Safari Books Online acquires web developer Threepress

January 9, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Safari Books Online, the on-demand digital library for technology, digital media and business professionals, has acquired Massachusetts-based Threepress Consulting Inc, makers of the Ibis Reader online EPUB reading system. The acquisition, was completed on January 1, 2012. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of the acquisition, Threepress co-founders Liza Daly and Keith Fahlgren and the rest of the Threepress staff will join the Safari Books Online engineering team, working from their East Coast and Bay Area locations. Daly will become the VP of Engineering while Fahlgren will assume the role of Director of Engineering.

“This acquisition is a critical step in support of all three of Safari Books Online’s key strategic initiatives: growing and strengthening our base business; developing new products and new markets; and developing truly new ways of learning online,” explained Andrew Savikas, CEO, Safari Books Online. “The Web is a very different (and much more mobile!) place than it was more than 10 years ago when Safari Books Online opened its virtual doors. These phenomenal additions to our team will help us make sure Safari Books Online will continue to be at the forefront of online reading and learning for the next 10 years and beyond.”

USA, Sebastopol, CA & Massachusetts, MA

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NetMediaEurope acquires German arm of CBS Interactive

January 9, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

CBS Interactive has sold its German IT websutes ZDNet.de, silicon.de and CNET.de to NetMediaEurope, publisher of ITespresso.de,Gizmodo.de and Channelbiz.de. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The combined entity will see close to 20 million page impressions per month, and five million unique users. The two companies will merge their Munich operations, with all six websites coming under the NetMediaEurope brand.

Dominique Busso, CEO of NetMediaEurope, commented: “We have established a strong brand across Europe, and aim to provide a one-stop shop for advertisers and sponsors looking for innovative opportunities to reach out to target audiences.” He continued: “This acquisition makes NetMediaEurope one of the key tech players in Germany, and will provide our international client base with powerful advertising reach.”

NetMediaEurope publishes in the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, and was founded in July 2007 as a result of an MBO by senior VNU managers.

Germany, Munich

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Shine Group acquires ChannelFlip

January 9, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine Group has acquired ChannelFlip the online broadcaster and original content producer. ChannelFlip’s programming includes Richard Hammond’s Tech Head, David Mitchell’s Soapbox and Dom Joly’s Joystick. ChannelFlip, was founded in 2008 by Justin Gayner and Wil Harris.

Elisabeth Murdoch, the CEO and chairman of Shine Group, said: “Wil and Justin are true like-minded creative entrepreneurs and we welcome them and their team to Shine Group. They have built ChannelFlip into its leadership position through creative and commercial excellence, producing compelling and innovative online productions whilst persuading advertisers of the deeper relationships they can play within these. Following our entry into social gaming with Bossa Studios, this acquisition further underlines Shine Group’s relentless commitment to delivering excellence across all platforms and our determination to develop powerful direct to consumer models and connections to audiences, wherever they may be.”

Shine Group was acquired by News Corporation in April 2010 for a reported £415M.

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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Glam Media to go public in Q2 2012

January 9, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

According to Ad Age Digital, sources close to Glam Media said that its North American business became profitable in fourth-quarter 2010 and that it will file to go public in the second quarter of 2012. The company is considering Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley to lead the offering and Bank of America to underwrite it.

Glam Media is led by its founder and CEO Samir Arora. Fernando Ruarte, CTO, and VP Engineering and Raj Narayan are Co-Founders with Arora.

Glam is a vertical media company with 2000 plus lifestyle websites and blogs. It is best known for Glam.com, a website targeted at women. The company also operates the male counterpart Brash.com.

Funding

  • 2004 – Seed stage, £1.1M series A led by Information Capital LLC
  • 2005 – Series B, £10M led by Accel, with DFJ and Walden VC
  • 2006 – Series C, £18.5M led by Accel, with DFJ and Walden VC, Information Capital LLC and DG Ventures
  • 2008 – Glam Media raises $85 million in private strategic funding
  • 2010 – Glam raises $50 million in private equity mezzanine funding

Read the fill story here.

USA, Brisbane, CA

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Property Drum acquires The Negotiator

January 6, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Property Drum has acquired The Negotiator.  The deal includes The Negotiator magazine, the website (www.the-negotiator.co.uk) and The Negotiator Awards

“This is great news for the industry,” said Property Drum Managing Director Grant Leonard. “Across the two titles we can now reach more offices, giving us a near-total market coverage.

“Both titles are very popular with agents, most of whom still prefer to receive printed publications and each has its own focus and editorial style. We intend to develop both magazines to meet the interests of all agencies, large or small, corporate or independent.”

Editor of The Negotiator, Clare Bettelley will remain in her current position and the partnership also includes the popular Negotiator Awards along with the website and e-newsletter.

Sheila Manchester, Editorial Director of Property Drum said: “We are really looking forward to working with Clare, who we consider to be one of the most talented journalists in property.”

The Negotiator will resume publication next month.

UK, East Sussex

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Wolters Kluwer completes sale of its pharma-related marketing & publishing services business to Springer Science+Business Media

December 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Wolters Kluwer has completed the sale of its pharma-related Marketing & Publishing Services business to Springer Science+Business Media. The sale is part of Wolters Kluwer’s strategy to focus on core health markets through its Wolters Kluwer Health & Pharma Solutions division.

