UBM and Informa announce talks about a possible merger

January 16, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM Plc and Informa Plc are in talks about a possible merger.

According to a statement from UBM, the proposed transaction is to be effected by way of an acquisition of the entire share capital of UBM by Informa for shares and a cash consideration.

UBM’s shares rose 5.22% today, though the price of Informa’s shares rose only slightly.

About Informa – Informa is one of the world’s leading B2B Events, Business Intelligence, and Upper Level Academic Publishing businesses. The company employs 7,500+ people globally, it has a presence in all major geographies, including North America, South America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
– Reported revenue for the year to December 2016 – £1345.7M
– Market cap £ 6,147.08M

About UBM – UBM has a long history as a multinational media company, and was the publisher of the Daily Express newspaper. Since 2015 it has rebranded itself as a purely B2B Events organiser. The company employs 3,750+ people, based in more than 20 countries, serve more than 50 different industry sectors – from fashion to pharmaceutical ingredients.
– Reported revenue for the year to December 2016 – £863M
– Market cap £2,944.53M

UK, London

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XLMedia acquires websites from Good Game Ltd for €15M

January 15, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

XLMediaXLMedia, a provider of digital performance marketing, has agreed to acquire a number of leading Finnish gambling-related informational websites from Good Game Ltd for a total cash consideration of up to €15 million. The acquisition is expected to complete during the first quarter of 2018 and to be immediately earnings enhancing in the current financial year following completion.

The marketing services company said the acquired websites recorded €1.7 million revenue and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin of “at least” 75% in the year ended November 2017, implying Ebitda of around €1.3 million.

The deal involves an initial consideration of €7.0 million payable with milestones related to the transfer of assets which is expected to take place over three months. A further €7.0 million will be payable contingent on “significant growth in performance” of the acquisition over the subsequent six months.

XLMedia will also pay a share of revenues from the acquisition over the three months transition period. This is expected to amount to around €500,000 but is capped at €1.0 million.

The acquisition comprises a leading network of gambling-related websites focused on web and mobile traffic, specialising in casino games. Active since 2009, the websites provide visitors with useful information such as reviews of online casino websites, comparison of promotions offered by different brands and information on payment solutions. Traffic to and followers of the websites has steadily grown since inception and they now refer a significant number of players to their customers’ websites.

Chief Executive Officer of XLMedia, Ory Weihs, commented: “As we develop our business, we continue to capitalise on the infrastructure we have built, and take opportunities to expand further through acquisitions. With our current network, technology and sector expertise, the additional assets will be integrated easily into our operation, adding to our strong base of assets and recurring revenues. We are seeing good opportunities to buy additional assets in our key verticals, and we plan to continue acquiring domains and websites as part of our ongoing growth strategy.”

UK, Jersey, St. Helier & Malta, Gżira

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9 Story Media group acquires Out of the Blue Enterprises

January 12, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

9 Story9 Story Media Group has acquired Out of the Blue Enterprises, a leader in children’s media across content creation, TV production, digital applications and consumer products. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2005 by Blue’s Clues co-creator Angela Santomero and former Nickelodeon executive Samantha Freeman, Out of the Blue is best known for the Emmy-nominated literacy series Super WHY; the Mister Rogers Neighborhood inspired Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood; and the interactive art adventure program Creative Galaxy for Amazon Studios. Out of the Blue also owns the legacy toy brand Colorforms, named by Time Magazine as one of the 100 Greatest Toys of All-Time, and the company is in production on a new animated series based on the classic brand.

9 Story and Out of the Blue have previously worked together on the hit animated series Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, which 9 Story produces and distributes internationally with The Fred Rogers Company in association with Out of the Blue. The two companies have also worked together on Creative Galaxy for Amazon Studios, which Out of the Blue produces and 9 Story is the animation partner. Both series are currently in production on new seasons.

Vince Commisso, President & CEO of 9 Story Media Group, said: “Out of the Blue has a proven track record in developing unique and beloved brands for a preschool audience. Joining forces broadens our development capabilities, increases our consumer products reach and extends our presence in the U.S.”

Canada, Toronto & USA, New York, NY

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Schneps Communications acquires Noticia Long Island

January 12, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

SchnepsSchneps Communications, the parent company of the Long Island Press, has acquired Noticia, a Spanish-language media company with more than 150,000 readers online and in print. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1991 by William and Vicky Diaz whose daughters Silvana (now the publisher) and Cinthia became co-owners in 2009, the newspaper covers and circulates in the counties of Nassau & Suffolk. It ran Hispanic networking events and a scholarship fund, Fundación Hispanoamericana, for many years. It is now the largest Hispanic family-owned multimedia news organization in the area.

Victoria Schneps-Yunis, president and founder of Schneps Communications, said, “We’re very proud to have acquired Noticia and the very special people who have built it the past 26 years. This will offer an unparalleled opportunity for clients who want to reach the Hispanic/Latino audience in New York City and Long Island.”

USA, New York, NY

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Pageant Media acquires Institutional Investor Journals from Euromoney

January 11, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

IIJ_Logo_BlackPageant Media, the business information specialist, has acquired
Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC‘s Institutional Investor Journals.

