Under Armour acquires Endomondo and MyFitnessPal

February 5, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

Under Armour, the athletic sportswear maker, has acquired Endomondo and MyFitnessPal. Under Armour already owns the MapMyFitness and UA RECORD™ suite of applications. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MyFitnessPal is a free resource for achieving and maintaining health and fitness goals. It has 80 million registered users

Endomondo is an open fitness tracking platform and social fitness network connecting athletes throughout the world. Endomondo has around 20 million registered users, approximately 80% of which are located outside of the U.S.

“Under Armour’s demonstrated global leadership in health and fitness innovation is greatly enhanced with the addition of Endomondo and MyFitnessPal, as we continue to redefine and elevate the Connected Fitness experience for millions of people around the world,” said Kevin Plank, Chairman and CEO of Under Armour. “Similar to MapMyFitness, Endomondo and MyFitnessPal have established track records of unmatched equity, expertise and passion in the fitness and nutrition space, and they are ideal partners to enable Under Armour to provide data-driven, proactive solutions to help athletes of all levels lead healthier and more active lifestyles.”

As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Under Armour, Endomondo will continue to operate out of its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. Following the anticipated closing of the acquisition in the first quarter of 2015, MyFitnessPal will continue to operate out of its headquarters in San Francisco, CA.

USA, Baltimore, MD & Denmark, Copenhagen & USA, San Francisco, CA

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Greentube Acquires BlueBat Games 

February 2, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

greentubeGreentube, a developer and provider for internet, mobile, PC and iTV and their parent company, the Novomatic Group, have acquired a controlling interest in the social gaming leader, BlueBat Games. A business founded in 2011 by video game industry veterans Kenny Huang and Tim Harris. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, BlueBat Games enables game developers and casino brands to socialize their games on browser-based and mobile platforms. Blue Bat Games is the creator of Greentube’s turnkey private label social casino marketing platform, Greentube Pro.

bluebat_logo“We worked closely with the BlueBat team on a number of projects in the past year,” said Thomas Graf, CEO of Greentube Internet Entertainment Solutions GmbH. “After the launch of Greentube Pro, it became apparent that BlueBat and Greentube’s approach to social gaming were in direct alignment. The Acquisition was the next logical step in our progression.”

UK, London & Canada, Vancouver, British Columbia

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dmg media acquires Elite Daily

January 30, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

Daily Maildmg media‘s Daily Mail has acquired Elite Daily, the news and entertainment website. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Elite Daily has over 70 million unique browsers per month and an average daily audience of 4 million, primarily in the US. The site has a particularly strong millennial appeal, with approximately 70% of its audience being in the 18 to 34 age range, and has a large social media presence.

Elite DailyElite Daily’s revenues were $5 million in the 12 months to December 2014. The company employs a team of 65 people. Elite Daily will continue to operate as a separate website.

David Arabov, Chief Executive Officer of Elite Daily, made the announcement on the Elite Daily website. Read the announcement here.

UK, London & USA, New York, NY

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Slyce buys SnipSnap for $6.5 mln

January 29, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

Visual product search platform Slyce Inc. has acquired mobile couponing company, SnipSnap App Limited Liability Company for $6.5 million, made up of: US$1 million in cash payable at closing, plus US$3 million in Common Shares issued at Closing Date at an issue price of CDN$0.80 per share and up to US$2.5 million in Common Shares issued at future determined share prices, upon the achievement of revenue milestones by December 31st, 2015 and December 31st, 2016.

Slyce CEO Mark Elfenbein said of the acquisition, “SnipSnap and its four million users represent an enormous opportunity for Slyce to widen its service offering to leading retailers. The team has solved a huge problem for retailers-effectively building a bridge between analog and digital coupon distribution. Furthermore, this acquisition enables users who are already taking photos of coupons to now take photos of real world items, a natural extension of the SnipSnap app’s current use case. With the addition of the SnipSnap platform and team including founder Ted Mann, Slyce instantly becomes the go-to provider of not just visual search applications but the very best out-of-store customer engagement solutions for retailers.”

SnipSnap Founder Ted Mann will continue to lead SnipSnap, which will remain based in Philadelphia.

Canada, Toronto, ON

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KKR acquires Trainline

January 22, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

KKRGlobal investment firm KKR has acquired Trainline. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

trainlineTrainline is the most downloaded travel app in the UK and its website ranks 5th by gross transaction value in the UK e-commerce sector. The company has 4.7m active customers, 20.8m visits per month and operates platforms for both consumers and businesses. Trainline is licensed to sell rail tickets on behalf of all UK Train Operating Companies, Deutsche Bahn and Trenitalia.