“The sale of our pharma-related business will allow us to focus future investments in our core healthcare business in key growth areas such as point of care,” said Nancy McKinstry, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Wolters Kluwer. “We are committed to continued investments in innovative solutions that help clinicians around the globe access critical information to improve healthcare.”

The agreement encompasses the Marketing & Publishing Services business unit, part of the Wolters Kluwer Health & Pharma Solutions division. Marketing & Publishing Services is a leading global provider of strategic marketing, publishing, and business intelligence products and services to the pharmaceutical industry as well as to medical libraries and academic and research institutions. The sale represents approximately 35% of the company’s pharma-related assets in terms of revenue, with Adis and inScience Communications as the leading brands, and encompasses approximately 450 employees globally.

The intention to divest the Pharma Solutions business was announced in July 2011. The proceeds from this divestment are expected to be used for general corporate purposes including the reduction of debt levels in line with the company’s stated objectives and investments in the business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Netherlands, Alphen Aan Den Rijn

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Prince Alwaleed makes a $300 million investment in Twitter 


December 20, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud of Saudi Arabia and his investment company Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) have invested $300 Million in Twitter. Bloomberg are reporting Ahmed Halawani, a Kingdom Holding director, saying in an interview that the investment values Twitter at over $10 billion.

Prince Alwaleed commented: “Our investment in Twitter reaffirms our ability in identifying suitable opportunities to invest in promising, high-growth businesses with a global impact.” 


Prince Alwaleed, was ranked the richest Arab businessman for the eighth year by Arabian Business magazine http://richlist.arabianbusiness.com. He is the largest individual investor in Citigroup and a significant investor in News Corporation’s and holds a 29.9% stake in Saudi Research and Marketing Group, which includes the publications Asharq Al Awsat, Al Eqtisadiah, Arab News, Hia magazine, Al Majalla magazine, Arrajol magazine and Sayidati magazine. In addition, Prince Alwaleed recently announced his plans to launch his privately owned Alarab news channel, the news channel.

Saudi Arabia & USA, San Francisco, CA

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Zynga’s IPO raises around $1 billion

December 16, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Zynga, the games developer founded and led by Mark Pincus, has sold 100 million shares (around 11% of the company) at $10 each in its initial public offering, raising around $1 billion. This is at the top end of expectations. Two weeks ago its bankers projected a range of $8.50 to $10. The IPO values Zynga at around $7 billion, roughly 11 times last year’s sales. A good result, but still far less than recent social network offerings. A valuation of $20 billion dollars was suggested earlier this year. Zynga’s most-senior executives and early investors largely are holding onto their shares.

Zynga makes games mainly for Facebook. Games include FarmVille, Words with Friends, CastleVille, Adventure World and Mafia Wars 2.

USA, San Francisco, CA

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Wolters Kluwer Financial Services acquires PRINGLE Compliance Polices & Procedures content

December 15, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services, a worldwide provider of compliance, risk management and audit solutions for the financial services industry, has acquired the regulatory compliance content of PRINGLE Policy and Procedure Solutions from PRINGLE Publications Corporation. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“What sets Wolters Kluwer Financial Services apart from our competitors is our ability to deliver actionable and intelligent regulatory compliance and risk management content to our customers,” said Brian Longe, CEO of Wolters Kluwer Financial & Compliance Services. “This acquisition allows us to provide our customers with even more value by expanding access to the industry-leading PRINGLE compliance policies and procedures content to a larger number of financial institutions.”

Wolters Kluwer Financial Services will integrate PRINGLE’s compliance and safety and soundness policies and procedures, worksheets, forms, and regulatory checklists and tests into the Policies and Procedures module of the company’s ARC Logics for Financial Services enterprise risk management solution. The company will offer its ARC Logics customers with direct access to PRINGLE content through the module, which will provide a common, dynamic platform to proactively manage, edit, and update their policies and procedures.

USA, Minneapolis, MN

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CBS Television Stations Group to acquire New York Station WLNY-TV

December 15, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

CBS Television Stations, a division of CBS Corporation, has signed a definitive agreement to purchase independent New York television station WLNY-TV (Channel 55).  Terms of the agreement with the seller, WLNY Holdings, Inc., were not disclosed.  The acquisition of WLNY-TV (whose call letters stand for We Love New York), along with WCBS-TV (CBS 2), will give CBS a duopoly in America’s largest media market.

“Our acquisition of WLNY-TV presents a tremendous opportunity for our TV Stations Division,” said Peter Dunn, President, CBS Television Stations.  “The combined strengths of CBS 2 and WLNY-TV will give us a terrific platform for serving the entire New York area.  Our plans for the station include adding people and resources to fuel a significant expansion of local news programming well beyond the nightly half-hour that currently airs.  And, of course, in doing so we will continue to honor the station’s already deep commitment to serving the people of Long Island and the entire tri-state area.  We also look forward to having a bigger and better news bureau on Long Island that will be a terrific resource for WCBS.”

WLNY-TV is widely distributed by cable, satellite and other subscription television service providers in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area.  The station appears as either Channel 10 or Channel 55 on most channel lineups and Channel 55 as an over-the-air service.

Once the acquisition of WLNY-TV has been finalized, CBS will own duopolies in 10 markets, including New York, Los Angeles,Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, Boston, Detroit, Miami, Sacramento and Pittsburgh.  Currently, the CBS Television Stations group includes 28 stations, including 16 that are part of the CBS Television Network, eight affiliates of The CW Network, two independent stations and two MyNetworkTV affiliates.

USA, New York, NY

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