune 1000 corporations. With the acquisition, Certain will continue to grow its U.S. presence and tap the North Carolina Research Triangle’s burgeoning tech hotbed for sales, marketing and product talent.

“Certain is focused on enabling our customers to gather the most relevant data from event attendees to drive better business results from events,” said Peter Micciche, CEO of Certain. “By acquiring Gather Digital and the impressive mobile capabilities the team has developed, we’re continuing to invest in our data strategy – and the people at the forefront of delivering innovative technology for world class enterprises.”

USA, San Francisco, CA & Chapel Hill, NC

Duke Energy assumes full ownership of California-based REC Solar

Duke EnergyDuke Energy, one of the largest energy companies in the U.S., announced today it has acquired full ownership of California-based REC Solar, a provider of renewable energy solutions for commercial customers throughout the country. Details of the deal were not disclosed. Duke Energy first acquired a majority interest in REC Solar in February of 2015.

REC Solar is a nationwide provider of complete commercial, public sector and utility-scale solar solutions, founded in 1997. The company offers all design, engineering, financing and maintenance services in house, allowing for a simple customer experience.

“REC Solar complements our strengths in forming strategic partnerships with customers of all sizes,” said Chris Fallon, vice president Duke Energy Renewables and Commercial Portfolio. “Energy solutions specifically tailored to the commercial consumer will expand renewable energy opportunities for enterprise, municipal, educational and business customers, large and small.”

USA, Charlotte, NC, San Luis Obispo, CA

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