Centaur Media acquires The Forum for Expatriate Management for up to £6.75M

April 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Centaur Media has acquired expatriate information and events business, The Forum for Expatriate Management (FEM).

Centaur are paying £2.5 million in cash on completion and a further payment in cash subject to FEM’s profits in the 12 months ending June 2013.  The total purchase price will be capped at £6.75 million.

In its last financial year, to 31 December 2010, FEM generated revenues of £1.0m and ebit of £0.4m.  The value of gross assets of FEM at completion amounted to approximately £1.0 million, including £0.6 million of cash

FEM, which is based predominantly in the UK, has built the leading web-based community of HR professionals responsible for the management of expatriates within international corporates, known as Global Mobility professionals.  FEM organises exhibitions and networking events and provides an aggregated web-based information service for this community, which is growing rapidly as the globalisation of markets continues.  FEM was established two years ago and has built an international membership of approximately 5500 global mobility professionals and suppliers, organised through regional chapters, which are now operating in twenty locations in the USA, Europe and Asia.

FEM’s revenues are currently generated principally through sponsorship of its events and also through supplier-member subscriptions.  The business presently runs two major events in the UK and two in the USA, in addition to many smaller regional events run through local chapters.  Further major regional events are planned as the membership grows.  The two vendors, Brian Friedman and Nigel Ayres, will remain with the business following the acquisition.  All staff of FEM will relocate to Centaur offices in London.

Geoff Wilmot, CEO of Centaur said:  “FEM is an excellent fit with Centaur and I am delighted to welcome Brian Friedman (Founder and CEO of FEM) and his team to the Group.  FEM serves a community which is closely linked to that of compensation and benefits professionals, which is a core market for Centaur, served by our leading brand Employee Benefits.  There are also further synergies with our portfolio of Business Travel shows.  The importance of both short and long term international management assignments is growing rapidly and FEM is well placed to take advantage of the opportunities this presents.  Brian, who was formerly head of Human Capital at Ernst & Young, has done an outstanding job of establishing FEM as the leading international brand in this market and we look forward to working with him to grow FEM and to exploit fully the international growth opportunities of our Employee Benefits portfolio.”

Brian Friedman, CEO of FEM said:  “The FEM has rapidly established itself as the world’s premier networking community for all Global Mobility professionals.  We are confident that joining Centaur will provide us with the infrastructure to grow our existing activities and the expertise to expand into new areas of operation.  The synergies with Employee Benefits and Business Travel could not be a better fit for our aggressive expansion plans.”

UK, London

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Pearson agrees to buy Education Development International

March 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson, the publisher of the Financial Times, has agreed to buy Education Development International. The Offer is 200 pence in cash for each EDI Share and values EDI’s entire issued ordinary share capital at approximately £112.7 million.

The Offer Price represents a premium of approximately 61 per cent to the Closing Price of 124.0 pence per EDI Share on 4March 2011, the last business day prior to the commencement of the offer period; and 73 per cent to the average Closing Price of 115.6 pence per EDI Share over the three months prior to 4 March 2011.

EDI is a leading provider of education and training qualifications and assessment services, with a strong reputation for the use of information technology to administer learning programmes and deliver on-screen assessments.

Pearson believes that the addition of EDI will complement Pearson’s existing work-based learning business and will create an enlarged qualifications group offering a comprehensive range of vocational and academic services to the UK and international markets. Pearson believes that its financial resources, international scale and strengths in assessment, publishing and technology will also enhance the offering to EDI’s customers.

John Fallon, Chief Executive of Pearson’s International Education Business, said, “In EDI we have found a dynamic partner who shares our commitment to education and training. In the UK and around the world, we will be even better placed to work with employers and training partners to develop high quality apprenticeships and related qualifications. In this work, we will help companies to be more competitive and make their staff more employable.”

Nigel Snook, Chief Executive of EDI, said, “The Offer Price to acquire the EDI business reflects the value created for shareholders over the past 10 years through the hard work and commitment of the staff and management team. We now look forward to working with our Pearson colleagues to take the business on to its next stage, creating a world-class organisation supporting vocational education and training programmes in the UK and internationally.”

Citi is acting as financial adviser and corporate broker to Pearson. Brewin Dolphin is acting as financial adviser and corporate broker to EDI.

UK, London

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ITE Group acquires Krasnodar Expo

March 3, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

ITE Group plc, the emerging and developing markets exhibitions specialist, today announces the acquisition of 100% of Krasnodar Expo LLC (‘the Company’) from its owners, a group of private shareholders. The total consideration is c. 410 million rubles (£8.8m), which is payable in cash, 50% on completion, and 50% deferred until audited figures are confirmed. The acquisition will be funded from existing cash and debt facilities.

