AdMedia Partners survey forecasts an increase in traditional media and digital media M&A and improved multiples

December 30, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The AdMedia Partners annual survey of senior executives interviews senior executives in leading content (traditional media and digital media) and services (marketing services, digital marketing and marketing technology) businesses. They were asked for their views on the  prospects for industry mergers and acquisitions in the year ahead.

Respondents believe that M&A activity will increase in 2011 – with 78–86% (of content and services respondents, respectively) expecting more M&A activity from strategic buyers and 63–68% expecting more M&A activity from financial buyers.

On the services side, approximately half of respondents considered EBITDA multiples of 8x or greater to be reasonable for companies providing analytics/optimization, mobile marketing, social marketing and marketing technology services. The median multiples for content firms were in the 5–6x EBITDA range, with the exception of online media achieving the highest valuation expectations of 7–8x. Consumer media and business-to-business media both showed significant gains in valuation expectations, jumping from 4x EBITDA in last year’s survey to 6x EBITDA this year.

The full report can be downloaded from here

USA, New York, NY

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Market Data & Information, Marketing/Advertising, Mobile Apps, Publishers, Research Reports, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Energy Savvy raises $1.1 million

December 28, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

EnergySavvy, closed a $1.1 million series A investment according to a report on TechCrunch quoting the company’s founder and chief executive Aaron Goldfeder. EnergySavvy’s web service helps homeowners to save money on utility bills and to use energy more efficiently.

NorthWest Energy Angels led the round, joined by several investors in the Pacific Northwest, including Geoff Entress, Andy Liu, and aQuantive alumni Mike Galgon and Karl Siebrecht (the latter two are on EnergySavvy’s board).

USA, Seattle, WA

Posted in B2B Services, Content Media, Energy & Environmental Services, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Online game operator The9 to form $100 million investment fund

December 28, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The9, an online game operator and developer in China, is planning a to form a $100 million investment fund (Fund9) with the help of Chengwei Ventures, ChinaRock Capital Management and China Renaissance K2 Ventures

Fund9 will focus on investments in both domestic and overseas mobile internet application and platform developers. All mobile internet application and platform project proposals can be directly submitted online to the fund investment committee for evaluation.

Mr. Jun Zhu, The9’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Mobile internet application and platform has become a significant part of the mobile and internet industry with a rapidly growing number of smartphone users, especially in China. We noticed that there are many talented and creative domestic development teams in need of support during their development. If they receive financial and other support such as marketing, operation and administration, their chance of success will be much higher. I believe Fund9 has a unique opportunity to provide such support to these talented developers who will be able to launch more advanced mobile applications that will ultimately benefit all mobile internet users. We will also target talented overseas mobile internet application and platform developers with the ultimate goal of bringing the best products to China.”

China, Shanghai

Related articles

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, Mobile Apps, ~Asia. Leave a Comment »

Yandex acquires startup Webvisor technology

December 28, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Yandex, the Russian search engine, has purchased WebVisor technology. The acquisition is a result of the “open days for startups”, a Yandex initiative under the Yandex.Start program. WebVisor participated in the September open-day session.

The technology purchased from WebVisor provides visitor behavior analysis (mouse movement, clicks, text copying etc.) and will be integrated with the company’s own visitor statistics tool, Yandex.Metrica. The WebVisor team has joined Yandex to work on merging their technology into the company’s framework. WebVisor will keep servicing existing clients, but the service will not accept new and potential customers.

Russia, Moscow

Related articles

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

AutoTrader.com acquires HomeNet Automotive

December 28, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Automotive marketplace and consumer information website AutoTrader.com has acquire the assets of HomeNet Automotive, a lprovider of online inventory management and merchandising solutions for the automotive retail industry. The HomeNet assets will be acquired by a newly formed wholly-owned subsidiary of AutoTrader.com.

For dealers, incorporating HomeNet’s proprietary inventory management system into AutoTrader.com’s dealer tools will allow for easier and faster inventory management and merchandising online.  Consumers shopping for vehicles on AutoTrader.com will have access to better vehicle information, enhanced listings that include more photos and dealer comments, advanced search capabilities and more frequent updates and information about the cars they are shopping for and researching.

