A Fusion Deal: Creditflux sold to Mergermarket Group

January 6, 2016 — Fusion DigiNet

CreditfluxFusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce the completion of the sale of Ceditflux to Mergermarket Group.

Fusion Corporate Partners acted as corporate advisor for Creditflux. The Fusion team was led by Paul Slight, Director at Fusion. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Founded and headquartered in London, Creditflux is the authoritative provider of intelligence, analysis, data and events covering CLO and credit fund pricing, investments, trading and returns.

“I am delighted that Creditflux is joining forces with Mergermarket Group, a company which shares our relentless focus on providing original and insightful intelligence to the fixed income community,” said Mike Peterson, Managing Editor and founder of Creditflux. “The combination of Debtwire, Xtract Research and Creditflux will create an information power house for the global credit market.”

The acquisition accelerates the global expansion of Mergermarket Group’s extensive real-time fixed income intelligence and data provision. The company’s Debtwire and Xtract Research products already deliver insight and analytics on corporate high yield, distressed and restructuring situations.

mergermarket“We are very excited to fortify the growth story of our global fixed income division with the acquisition of Creditflux, a highly regarded and trusted source of CLO and credit fund intelligence and data,” commented Hamilton Matthews, CEO of Mergermarket Group. “For the past decade, Debtwire and Xtract Research have blazed a trail of market-leading coverage in the field of corporate debt analysis. Creditflux provides valuable analysis of fixed income investors, giving our valued subscribers access to deeper analysis of the full credit investment cycle.”

Paul Slight, Director at Fusion, said “We have known Mike and the key shareholders at Creditfux for many years and they thoroughly deserve their reward for the hard work that has gone into building a business brand of high editorial integrity. The fit with MergerMarkets was evident from the start at a business and cultural level and I am sure Mike and his team will be able to take advantage of the commercial knowhow and international presence MergerMarket offers. This is the second transaction we have concluded with MergerMarkets in the last 3 months and on both occasion they have acted with the highest level of sensitivity during both the negotiations and completion process”

UK London

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The Fusion Team has completed over 80 UK and cross border Media, Business Information & Technology, Exhibitions & Conferences, Energy & Environmental Services, Business Support Services, TV Broadcast & Production, Healthcare and Online Commerce transactions.

Recent transactions include:

Media & Business Information

Business Support Services and Energy & Environmental Services

Exhibitions & Conferences

Healthcare

Broadcast

 

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Bloomberg to acquire Barclays Risk Analytics and Index Solutions Business

December 17, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

BloombergBloomberg L.P. is to acquire Barclays Risk Analytics and Index Solutions Ltd. (“BRAIS”) for around £520 million.

BRAIS is a provider of benchmark and strategy indices, portfolio analytics, risk and attribution models, and portfolio construction tools. BRAIS’s benchmark indices span global markets covering multiple asset classes, most notably the Barclays Family of Aggregate Bond Indices.

“As financial markets continue to evolve, our clients need and expect the index business to evolve too,” said Michael R. Bloomberg. “Combining the market-leading Barclays indices and their superb team with our data management, analytics and distribution will provide more independence, liquidity and transparency to the marketplace, improve industry innovation and further meet the diverse needs of our global client base.”

Bloomberg has also increased its investments in PORT, the company’s multi-asset portfolio risk and analytics tool that has seen significant growth over the past five years. The Company intends to accelerate its investments in this area by acquiring the intellectual property in POINT, Barclays’ portfolio analytics solution, and incorporating BRAIS IP into PORT. Barclays has agreed to continue to operate POINT for 18 months post completion in order to help clients transition to PORT.

Bloomberg and Barclays will maintain a co-branding arrangement on the benchmark indices for an initial term of five years.

The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-2016.

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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UBM sells PR Newswire to Cision

December 15, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

 

PR NewswireUBM plc has agreed to sell PR Newswire to Cision, a provider of public relations software, for $841m.