Krasnodar is a significant exhibition business based in the South of Russia (EUREX: OMXR.EX – news) . The business has a portfolio of more than twenty exhibitions with annual volume sales of circa 50,000m2. Krasnodar’s largest annual exhibitions serve the construction and agriculture industries, amongst others. The portfolio of events is complementary to ITE’s existing exhibition interests and will both broaden and strengthen ITE’s presence in the increasingly important regional markets of Russia.

The business reported operating profit before tax of c. 90 million rubles (£1.9m) for the 2010 calendar year. This acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing for the financial year ending 30 September 2011. The Company is a new entity which holds the trademarks and rights to run the exhibition business and had nil gross assets on completion.

Commenting on the acquisition, ITE’s Chief Executive Officer, Russell Taylor, said, “Krasnodar has a strong regional market position in the South of Russia which fits well with ITE’s current business. Krasnodar’s portfolio is complementary and the addition of this business is consistent with our strategy of expanding our regional presence in Russia.”

UK, London & Russia, Moscow

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UBM acquires Indian travel tradeshow SATTE

March 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

United Business Media has acquired SATTE, India’s largest travel and tourism exhibition. UBM has acquired the event on behalf of UBM Asia from Cross Section Publications Pvt Ltd.

Launched 17 years ago, SATTE  takes place each January in New Delhi and is now India’s largest travel and tourism event. The show performed strongly in 2011 attracting approximately 600 exhibitors and 9,300 attendees from more than 40 countries. SATTE has progressively expanded beyond its original focus on inbound travel to India and now also supports the outbound market. This reflects the rapid rise of domestic Indian spending on international travel. The 2011 edition of SATTE took place on 27 January.

SATTE is supported by T3, the leading controlled circulation monthly publication for the Indian travel indusry and which is an official publication at many of India’s travel industry events. T3 contributed around 15% of the business’s $1.6m revenues in 2010. Completion of the acquisition of T3 is subject to Indian regulatory approval. Approval is expected to be granted by the end of April. As at 31 March 2010, SATTE’s gross assets were £630,000.

Navin Berry, SATTE’s founder, owner and publisher of Cross Section will remain with the business post-completion. In addition to Mr Berry, the business employs 12 staff in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

The acquisition is anticipated to exceed UBM’s cost of capital criterion in its first full year of ownership.

Jimé Essink, President & Chief Executive Officer of UBM Asia said, “The acquisition of SATTE brings us a leading position in India’s rapidly-growing travel and tourism industry and adds to our portfolio of tradeshows in India where we are already one of the country’s largest commercial event organisers. We are committed to continuing to invest in and expand our business in India, leveraging UBM’s existing worldwide interests in the travel and aviation markets.”

India, New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalor

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UBM to acquire stake in Famdent, India’s largest dental exhibition and conference business

March 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

United Business Media has agreed to form a joint venture with Drs Anil and Jyotika Arora to operate the Famdent dental exhibition and conference business in India. UBM will own 60% of the Famdent business, with the remainder of the business being owned by Drs Anil and Jyotika Arora. The transaction is expected to complete in the next three months. UBM is forming the joint venture on behalf of its UBM Medica business.

Established 11 years ago, Famdent (www.famdent.com) launched its first event for the professional dentistry community in Mumbai in 2005, adding its Delhi event in 2009. The shows combine exhibition and conference elements, between them attracting more than 120 exhibitors, 2,200 conference delegates and 3,300 exhibition visitors. The success of Famdent’s events reflects the rapid expansion of the Indian dentistry profession, estimated to be a $120 million industry and growing 15-20% annually. There are more than 100,000 qualified dentists currently practising in India, with around 13,000 new dentists entering the market each year from 191 dental colleges. India’s major cities now have approximately 12,000 dental clinics.

Famdent’s events are supported by an eponymous clinical dental publication which has a controlled circulation of up to 12,000 copies per quarter. The publication contributed around 30% of the business’ revenues in 2010.

Famdent’s founders, Drs Anil and Jyotika Arora, will remain with the business following the formation of the joint venture, together with a further 13 employees. For the year ended 31 March 2010, the business generated revenues of approximately £0.4 million. Its gross assets were £0.3m.

UBM’s investment in the joint venture is anticipated to provide a return in excess of UBM’s cost of capital criterion in its first full year of operation.

Henry Elkington, Chief Executive of UBM Medica said: “The creation of our Famdent joint venture brings us a leading position in India’s rapidly-growing dental industry. I look forward to working with Anil and Jyotika Arora to grow the Famdent shows and to extend them to new territories across India and Asia. With our expanded platform in this space, we will also seek to broaden our offering in other Indian medical exhibition and conference markets.”