Dominic Murphy, Member and Head of KKR operations in the United Kingdom commented: “The investment in Trainline adds to our track record of partnering with entrepreneurs and management teams to build global companies and industry leaders. Similar to our Alliance Boots investment, we will support a strong investment program leading to a further transformation and strong international expansion of the company.”

USA, New York, MY & UK, London

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Keywords Studios acquires Alchemic Dream in Canada and Reverb Localização in Brazil

January 7, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

keywordsKeywords Studios, a technical services provider to the global video games industry, has acquired Alchemic Dream Inc. in Canada, a provider of multi-lingual customer support services for the video games industry internationally for CAD$1.25m

In addition, Keywords has completed the acquisition of Reverb Localização – Preparação de Documentos Ltda. in Brazil for to €300k.

Alchemic Dream

alchemicFounded in 2001, Alchemic Dream is based in Shawinigan near Montreal, Canada where it employs 38 people, it also works with remote collaborators in 36 countries. The acquisition provides Keywords Studios with an entry point into the fast growing market for community management services, either within the game, in the game forums or within the wider social media channels. The demand for live operations support services designed to ensure players continue to engage with the game for longer is expanding due to the transition from games as a packaged product, sold through traditional retail stores, to games as a service for mobile, online, or console games.

Keywords Studios will pay a maximum total cash consideration of CAD$1.25m for 100% of Alchemic Dream dependent on certain closing balance sheet related adjustments.

Alchemic Dream’s management accounts for the 10 months to 31 October 2014 show the business achieved revenues of CAD$4.33m and profits before tax of CAD$480k. The accounts for the year to 31 December 2013 show it achieved revenues of CAD$3.7m, a loss before tax of CAD$220k and it had net assets of CAD$0.48m including net debt of CAD$0.2m.

Reverb Localização

ReverbReverb was founded in 2012 and is based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It has a small team of 5 employees, plus freelance collaborators. The company provides localisation and audio management services for Brazilian Portuguese for some leading games including World of Warcraft and Magic the Gathering. This will be Keywords’ first office in South America.

Andrew Day, Chief Executive of Keywords Studios, commented on the Alchemic Dream acquisition, “The acquisition of Alchemic Dream provides us with an important point of entry into the increasingly important market of customer care services for the video games industry.”

Commenting on the Reverb Localização acquisition, day said, “We are also pleased to be announcing our first investment in the fast developing game economy in Brazil. Brazilian Portuguese has risen to take its place in our top 5 languages alongside the more established languages of French, Spanish, German and Italian. The acquisition of Reverb provides us with a small but high quality foothold in this important growth market and we expect to be able grow our revenues and improve our margins for this language as a result.

Ireland, Dublin & Canada, Montreal & Brazil, Rio de Janeiro

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ALM Acquires Summit Professional Networks

January 5, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

ALM2ALM, owner of The American Lawyer and The National Law Journal and other titles, is to acquire Summit Professional Networks, the publisher of Investment Advisor and several insurance and legal publications including National Underwriter and InsideCounsel. The deal also includes Judy Diamond Associates, a provider of prospecting tools and data within the benefits industry.

Summit ProfThis is the second acquisition by ALM in two months. ALM acquired Kennedy Consulting Research & Advisory in December.

“The acquisition of Summit Professional Networks represents the next major step in ALM’s growth strategy, expanding our reach into new strategic markets,” said Bill Carter, President and CEO of ALM. “What makes Summit an ideal fit with ALM is their strong competitive position in the markets they serve, driven by a combination of award-winning journalism and their robust custom marketing solutions.”

With six offices in the U.S., Summit publishes content through several brands in the investment advisory, legal, insurance and benefits fields. In addition to Investment Advisor, National Underwriter, and InsideCounsel, Summit publishes other brands including Credit Union Times, Benefits Selling, ThinkAdvisor.com, PropertyCasualty360 and LifeHealthPro, among others.

ALM was acquired in July by a consortium led by private-equity firm Wasserstein & Co. for $417 million. Wasserstein had previously owned ALM, but sold it to Incisive Media in 2007 for $630 million.

USA, New York, NY

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Wasserstein & Co. to by back ALM Media from Apax at a discount Posted on June 5, 2014

 

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News Corp acquires Indian start-up BigDecisions.Com

December 19, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

newscorpNews Corp has acquired BigDecisions.com in India.

BigDecisions.com aims to help Indian consumers make smarter financial decisions through interactive, decision-making tools powered by sophisticated algorithms and data. Its mission is to provide a platform to deliver unbiased information and analysis to consumers on topics ranging from life and health insurance and retirement planning to providing for a child’s education or buying and renting real estate.

big decisions“Our latest investment builds on our abiding belief that a digital India needs more trusted, reliable and independent data,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp. “BigDecisions.com will help Indians make the most important decisions by using accurate information tailored to their personal needs. This platform will be high quality, privacy-protected and easy-to-use.”