Cision, which is controlled by Chicago-based private equity group GTCR, acquired media monitoring group Gorkana from private equity group Exponent for £200m last year.

PR Newswire had revenue of 195.8 million pounds in 2014, about 26 percent of UBM’s total revenue.

Terms of the deal:

  • The total sale price is $841m, $810m in cash and $31m of preferred equity
  • The total sale price of $841m is a circa 11.2 times multiple of PR Newswire’s 2014 adjusted
    earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The cash value of $810m represents a circa 10.8 times multiple.
  • £245m is proposed to be returned to shareholders by way of a special dividend.
  • Net cash proceeds received on completion are expected to be approximately £498m after adjustments for transaction expenses, debt-like items, tax and a contribution of £10m to UBM’s pension scheme

The agreement is subject to anti-trust clearance in the US. Completion is expected late in Q1 2016

Tim Cobbold, Chief Executive of UBM plc, said: “Today’s announcement represents a significant step in the execution of UBM’s “Events First” strategy, the objective of which is to become the world’s leading focused B2B Events business. The Board is confident that this transaction realises excellent value for our shareholders.

Following the successful acquisition of Advanstar in 2014, the disposal of PR Newswire further increases our focus on the attractive, high growth and high margin events sector with more than 80% of UBM’s continuing revenues generated in Events. In addition, the retained sales proceeds will increase our capacity to invest in bolt-on acquisitions to strengthen the portfolio and grow the
business faster, whilst maintaining appropriate financial discipline.”

UK, London & USA, Chicago, IL

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Symphony Technology Group Acquires Simmons and Hitwise from Experian

December 14, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

 

Private equity firm Symphony Technology Group has acquired Simmons and Hitwise from Experion. The terms of the two transactions in aggregate were $47 million plus a further potential amount of up to $5 million based on an earnout.

Hitwise and Simmons provide consumer measurement and analytical services to marketers, media brands and advertising agencies. Simmons is best known for its National Consumer Study. Hitwise, a provider of large-scale online clickstream data collection and consumer behavioral analytics, is being acquired by Connexity Inc, an STG portfolio company.

USA, Palo Alto, CA & UK, London

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McGraw-Hill Financial completes the $2.225Bn acquisition of SNL Financial

October 30, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

McGrawHillFinancialMcGraw-Hill Financial has completed the acquisition of SNL Financial. The deal was first announced in July.

McGraw Hill Financial is paying approximately $2.225 billion in cash for SNL Financial.  The economic impact to McGraw Hill Financial will be partially offset by tax benefits with an estimated present value of approximately $550 million resulting from the transaction. SNL is privately held by an affiliate of private equity business New Mountain Capital LLC and current and former members of SNL management.

SNL“We are enthusiastic about SNL because it is a fast-growing, highly complementary subscription-based business that will enable us to accelerate our strategy to be the leading provider of transparent and independent benchmarks, analytics, data and research across the global capital, commodity and corporate markets,” said Douglas L. Peterson, President and CEO of McGraw Hill Financial.

Excluding amortization, the transaction is expected to be accretive to adjusted diluted EPS in 2016, and, on a GAAP basis, in 2018.  The Company has also identified approximately $70 million in synergies which are expected to be fully realized by 2019 largely from operational efficiencies and McGraw Hill Financial’s ability to accelerate SNL’s international growth through its global footprint.

Headquartered in Charlottesville, VA, SNL has approximately 3,000 employees based in 10 countries. SNL, founded in 1987, has more than 5,000 customers with relationships across banks, insurance companies, corporations, asset managers, power companies and other users. Mike Chinn, President and CEO of SNL Financial will remain with the business and report to Douglas L. Peterson, President and CEO of McGraw Hill Financial.

USA, New York, NY & Charlottesville, VA

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Two New Fusion Deals: Incisive Media sells AVCJ and Unquote to Mergermarket

October 11, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

Fusion only - logoFusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce the completion of the sales of two Incisive Media businesses to Mergermarket.