The closing of the HomeNet purchase is the third in a series of acquisitions AutoTrader.com has announced in recent months.  In September, AutoTrader.com announced the purchase of vAuto, the automotive retail industry’s provider of software tools for used vehicle management, pricing and inventory optimisation.  In October, AutoTrader.com announced its acquisition of Kelley Blue Book.

“With the closing of the HomeNet acquisition, AutoTrader.com has brought together an amazing set of companies, people and automotive marketing and merchandising solutions under one roof,” said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry.  “We look forward to the next stage of our evolution as we work to continue serving auto manufacturers, auto dealers and auto shoppers through AutoTrader.com and these three outstanding companies.”

USA, Atlanta, GA & West Chester, PA

Related Articles:

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Tremor Media raises $65 million/acquires Scanscout

December 23, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Gigaom is reporting that Tremor Media has raised an additional $65 million in funding, and that it is likely related to Tremor’s acquisition of rival ad network Scanscout last month. At that time, Tremor claimed about $70 million to $75 million in 2010 sales, and was expecting to grow that amount to $110 million next year. ScanScout, meanwhile, pulled in an additional $20 to $25 million in 2010.

Read the full story

Adage’s report on the Scanscout acquisition

USA, New York, NY

Related articles

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Marketing/Advertising, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

News Corp. sells Fox Mobile Group to Jesta Group

December 23, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Jesta Group has acquired Fox Mobile Group (FMG) from News Corporation.  A leading global entertainment provider, FMG includes such well-known consumer brands as Jamba, Jamster, Mobizzo and iLove, as well as Bitbop, a mobile video service and entertainment platform launched in the U.S. in early 2010. FMG, which will be renamed and become a part of Jesta Mobile Holdings, is co-headquartered in Berlin, Germany, and Beverly Hills, California, and operates in North America, Europe, South America and Australia.

“We believe that mobile entertainment is an important emerging market and we are excited about this acquisition and the opportunities for growth it presents”, said Jason Aintabi, president of Jesta Group.  “FMG’s unique ten-year history in mobile entertainment services; its stature as a trusted partner with carriers and device manufacturers; and its many successful consumer brands give it a clear advantage in this rapidly developing sector.  We look forward to working with the many talented and dedicated global employees of FMG and to a very bright future for the company and its brands.”

Mark Anderson, COO of FMG, added: “We are all very excited to grow this business under Jesta Group’s leadership, and to build upon the solid base established under News Corp.’s stewardship.”

Jesta Group is a diversified company with a long history as a leading investor in all classes of global real estate and hospitality as well as in other important sectors of the economy, notably in the fields of manufacturing, technology and aviation. Jesta is headquartered in London, Paris, Montreal and New York.

Allen & Company LLC served as financial advisor to News Corporation on the transaction.

The transaction was completed on December 22, 2010.  Financial details were not disclosed. 

USA, New York, NY

Related articles

Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

AOL acquires social identity site about.me

December 21, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

AOL has is to acquire about.me, a product that empowers people to create a single personal profile page that presents their online identities together in one place, simplifying the social experience across the web. This includes profiles on Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, email, personal blogs and more. Upon completion of the acquisition, co-founder Tony Conrad and his team will join the Consumer Applications Group led by Brad Garlinghouse and will be based in AOL’s Palo Alto, CA offices. Deal terms were not disclosed. about.me is set to join other strategic acquisitions made by AOL in 2010 including StudioNow, 5min Media, TechCrunch, Thing Labs and most recently, Pictela.

“AOL has an incredible vision for how content on the internet is changing – and how they will help shape its evolution. The combination of about.me and AOL is a natural fit as we think about what a more personalized web experience looks like for every individual online”.“about.me is more than just the aggregation of social profiles, it allows people to easily express themselves in an increasingly noisy environment full of disparate social experiences,” said Brad Garlinghouse, President of Consumer Applications, AOL. “Creating smart online identities for consumers can have an incredibly positive impact on AOL’s content and advertising strategy as it gives us the ability to provide relevant and meaningful content to consumers. The team at about.me has built an incredibly compelling product and we look forward to having them join the team.”