India, Mumbai

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Reed Exhibitions acquires Brazil’s Multiplus Fairs and Events

February 28, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Reed Exhibitions Brazil has acquired Multiplus Fairs and Events, adding a strategically vital component to its growing global energy portfolio while also opening the door to new markets within the expanding Brazilian economy.

Multiplus, located in Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo State, organizes the leading ethanol manufacturing event in Brazil – Fenasucro – as well as the co-located agri-industrial event Agrocana. The company also works with Unica (Brazil’s sugarcane industry association) to produce the Brasil Ethanol Tradeshow alongside the association’s ethanol conference in Sao Paulo. In the northeastern city of Pernambuco, Multiplus produces a third event related to sugar cane and ethanol, Sucronor.

Brazil is the second largest producer of ethanol fuel after the USA and the world’s largest ethanol exporter. In 2009, Brazil produced 38% of the world’s total ethanol used as fuel and according to the Brazil Institute the country is the world’s “first sustainable bio-fuel economy.” At present, 90 percent of all new cars produced in Brazil run on “flex fuel.” According to the Brazil Ministry of Agriculture, as many as 100 new ethanol production plants will be built by 2014 to keep pace with demand. Nearly eight million hectares of sugar cane are under cultivation, but Unica expects this to increase to 14 million hectares by 2020.

“Multiplus is an important step in securing our position in the broader energy market of Brazil and, just as important, it is a key strategic element in our global renewable energy strategy,” said Chet Burchett, President of Reed Exhibitions Americas and a member of the company’s global board. “And Multiplus also puts us into important markets in Brazil’s Northeast and the interior of Sao Paulo State, with management that has proven its ability to launch and manage brands across a variety of industry sectors. That’s important in our long-term growth goals for Brazil.”

Reed Exhibitions has been active in Brazil since 1997, but in 2007 the company embarked on an aggressive plan for growth with the acquisition of a majority interest in Alcantara Machado and the formation of Reed Exhibitions Alcantara Machado (RXAM). Overnight, Reed became the largest tradeshow organizer in Brazil. In 2009, the selective acquisition of MG Media added the oil & gas-related Brazil Offshore to the RXAM portfolio of events as well as Salao Duas Rodas, the leading motorcycle event that joined the existing portfolio of Solao do Automovel (Brazil’s #1 auto show) and Fenetran, the country’s top truck and transportation event.

“Our goals for acquisition in Brazil are focused on strategic value. We already have the scale necessary for market leadership. Now, we are working a long-term plan with a clear understanding of where we want to play and how we intend to win,” Burchett said.

The addition of Multiplus opens the door to the furniture market in Brazil for Reed as well, with Movexpo e Brasil in Recife (the largest event in its sector in Brazil’s Northeast); Movinter, which is moving from Mirassol to Sao Paulo in 2012; and Salao Abimovel in Sao Paulo which Multiplus organizes on a management contract for the Moverergs, the furniture trade association.

Other events acquired as part of the deal include niche industrial services tradeshows (Forind and Forind Nordeste) in Sao Paulo and Recife, respectively, and a food service technology event (FFATIA) in Goiania, located in Brazil’s central western region.

Multiplus principals Augusto Balieiro and Fernando Barbosa will remain with the company and provide ongoing management of the existing events and new launches. Headquarters for the operation and its 38 employees will remain in Ribeirao Preto. Multiplus will report to Juan Pablo de Vera, who oversees RXAM as its president and is the senior executive for RX Brazil.

Sao Paulo

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Access Intelligence acquires Red7 Media

February 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Access Intelligence, a portfolio company of Veronis Suhler Stevenson, has acquired Red7 Media, establishing a division serving professionals in the media and event management industries. Red7 Media is a producer of content and community for the event industry via Event Marketer, EXPO, Best Events and Event Design magazines; as well as the Event Marketing Institute, several industry conferences, and numerous websites. It also publishes FOLIO and Audience Development magazines, hosts the Folio Show and recently launched a research and consulting practice to provide business intelligence to its customers.

Access Intelligence’s new Media and Event Marketing Group will be led by Kerry Smith. Kerry founded Red7 Media in 2002 and grew the Norwalk, CT-based company into a market leader attracting more than 7,000 executives and 500 sponsors to its events and more than 800,000 unique visitors to its web sites. Kerry will continue in his role as President of the expanded Red7 Media Group and become a Senior Vice President of Access Intelligence.
USA, Rockville, MD & Norwalk, CT

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SourceMedia acquires Insurance Broadcasting

February 4, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

SourceMedia has acquired Insurance Broadcasting, a provider of online news and live events to employee benefits professionals. The company’s assets will be operated in tandem with Employee Benefit Adviser’s market-leading media portfolio.