Asian Venture Capital Journal (AVCJ) and Unquote

Fusion Corporate Partners acted as corporate advisor for Incisive Media. The Fusion team was led by Paul Slight, director at Fusion. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.

AVCJAVCJ and Unquote are leading sources of information on private equity and venture capital deals and fundraising activity. The brands represent a complementary extension to the Mergermarket Group suite of products that include Mergermarket, Debtwire, Dealreporter, Infinata, Xtract Research and the Remark global events division.
unquoteHeadquartered in London and Hong Kong, and with a global presence in 65 countries, Mergermarket Group provides finance and industry intelligence, analysis and data to investment banks, advisory professionals, fund managers, private equity firms, industry and corporate professionals.
“Unquote and AVCJ have strong localised footprints in the delivery of private equity and venture capital related content,” said Hamilton Matthews, CEO of Mergermarket Group. “Both brands are highly regarded in their respective markets and we are hugely excited to welcome them to Mergermarket Group as we seek to strengthen our global provision of fund and deal data, events and intelligence.”
“AVCJ and Unquote are hugely successful brands and I could not think of a better new home for them than Mergermarket Group,” commented Tim Weller, Chairman and CEO of Incisive Media. “With a strong foothold in private equity and M&A related content, Mergermarket Group is committed to further investment and development of both brands. I would like to thank the team for their loyalty and achievements over the years and I wish them well.”
UK, London & Hong Kong

Fusion Deals:

Media & Business Information

Exhibitions & Conferences

Business Support Services and Energy & Environmental Services

Healthcare

Broadcast

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Euromoney acquires 10% of Zanbato

September 29, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC has acquired a 10 percent interest in Zanbato Inc, an international private capital placements platform and workflow tools provider, for $5.5 million.

The investment is part of a $14m Series B funding round aimed at expanding the capital base of Zanbato. Other key investors include Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale, Formation8, a Silicon Valley technology investment fund, and Accelerate-IT Ventures, a US-based venture capital firm which led the round. As part of the transaction Euromoney will also receive a seat on the Zanbato board.

Zanbato, founded in 2010 and chaired by Joe Lonsdale, is a California-based business focused on building technology to address inefficiencies in private capital markets. Zanbato’s business comprises: i) Zanbato Private Label, an enterprise SaaS solution that enables broker-dealers, placement agents and fund managers to handle the placement of their offerings securely within their proprietary networks: the custom branded and configured solution is trusted by leading financial institutions because of its data rooms, investor analytics, compliance suite, enterprise-calibre security, e-signature integration and due diligence support; and ii) Zanbato Marketplace, software that enables institutional investors and family offices to access direct private investment opportunities. The software is used across several verticals, including fund stakes, pre-IPO company shares and real estate.

Earlier in 2015, Zanbato and Institutional Investor, a division of Euromoney, agreed to enter into a joint venture to bring together the technology of Zanbato and the market reach of Institutional Investor’s Investor Intelligence Network, a private online membership, to serve the institutional segment of the private placements market. Euromoney’s investment strengthens this strategic partnership by providing Zanbato with the financial resources to accelerate its product and business development plans.

Commenting on the announcement, Euromoney Chairman Richard Ensor said: “Over 45 years, Euromoney has built a wealth of trusted relationships with the buy-side and sell-side of the global asset management and capital markets sectors, which we are now using to create specialist digital communities. Our partnership with Zanbato will enable our Institutional Investor division to expand further its digital revenue streams by tapping into the fast-growing online private placement market. Over the next five years, this sector has the potential to create a significant opportunity for placement platforms. With its advanced SaaS technology, Zanbato is well placed to take an important share of this market.”