II Journals publish original and practical analysis of global investment and finance, with an online archive of 10,000 articles. The business has 12 titles, available both online and in print, covering various disciplines in portfolio management and finance.

Commenting on the transaction, Charlie Kerr, CEO of Pageant Media, said: “The II Journals are recognised across the asset management sector for their excellence in providing senior professional investors and leading academics with informed and thought-provoking technical analysis. We look forward to investing further in these titles and are excited to begin thinking about the ways in which the specialist knowledge exhibited in these journals can bolster the growing information and networking services we provide to our hedge fund, private equity, real estate and mutual fund communities.”

Founded in London in 1998, Pageant now has around 200 employees around the world today. Products covered include Hedge Funds, Mutual Funds, Real Estate, Insurance and Workflow Tools.

Pageant Media acquired Hedge Fund Intelligence from Euromoney earlier this month and Euromoney’s asset management business information brands in December 2016.

UK, London

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Accenture Agrees to Acquire Mackevision

January 10, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

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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RTL Group acquires United Screens

January 8, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

RTLThe RTL Group has fully acquired United Screens, the leading multi-platform network in the Nordic countries. The transaction, which closed on 2 January 2018, provides for a price of SEK 120 million (€12.4 million) on a debt and cash-free basis subject to usual post-closing adjustments. Additionally, RTL Group plans to invest SEK 25 million (€2.6 million) to fund the company’s growth plan across the Nordic region.

United Screens generates over 500 million video views a month on YouTube and represents hundreds of influencers in music, lifestyle and entertainment across all social media platforms. The company was founded by Malte Andreasson, Stina Bergfors and Bonnier Ventures in 2013 and is based in Stockholm, Sweden, with offices in Oslo, Norway and Helsinki, Finland. Bonnier Ventures financed the company since the early start. Before the foundation of United Screens, Malte Andreasson worked as Scheduling Director for the Swedish channel TV4, while Stina Bergfors was the Country Director for Google and YouTube in Sweden. Malte Andreasson continues to head United Screens as CEO.

RTL Group CEO Bert Habets, who has become Chairman of the Board of United Screens following the transaction, said: “This acquisition is another step in accelerating our ‘Total Video’ strategy, as United Screens strengthens our MPN presence in Europe. With our highly popular creators and leading market positions in each territory, RTL Group is the only European company to offer advertisers pan-European digital video campaigns in premium and brand-safe environments.”

Luxembourg & Sweden, Stockholm

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Apple acquires app developer Buddybuild

January 2, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

AppleApple has acquired Buddybuild, a Vancouver-based app tools developer focused on continuous integration and debugging tools. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Buddybuild was founded in 2015 by former Amazon employees Dennis Pilarinos and Christopher Stott. In its nearly three years of existence, the startup has managed to raise around $8.8 million. Its existing customers includes Mozilla, Hootsuite, Reddit, SoundCloud, FourSquare and The New York Times.

As part of the acquisition, Buddybuild will be rolled into Xcode, Apple’s suite of development tools for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.

USA, San Francisco, CA & Vancouver, BC

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BrandSpins acquires TONE Technology

December 27, 2017 — Fusion DigiNet

BrandSpinsA year after the digital music distribution company BrandSpins acquired the music licensing giant, MusicDealers.com, they have released a new technology called ‘TONEprotocol,’ aimed at revolutionising the advertising industry. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

TONEprotocol, developed by TheToneKnows, Inc., works by embedding an imperceptible tone called a ‘TONE-Tag’ into any MusicDealers’ song used within television, radio, and streamed advertisements. The ‘Tone-Tag’ is an imperceptible audio beacon that converts this beacon to a “code” which can be deciphered by any smartphone. Once perceived by any mobile device, the ‘TONE-Tag’ will trigger a graphic ad which instantly appears on the listener’s mobile phone.

Beyond radio and TV, the audio beacon technology works in anything with sound including films, video games, as well as the retail environment. By installing TONE-emitting chips sets in retail stores and public spaces, coupons, ads, and promotions can be delivered to any smartphone within about 30 feet. This application of the technology could replace expensive and maintenance-intense bluetooth beacons and RFID-based systems.

Billy Tuchscher, CEO of BrandSpins and MusicDealers.com, said, “It is pretty impressive to be listening to a radio ad and magically have a coupon, flyer, or event ticket show up on your phone. The technology is solid, all the inventors needed was a music catalog, method of distribution, and big brand relationships. We have all that.”

USA, Las Vegas, NV & San Francisco, CA

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Mark Allen Group acquires Miles Publishing Limited 

December 21, 2017 — Fusion DigiNet

MAGThe Mark Allen Group has acquired Miles Publishing from its owner, Miles Blossom. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MPL comprises two core products; the market leading brand, Comms Business, and its related event, Channel Live. Comms Business operates in the ICT sector whose primary audience is resellers of related products and services. Channel Live is the only ICT trade exhibition in the UK of its kind that takes place at the NEC in September.

Ben Allen, Chief Executive of MAG, said; “This is a great acquisition for us. I got to know Miles quite well when we sold him last year our golf magazine, Pro-Shop Europe. Miles has built up a very good company which, for personal reasons, he now wishes to dispose of, although, as a very keen golfer, he is going to retain the golf part of his operation.”

UK, London & Tunbridge Wells

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