With the acquisition, SourceMedia adds 184,000 new professionals to the community it serves through its well-established and growing Employee Benefits Group. In addition to Employee Benefit Adviser, the group includes the monthly Employee Benefit News and its online service, as well as two live annual events: The Employee Benefit Adviser Summit and The Benefits Forum & Expo.

Insurance Broadcasting founder & CEO Walt Podgurski will continue as an executive with SourceMedia. Podgurski will provide direction for Insurance Broadcasting’s offerings as they are integrated into SourceMedia.

“This acquisition extends the platform for SourceMedia’s award-winning content and insight, enabling us to reach more advisers and brokers online,” said Jim Callan, Group Publisher for the Employee Benefits Group. “It also allows us to deliver a larger audience of qualified professionals to our advertisers, marketing clients, and event sponsors.”SourceMedia Acquires Insurance Broadcasting
“SourceMedia is committed to expanding and diversifying its portfolio of market-leading brands, both organically and through acquisitions,” said Douglas J. Manoni, the company’s Chief Executive Officer. “And the addition of Insurance Broadcasting to our Benefits Group gives evidence of our commitment to this strategy.”

USA, New York, NY

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Market Research Report – 2010 Private Equity in the Information Industry Merger & Acquisition Trends – Valuation Metrics up 53% from 2009

February 4, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Berkery Noyes, a middle market investment bank, has released its 2010 Private Equity in the Information Industry M&A Trends Report.  The report analyses merger and acquisition activity in 2010 and compares it with activity in the three previous years.

Total transaction volume in 2010 increased by 24 percent over 2009 from 222 in 2009 to 275 in 2010, while the aggregate transaction value in 2010 increased by 57 percent from $16.21 billion to $25.45 billion.  The median revenue multiple also experienced a gain of 53 percent over 2009, from 1.3 to 2.0 in 2010.

“It’s encouraging that both the number of deals and the value are up from 2009, as are the revenue and EBITDA multiples.  I would expect this improvement to continue for the next 2 to 3 years,” said John Shea, Chief Operating Officer of Berkery Noyes.

Large, active financial buyers have focused their acquisitions on adding to existing portfolio companies rather than the acquisition of new, stand alone investments.  Indeed, over 80 percent of their transactions have been incorporated into existing investments, where across the acquisition landscape in the information industry, the number has been closer to 60 percent.Thoma Bravo was the most active financial acquirer in the information industry by volume, with 10 acquisitions: UPS Logistics Technologies, Computer Systems Company, Inc., Hershey Systems, Inc., LANDesk Software, Inc., Beyond Appraisal, Inc., SonicWALL, Inc., Double-Take Software, ManageSoft Corporation, PLATO Learning, Inc. and eWebHealth.

To view the full report click HERE

USA, New York, NY

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MacTech Conference acquires US NSConference

January 20, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

MacTech Magazine and iDeveloper TV (part of The Mac Developer Network Limited) today announced that MacTech is acquiring the US version of NSConference and merging it into MacTech Conference: For Apple IT Pros and Developers. While iDeveloper TV will continue to operate NSConference UK independently, NSConference organizers will now be a part of the MacTech Conference team. The yet-to-be-announced MacTech Conference 2011 is slated for Fall 2011.

NSConference UK is March 21-23, 2011 in Wokefield Park, outside of London. The sold-out event focuses on sessions presented by some of the world’s top OS X and iOS developers.

MacTech Conference 2011 will be a US-based event that delivers content for both IT Pros, and OS X/iOS Developers on the Mac. NSConference’s head, Steve Scott (Scotty), will join the MacTech Conference 2011 team as Sessions Chair for the Developer Track, working with Edward Marczak (who will continue to oversee the IT Track as well as the sessions overall) andNeil Ticktin and Andrea Sniderman who oversee the entire event.

“It’s clear that we hit a home run with MacTech Conference 2010. When attendees give the event a standing ovation at the close, and 100% say that they would recommend the conference, you know you’ve done something right,” said Neil Ticktin, Editor-in-Chief/Publisher of MacTech Magazine. “I’m incredibly proud of our team for 2010. And, with Scotty joining us as Sessions Chair for the Developer Track, it just gets that much better.”

“I couldn’t be happier to work with someone so well known and respected in the Mac development world,” said Edward Marczak, Executive Editor, MacTech Magazine, and MacTech Conference Overall Sessions Chair. “Working together, we’re going to be able to serve the Mac community much better than working separately.”

“NSConference has proven its ability to bring great content to a great base of attendees,” says Steve Scott (Scotty) from iDeveloper TV and Developer Sessions Chair for MacTech Conference 2011. “This deal allows iDeveloper TV to bring its intimate relationship with Mac OS X and iOS developers together with MacTech’s excellent conference skills to provide an incredible event for developers based in the USA.”

USA, Westlake Village, CA & UK, Tetbury

 

 

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