Zanbato, Founder and Chairman Joe Lonsdale said: “Innovation in finance is critical to advance modern society – technologies that make the global financial system more effective and efficient ultimately benefit all of us. Leaps in progress are often made by applying new ideas to the reach and impact of established players. We have a great respect for the platform Euromoney Institutional Investor has built, and believe our partnership will be formidable as each company brings unique and necessary ingredients required to transform private capital markets. I’m proud to see the innovation behind Zanbato having an increasing impact.”

UK, London & USA, Mountain View, CA

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Progressive Digital Media Group completes the acquisition of Datamonitor Financial, Datamonitor Consumer, MarketLine and Verdict businesses from Informa

September 1, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

Progressive Digital Media Group plc has completed the acquisition of Datamonitor Financial, Datamonitor Consumer, MarketLine and Verdict businesses from Informa plc.

The sale was effected by Informa transferring the above named businesses to Verdict Research Limited, the entire share capital of which was acquired by Progressive. Progressive paid £25.0 million in cash. For the financial year ended 31 December 2014, the pro-forma revenues for the businesses being acquired were approximately £17.8m and adjusted earnings (excluding central overheads) were circa £3.0m.

Commenting on the acquisition Simon Pyper, Chief Executive of Progressive Digital Media, said: “The acquisition of these businesses will broaden Progressive’s Consumer offering, providing scale and additional categories in an important industry sector. This acquisition will be our largest to date, yet of all the companies acquired by Progressive, these businesses are the ones we are most familiar with. Whilst some investment will be required this year and next, the Board is confident that this acquisition will provide a platform for further growth.”

Michael Danson, Executive Chairman of Progressive Digital Media Group plc, was chief executive of Datamonitor when the business was sold to Informa for a reported £502 million in 2007.

UK, London

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LexisNexis to acquire MLex

July 28, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

 

Legal & Professional has acquired MLex, a global legal media organization providing market insight, analysis and commentary on regulatory risk. the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Access to breaking news and expert analysis of the latest developments in regulatory risk is becoming ever more critical for our customers,” said Mike Walsh, CEO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional. “With the addition of MLex, LexisNexis will be able to provide global in-depth coverage of key developments in regulatory risk allowing our clients to keep abreast of the changing regulatory landscape. MLex’s regulatory news offerings will be a great complement to our leading portfolio of news assets including Law360, Nexis and Moreover.”

 

MLex focuses on providing insight, analysis, and commentary into key developments in regulatory risk. They employ an investigative approach combined with in-depth, forensic coverage of cases via a team of expert reporters, qualified lawyers and industry experts in more than a dozen bureaus around the world, including Brussels, Washington DC, Sao Paolo, Hong Kong and San Francisco.

USA, New York, NY

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IRI acquires Chinese market research organisation Datasea

April 21, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

IRI_logoInformation Resources, Inc. (IRI) has acquired Datasea, a Chinese analytic services and market research company with deep knowledge and expertise in the retail and consumer packaged goods industries.

“We are building a Chinese company powered by the latest global insights, analytics and technology and bringing the latest tools and technology to this market,” said Andrew Appel, president and chief executive officer, IRI. The agreement represents the most recent execution of IRI’s strategic commitment to dramatically increase our geographic footprint to meet the global market research needs of our clients. It also complements other facets of IRI’s strategic direction, including expanding our data assets and leveraging this data with advanced analytics, plus consumer and shopper marketing services that enable our clients to achieve sustained levels of more rapid growth. We look forward to integrating IRI and Datasea’s strengths to bring enhanced offerings to our clients.”

In 2013, IRI completed the acquisition of Aztec, a provider of market measurement and related services in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the U.K. It also acquired FreshLook Marketing, which offers data and consulting services to the fresh food industry, in 2013.

Founded in 1996, Datasea clients include consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers, as well as companies in related industries, such as quick service restaurants and cosmetics. It maintains offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Jinan, supported by a nationwide service network.

USA, Chicago, IL & China, Beijing

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