The acquisition of BigDecisions.com includes the site’s parent company, FinDirect Services Pvt Ltd.

The investment follows News Corp’s acquisition in November of a 25% stake in PropTiger.com, a residential real estate platform that also provides accurate and independent data and information to India’s homebuyers. News Corp’s other operations in India include Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Factiva and HarperCollins Publishers businesses.

Started in early 2013 by Manish Shah and Gaurav Roy, and operating until recently as bigdecisions.in.Following the acquisition, both co-founders will help oversee a significant expansion of the Mumbai-based BigDecisions.com team as well as its consumer offerings. They will report to Raju Narisetti, News Corp Senior Vice President, Strategy.

USA, New York & India, Mumbai

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Euromoney Institutional Investor completes Dealogic transaction

December 18, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

dealogic_logoEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC, the online information and events group, has completed the acquisition of a 15.5% equity stake in New Dealogic for £59.2 million. For the year to December 31, 2013, Dealogic achieved adjusted earnings before interest, depreciation and amortisation of $66.7 million on $152.3 million of revenues, and at that date had gross assets of $127.7 million. The transaction takes effect from December 18.

See also: Euromoney to acquire a strategic shareholding in Dealogic: Sells Capital DATA and Capital NET posted on November 5, 2014

New Dealogic is a new company incorporated by The Carlyle Group to acquire Dealogic Holdings plc alongside Carlyle and Dealogic’s founders.  Euromoney’s investment in New Dealogic has been funded through the sale to New Dealogic of its interests in two businesses, Capital DATA and Capital NET, which Dealogic and Euromoney had operated jointly since the 1980s. The transaction values Euromoney’s participation in these two businesses at $85 million.

Dealogic provides data and analytics, market intelligence and capital markets software solutions to investment banks to help them manage their workflows, assist with deal origination and execution, and optimise productivity across their equity capital markets, fixed income, investment banking and research, sales and trading businesses.

UK, London

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POLITICO and Axel Springer acquire EUROPEAN VOICE

December 17, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

POLITICO, the Washington-based political news organisation, and Axel Springer, the owners of the POLITICO joint venture in Europe, have acquired EUROPEAN VOICE and will rebrand the Brussels publication as POLITICO in the spring of 2015.

The owner and publisher of the EUROPEAN VOICE, Shéhérazade Semsar-de Boisséson, will become managing director of POLITICO’s European operation, in charge of business operations. POLITICO’s European news operation will be led by Executive Editor Matthew Kaminski, a senior journalist and commentator on international affairs with The Wall Street Journal.

POLITICO’s European editorial operations will launch in spring 2015 with a website, POLITICO.EU; a weekly newspaper with circulation in Brussels; conferences and events in Brussels, Paris and Berlin; and a European edition of POLITICO Pro, a subscription-based news service covering major European policy coverage areas, such as financial services, technology, health care and energy.

Kaminski will report to POLITICO co-founder and Editor-in-Chief John F. Harris, who will be overseeing the vision and execution of POLITICO’s European newsroom in his position as chairman of the joint venture’s editorial committee. As editor in chief, Harris will be a regular presence in Brussels as the joint venture takes one of the most influential brands in American journalism to the European arena. Bill Nichols, POLITICO’s editor-at-large, will serve as the joint venture’s founding editor-at-large. Florian Eder, EU correspondent for DIE WELT, will become a managing editor. Carrie Budoff Brown, senior White House reporter for POLITICO, will become associate editor and senior reporter. POLITICO’s Gabe Brotman will oversee strategy and business development.

The EUROPEAN VOICE website, newspaper and events will all be integrated with POLITICO at the time of the spring launch. The joint venture will also take ownership of Paris-based Development Institute International (DII), France’s event promoter in the public affairs space, a business Semsar-de Boisséson co-founded in 1993. DII will continue to operate as a standalone business led by its Managing Director and co-founder Stephane Baudoin.

Semsar-de Boisséson will report to a management committee in which Axel Springer and POLITICO are equally represented.

“We see EUROPEAN VOICE, a familiar and well-respected platform in Brussels, as giving our joint venture an invaluable head start in establishing POLITICO as the new media agenda-setter at this historic moment in European politics,” said Ralph Büchi, President of Axel Springer International. “From the moment we met Shéhérazade, it was clear that her strong personality, energy and experience made her exactly the right person to lead this business.”

Germany, Berlin & Belgium, Brussels

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