Perfect World to acquire online game developer Cryptic Studios from Atari

May 31, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Perfect World, a leading online game developer and operator based in China, is toacquire Cryptic Studios, a California-based online game developer from Atari, the sole shareholder of Cryptic Studios. Perfect World will pay approximately €35 million in cash, subject to working capital and other adjustments.

“We are very pleased to sign the agreement to acquire Cryptic Studios,” commented Mr. Michael Chi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Perfect World. “This strategic acquisition will add attractive game titles to our portfolio, which will help us further penetrate into the U.S. and global online game markets.  More importantly, Cryptic Studios’ highly reputable development team and its technology platform will further strengthen our well-established R&D capabilities.  We deem this as another noteworthy achievement of our global expansion efforts.”

“With the acquisition by Perfect World, Cryptic has found a strong platform for continued expansion into free to play business model and growth in the global marketplace,” said Jim Wilson, CEO of Atari. “The divestiture of Cryptic is in line with Atari’s continued focus on key owned and third-party strategic franchises and expansion into emerging game platforms.”

China, Beijing & USA, Los Gatos, CA

 

 

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SMA Alliance buys social networking sites bizwrk.com and palwow.com

May 31, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Lead generation business SMA Alliance  is to acquire two social networking sites with approximately 251,000 members for an undisclosed amount. The purchase of the social networking site bizwrk.com and palwow.com allows a sufficient base for research and development of SMA’s technology in the employment sector.

SMA plans to enter additional sectors with its lead generation software and applications, specifically targeting the Search and Placement Sales sub-sector of the Employment Staffing industry in the U.S. The Employment Search and Placement Sales industry generates approximately $8 billion of $62 billion annually, according to American Staffing Association.

The combined sites, under bizwrk.com, would allow employers to place employment ads and have those job opportunities be presented directly to the social members according to their employment qualifications. The business and revenue models will be presented after the R&D phase is complete.

“We know how to sell our products and believe we can make a significant impact on improving local unemployment nationwide. Let’s get America working,” said Anthony Baker, President of SMA.

This project should be in R&D for approximately 90 days.

USA, Nashville, TN

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France: Match.com announces planned public offer for all outstanding shares of Meetic S.A.

May 30, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Dating website Match.com, an operating business of IAC, is to launch a voluntary public tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Meetic S.A. at a price of euro 15.00 per share in cash. The offer price represents a premium of approximately 11.6% on the closing price of Meetic shares on May 27, 2011.

Match.com owns approximately 27% of the outstanding shares of Meetic, which it obtained when it combined its European businesses with Meetic in 2009.

“Today we are announcing a big step forward in strengthening our partnership with Meetic and aligning the companies for even greater growth,” said Greg Blatt, CEO of IAC.  “We believe people will increasingly meet online, and increasing our ownership stake allows us to leverage our commitments to product, marketing and technology innovation in the space across Europe.  Meetic has done a fantastic job realizing the synergies from the 2009 merger, and now we believe we can apply the same lessons learned in revitalizing Match.com’s growth trajectory in the U.S. beginning in 2009.”

Marc Simoncini, Meetic’s founder and Chairman, has entered into a binding agreement to tender in the offer approximately 3.7 million shares, representing approximately 16% of the total number of shares outstanding.  Mr. Simoncini will retain the balance of his stake (approximately 1.6 million shares, representing approximately 7% of the total number of shares outstanding) and intends to remain on Meetic’s Board.

Philippe Chainieux, Meetic Group’s Executive Vice President, said, “Meetic’s Executive Committee fully supports this transaction which, considering the globalization of the dating and matchmaking business, will offer Meetic new growth opportunities with the implementation of existing financial and industrial synergies between Match and Meetic.”

Match expects to file the public offer with the French Securities Regulator (Autorite des marches financiers) within two to three weeks.  The offer will not be subject to a minimum tender condition.

Meetic is a French stock corporation, with its registered office in Paris.  It’s online dating business is established in 16 European countries, and is available in 13 languages. In 2010, Meetic posted sales of euro 186.0mand an EBITDA margin of 20.6%.  Meetic is listed in Compartment B of Euronext Paris of the NYSE Euronext.   Match does not intend to de-list the Company following completion of the tender offer.