Founded by Tony Conrad, Timothy Young and Ryan Freitas, about.me provides a simple, cohesive way to give consumers full control of how people view their online lives. In addition to tying together an individual’s social profiles, about.me provides analytics allowing users to track how many people viewed their profile pages and which social networks they went on to view from there – providing users with deeper insight into how best to build and market their online “selves”. As a part of AOL, it will help the company enhance the experience consumers have with the entire AOL network from AOL Mail and AIM to content sites like Engadget and Popeater.

USA, Palo Alto, CA

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

eBay to acquire brands4friends for $200 million

December 20, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

eBay has reached a definitive agreement to acquire all of the shares of brands4friends, Germany’s largest online shopping club for fashion and lifestyle, for cash at a transaction value of approximately $200 million (€150 million). The move is designed to strengthen eBay’s position as a leading online fashion destination in Europe. eBay already generates more than $5.4 billion in clothing, shoes and accessories merchandise volume annually.

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011. 

Germany’s largest online shopping club, brands4friends sells high-quality goods from renowned fashion and lifestyle brands at reduced prices to members through limited special offers on a daily basis. Founded in 2007, brands4friends has approximately 3.5 million members in Germany, and has held a wide variety of campaigns with more than 600 top brands, including international fashion brands such as Buffalo, Calvin Klein and Diesel. The company, which employs approximately 200 people, is headquartered in Berlin.

“We want to give our customers the best possible fashion experience online,” said Doug McCallum, Senior Vice President for eBay in Europe. “With the acquisition of brands4friends, we will enter the online shopping club market with an established and dynamic partner who has the expertise, relationships and passion to match our own ambition. We expect many eBay customers will enjoy great deals on international fashion brands by joining the brands4friends community.”

Online shopping clubs are a fast growing part of the online fashion market, and now account for approximately 20 percent of online fashion sales in Europe, according to eBay’s own research.

“eBay is the perfect partner for us,” said Sergio Dias, Chief Executive Officer of brands4friends. “We are able to bring our retail and brand competence and industry knowledge to eBay, and we can expect to benefit from eBay’s traffic and ecommerce experience to accelerate the growth of our shopping community.”

As part of the deal eBay will assume brands4friends’ equity interests in U.K. shopping club SecretSales.com and in Japan, brands4friends.jp.

USA, San Jose, CA & Germany, Berlin

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Internet Media, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Ringier Axel Springer Media AG acquires majority in leading Slovakian internet portal AZET.SK

December 20, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Ringier Axel Springer Media AG, a joint venture founded by Swiss Ringier AG and German Axel Springer AG and  one of the leading media companies in Central and Eastern Europe, has acquired through its Slovakian subsidiary a 70 percent stake in the provider of the Slovakian web portal AZET.SK. The horizontal internet portal AZET.SK operates a number of different websites and online services. Founded in 1997, the company reaches more than 75 percent of Slovakian internet users (approx. 1.9 million unique users) and is the country’s online market leader.

Florian Fels, CEO of Ringier Axel Springer Media AG: “With our stake in AZET.SK, we have instantly acquired a leading position in Slovakia’s online market, which is expected to grow by up to 25 percent over the coming years according to current forecasts. This portal with its wide range of content is an excellent fit with our strong media brands and products, as well as an ideal addition to our current portfolio in Slovakia. I am especially delighted that the existing management team with the four AZET founders will remain with AZET and support the ongoing process of innovation and digitalization launched by Ringier Axel Springer Media AG in Central and Eastern Europe.”

Milan Dubec, founder and CEO of AZET.SK: “In Ringier Axel Springer Media we have found the right partner for AZET with a strong interest in a strategic partnership. Our common goal is to continue expanding our online business and strengthen AZET’s market position. We are looking forward to this promising collaboration.”

In the current Deloitte ranking of the fastest growing technology companies in Central Europe, AZET.SK is in eighth place over all and in first place in Slovakia (Technology Fast 50 Central Europe 2010).

Switzerland, Zurich & Slovakia, Silinia

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »