Pearson half-year results: FT Group’s Mergermarket business put up for sale

July 30, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson2Pearson has published its half year results, at the same time  announcing that it is exploring the possibility of selling financial intelligence business Mergermarket. John Fallon, chief executive, said that while Mergermarket is a growing business, it does not fit with Pearson’s goal to be a market-leading education company.

Highlights

  • Pearson is exploring the possible sale of Mergermarket, the financial intelligence, data and analysis business. Pearson has appointed J.P. Morgan Cazenove to advise on the process.
  • John Fallon, the chief executive of Pearson, stressed that the paper was not for sale.
  • Pearson revenues up 5% to £2,243M
  • FT Group Revenues flat – £217M in 2013, £216M in 2012
  • FT Group Operating Profit up to £26M from £21M in 2012
  • Penguin Random House merger completed on 1 July 2013; strong growth at Penguin (up 14%) in the first half.
  • Adjusted operating profit £50m lower at £137m, including £37m of gross restructuring charges and, in addition, investments to support new product launches in the second half.
  • Adjusted earnings per share down 4.9p to 9.9p including restructuring charges.
  • Interim dividend up 7% to 16p.

Click on the Financial Highlights table below to enlarge the view

Pearson Half-Year Results 2013

John Fallon, chief executive, said: “In trading terms, 2013 has begun much as we expected. In general, good growth in our digital, services and developing-market businesses continues to offset tough conditions for traditional publishing. Our strategy is to transform Pearson into a single operating company that is sharply focussed on the biggest needs in global education and on measurable learning outcomes. With our restructuring programme on track and the reorganisation of the company under way, we are making significant progress towards that goal.”

Read the full announcement here.

UK, London

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Euromoney Institutional Investor – interim management statement to July 24, 2013

July 26, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC , the international publishing, events and electronic information group, has issued its Interim Management Statement for the period from April 1 to July 24, 2013.

Trading

Since reporting its interim results on May 16, 2013, trading has continued in line with the board’s expectations as set out in the interim results announcement.

Headline revenues for the quarter to June 30, 2013 increased by 2% to £113.5 million.  The group generates nearly two thirds of its revenues in US dollars and after adjusting for an average sterling-dollar rate for the third quarter of $1.53, against $1.60 a year ago, revenues at constant currency were unchanged.  The increase in revenues from the three small acquisitions completed earlier in the year was largely offset by timing differences on certain subscription accounts.

Subscription revenues increased by 4%, and by 1% at constant currency.  The rate of growth at constant currency was less than the 3% achieved in the second quarter due to delays in the receipt of a few subscription accounts which are recognised on a cash basis.  This timing difference is expected to reverse in the final quarter.  The 11% decline in advertising revenues was consistent with the trend seen over the previous 18 months with advertising from global financial institutions particularly weak.

The third quarter is the most important of the year for the event businesses with many of the group’s largest events held during this period.  Despite the challenging markets, revenues from the group’s bigger events remained robust and the positive first half event revenue trends continued.  Sponsorship revenues increased by 6% at constant currency, partly due to the acquisition in April of CIE, the Australian provider of investment forums for the asset management industry.  Delegate revenues were unchanged.

The following table summarises the year-on-year revenue changes for the third quarter at both headline rates and at constant exchange rates:

Eurononey intrim Jul13

 

Click on the table for a larger view

Financial Position

Net debt at June 30 was £34.4 million against £38.1 million at March 31. The group’s strong operating cash flows for the quarter were offset by acquisition payments of £12.7 million, including the £9.9 million purchase of CIE, an interim dividend of £8.8 million, and other non-operating cash outflows of £6.4 million.  Movements in the US dollar exchange rate had no significant effect on net debt levels.

Outlook

The broad trading background has not changed significantly since the interim results.  The outlook for US markets, and in particular the profitability of US financial institutions, has continued to improve.  However, European institutions remain focussed on tight cost control and compliance with a tougher regulatory environment while uncertainties persist over some emerging markets, particularly China, and the commodities sector.

July and August are the quietest trading months of the year and while the fourth quarter is the least significant for the group’s event businesses, recent advertising sales trends have been encouraging.  However, as usual at this time of the year, revenue visibility for September, which traditionally accounts for at least 20% of the group’s full year profit, is limited.

The group will continue to invest in technology, marketing and new products to achieve organic growth and focus on revenue synergies from its recent acquisitions.  Overall, trading remains in line with the board’s expectations.

UK, London

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IHS Completes Acquisition of R.L. Polk & Co.

July 16, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

ihs_logo_mpIHS has completed its acquisition of R.L. Polk & Co.  R.L. Polk & Co. consists of two divisions – Polk and CARFAX – that provide market intelligence, tools and analytics and vehicle history information. . Previously, IHS had announced its intent to acquire R.L. Polk & Co. on June 9, 2013; closing occurred on July 15.

polk

The total deal price is $1.4 billion. 90% cash and 10% equity. The stock issuance has a 2-year lock up. 50% of shares can be sold after year one and 100% of shares can be sold after year two

R.L. Polk is headquartered in Detroit and has $400 million of current annual revenue, 75% recurring revenue with 90%-plus renewal rates. 60% of its revenues come from the CARFAX brand and 40% from the Polk Division.

The company is principally focused in North America, with 9% of sales in EMEA and 3% in APAC. It has an adjusted EBITDA margin in mid-20 percent range.

“Now that R.L. Polk & Co. is part of IHS Automotive, their comprehensive information on vehicle registrations, ownership and repair allow us to offer auto makers, automotive parts and technology suppliers and dealers an unparalleled suite of products and services that span from portfolio planning to the end of a vehicle’s life,” said Scott Key, IHS president and CEO. “No one has connected automotive information so comprehensively in markets around the world, or created the analytics solutions and tools that we are currently developing to support the strategic decisions of our customers.

“With this acquisition, IHS truly becomes the scaled, global player in the capital-intensive automotive information industry, which also relies heavily on electronics, chemicals, plastics and energy,” Key continued. “The addition of Polk and CARFAX furthers our vision to become the source of information, insight, expertise and knowledge across all of our target industry sectors and to provide converged solutions that create exceptional value for customers.”

Key added that IHS intends to expand Polk and CARFAX globally, building on IHS infrastructure and presence in EMEA, APAC and high-growth markets in Brazil, India, Russia and the Middle East and the combined information and expertise of these great assets.

“The combination of IHS and R.L. Polk & Co. clearly strengthens both companies and creates more growth and greater opportunities to increase value for our customers,” said Stephen Polk, chief executive officer of R.L. Polk & Co. “We look forward to enhancing key information and insight on which our customers have come to rely to make critical decisions.”

USA, Englewood, CO & Detroit, MI

Previous reporting

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Stephen Carter to replace Peter Rigby as Informa Group Chief Executive

July 11, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Stephen CarterInforma Plc, the international publishing, business information and events company, has announced that Stephen A. Carter will replace Peter Rigby as Group Chief Executive when Rigby retires at the end of 2013.

 

Forty nine years old Carter has been an Informa board director since 2010. He was formerly President/Managing Director EMEA and President/Managing Director Global Managed Services at Alcatel-Lucent, the telecommunications and technology group. Before joining Alcatel-Lucent, he worked in a number of senior roles in the media and communications sector, including serving a term as the Founding Chief Executive of Ofcom, the UK Communications Industry Regulator.

Peter Rigby (58) first joined Informa in 1983 and has served as Chief Executive or Executive Chairman since 1988.

Since joining Informa in 1983, the company has grown from a company valued at a few million pounds to a business with a market capitalisation exceeding £3 billion. In the process, the company has been transformed from the original print publishing business into a global digital data, information and events group. In 2012, almost 75% of Informa’s publishing revenue was digital. The company now employs more than 7,000 people across its Academic Publishing, Events and Business Information operations.

Informa Chairman Derek Mapp said, “Informa owes a huge debt of gratitude to Peter, who has devoted a large portion of his career to the group, guiding it from humble beginnings into the leading global media group it is today. His boundless energy, enthusiasm and passionate management style has touched many people during his tenure and reflected in the unique culture prevalent across the group. I am sure that all of Informa’s stakeholders, including employees, shareholders and customers, will join me in thanking him for his enormous contribution to the company.

I am delighted that Peter’s business legacy will be continued by an executive of Stephen Carter’s calibre. The Board was unanimous that Stephen’s UK and international experience, knowledge and strategic understanding of the digital and technology industries, combined with his empathy for Informa’s unique culture and commercial success, made him a natural choice as Peter’s successor.”

UK, London

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Shopzilla acquires Zappli

July 11, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

shopzillaAccording to TechCrunch, shopping network Shopzilla has acquired start-up Zappli, a San Francisco based developer of mobile social shopping app myShopanion and mobile checkout app InstaBuy. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

zappliThe Zappli team will join Shopzilla, working out of their existing locations in San Francisco and South East Asia. Zappli’s CEO and co-founder, Philippe Suchet, becomes Chief Strategy Officer of Shopzilla and Zappli’s CTO and co-founder, Chandra Siva will lead key technology initiatives at Shopzilla.

Shopzilla’s CEO Bill Glass said that of specific interest to Shopzilla is Zappli’s mobile commerce technology

Read more at TechCrunch

USA, Los Angeles, CA & San Francisco, CA

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Matomy Media Group acquires mobile affiliate network MobAff

July 10, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

matomy1Global performance marketing company Matomy Media Group has acquired Florida based mobile affiliate network MobAff. Founded in 2011, MobAff works with advertisers and affiliate networks to help them generate and deliver leads and acquire customers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

MobAff will be integrated within MediaWhiz, a North American performance marketing agency acquired bymobaf MATOMY earlier this year. MobAff founder Alexander Tsatkin, along with other members of the company, will relocate to MediaWhiz’s New York City headquarters. MobAff’s proprietary mobile marketing technology will be integrated into MediaWhiz’s affiliate network.

“MobAff’s mobile optimization technology and strong expertise in mobile affiliate marketing will be a huge asset to MediaWhiz’s growing mobile performance marketing practice,” said Ofer Druker, CEO of Matomy Media Group. “We are impressed by MobAff’s strong presence with advertisers and affiliates, as well as the technological solutions it has developed. I am confident that this acquisition will benefit the MATOMY and MediaWhiz customer bases, offering our advertisers and affiliates cutting-edge technologies – alongside other performance marketing products we have developed – as well as greater audience reach and effective results in their mobile advertising campaigns.”

USA, New York, NY & Fort Myers, FL & Israel, Tel Aviv

 

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Bandzoogle acquires Onesheet To Expand its Artist Website Platform

July 10, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

bandzoogleBandzoogle a website platform for musicians, has acquired Onesheet, a San Francisco based company that provides a simple way for musicians, actors and entertainers to build a one page social website. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Bandzoogle will keep Onesheet as an independent product and will relaunch it shortly.

“Onesheet is a great product that tens of thousands of artists and entertainers already use. For artists whose major focus is creating onesheetcontent on their social networks, Onesheet is the fastest, easiest and free way to create a permanent, mobile-friendly web presence” said David Dufresne, Bandzoogle’s CEO. “We also believe the Onesheet product is a perfect fit for actors, comedians and the broader entertainment industry”.

Canada, Montreal & USA, San Francisco, CA

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TPG Capital to acquire TSL Education

July 8, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

tsl-logoPrivate investment firm TPG Capital is to acquire UK headquartered teachers’ network TSL Education from Charterhouse Capital Partners. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2013.

Karl Peterson, Managing Partner for TPG Capital LLP, said, “TSL is well known for its longstanding and vital role in the UK education sector.  Over the past several years Louise and her team have done an outstanding job in transitioning the business to become the leading site for teachers both online and in print while gaining a sizeable and growing audience across the globe.  TPG’s global presence and extensive online experience fit well with the Company’s ambitions and we anticipate accelerating growth through further investments in TSL’s digital capabilities.”

TSL’s flagship platform is TES Connect. It  provides 620,000 teaching resources and connects a community of 52 million teachers and students across the globe.

San Francisco, CA & UK, London

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eBay acquires 2dehands.be and 2ememain.be

July 4, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

ebay2eBay has acquired 2dehands.be and 2ememain.be, online classifieds sites in Belgium. 2dehands.be and 2ememain.be have 5.5 million unique visitors coming to the sites each month. The sites will join the eBay Classifieds Group. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to the ebay blog, “eBay Classifieds Group understands the importance of a local classifieds presence and offering, fitting the needs of the Belgian consumer. The 2dehands.be and 2ememain.be sites will continue to be run by local teams who understand the nuances of the local culture.”2dehands

It continues, “eBay Classifieds Group will invest in the further development of the local Belgian businesses, enhancing the platforms to be faster and more intuitive for users. Furthermore, given eBay’s expertise in creating leading mobile platforms and the enormous potential for mobile growth for 2dehands.be and 2ememain.be, the development of innovative mobile technologies is a priority for the business.”

USA, San Jose & Belgium, Brussels

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TechMedia Network Acquires Bestofmedia Group

July 2, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

techmedianetworkTechMediaNetwork has acquired Bestofmedia Group, a global technology publisher and parent company to tech publications Tom’s Hardware, Tom’s Guide and Tom’s IT Pro. TechMedia Network’s portfolio includes TopTenREVIEWS, LAPTOP and Space.com. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, TechMediaNetwork’s CEO Greg Mason told WSJ that  “Most of this is a stock deal. The Bestofmedia Group investors are wholly invested in the value that we think we can create with the combined businesses in the next couple of years. But this was not an asset sale.”

Founded in 2000, Bestofmedia is a global tech publisher, with more than 30 million monthly unique visitors and media properties operating in eight different languages.  Dr. Thomas Pabst – the original Tom – founded Tom’s Hardware in 1996.bestofmedia

“When looking to increase our U.S. footprint, TechMedia Network immediately jumped to the forefront of potential partners with its growing audience of nearly 50 million monthly unique visitors and impressive content syndication network,” said Antoine Boulin, President, Bestofmedia Group. “Its portfolio of award-winning tech and science publications is a natural fit for our sites and the opportunity to marry their e-commerce engine with our world-class communities and our combined content expertise is an exciting prospect for the future of highly-specialized, vertical media.”

USA, New York, NY & France, Paris

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