Match.com has experienced record growth over the last year. Core revenue increased 18% to $93.3 million in first quarter 2011, driven by a 22% increase in subscribers. Through its subsidiary Match Pegasus, Match owns approximately 6.1 million shares of Meetic, representing approximately 27% of Meetic’s outstanding shares.  These shares were obtained in a 2009 transaction merging the European operations of Match.com and Meetic.

USA, New York, NY & France, Paris

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Glam Media has acquired BabyWorld

May 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Glam Media has acquired BabyWorld community site, a purchase that’s meant to both spur the company’s growth in the “family/parenting” vertical and solidify its presence in the UK. Details of the deal were not disclosed.

Babyworld, a commercial online magazine for the expectant and new parent community, was started in 1996 by Radcliffe Medical Press. The company describes itself as “an interactive ‘one-stop shop’ resource where our parent community can attend our unique on-line antenatal classes, seek advice, make friends and share experiences, birth stories and information in the discussion forums. They can also read articles, find product information and product reviews as well as shop in our online shop.”

It is being reported that Glam is preparing for an IPO. Glam Media raised its fifth round of venture capital last year – $50 million from aeris CAPITAL. The company did not disclose the valuation of the round, but it was rumoured to be around $750 million.

USA, Brisbane, CA & UK, London

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KKR to Acquire Ipreo from VSS

May 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. L.P. (together with its affiliates, “KKR”) has signed a definitive agreement with private investment firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson (“VSS”) whereby an affiliate of KKR will acquire Ipreo Holdings LLC, a premier global provider of capital markets related data, market intelligence, and productivity solutions. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Ipreo is a sophisticated capital markets and corporate analytics firm managed and staffed by many of the most knowledgeable, creative and client-focused people in the industry. We see great potential for growth and are excited to partner with an industry leader with Ipreo’s depth of experience and reputation for service,” Thomas Uger, Director of KKR, said.

Ipreo is a leading provider of market intelligence, deal execution platforms, and investor communication tools to investment banks and corporations around the world. Ipreo is privately held, with a significant portion of the company owned by management and employees. Ipreo clients include hundreds of corporations listed on all the major exchanges around the globe.

Ipreo is the only provider of new issuance software solutions across the equity, fixed income, and municipal markets, including bookbuilding systems, roadshow & conference management platforms, and electronic document delivery. In addition, the company is known for its Bigdough database, widely recognized as the leading source for institutional contact data and investor profiles, which is available via a suite of sophisticated CRM and prospecting applications and relied upon by both capital markets and investor relations professionals to facilitate effective investor outreach initiatives.

“KKR is a leading global investment firm with a track-record of partnering with world-class enterprises; it’s very exciting for us to have their support,” said Scott Ganeles, Chief Executive Officer of Ipreo. “This is a new chapter in our history, and it is an endorsement of our success to date and a validation of our employees’ commitment to ensuring our clients have the best tools, analysis, and insights to enable them to achieve their capital raising goals.”

USA, New York, NY


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Evolve Media Corp. acquires WholesomeBabyFood.com

May 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Evolve Media Corp., an integrated digital media company, has acquired WholesomeBabyFood.com, which will become a part of Momtastic, a leading online destination and community for American moms.

WholesomeBabyFood.com features fresh, fast and simple homemade baby food recipes & easy guides on introducing solid foods to babies. The site was founded by Margaret Meade in 2003 out of a desire to provide healthy food for her twin boys. The content of the website combines pediatric and nutrition advice, medical recommendations and motherly knowledge of food, in order to create recipes that inspire parents to make their own baby food. WholesomeBabyFood.com is the number one searched site for “baby food” on the web and reaches 510,000 monthly unique visitors (Google Analytics, March 2011).

“WholesomeBabyFood.com is the epitome of a premium content rich site with a mommy blogger voice which is exactly what Momtastic offers to moms,” says Mike Dodge, President of AtomicOnline, Evolve’s publishing division. “Adding WholesomeBabyFood to the Momtastic family allows us to offer our community as well as marketers more in depth content surrounding parenting, health and food.”

“I am thrilled to have WholesomeBabyFood become a part of Momtastic,” says Margaret Meade, Founder, Creator, and Contributor to WholesomeBabyFood.com. “I look forward to seeing how Momtastic takes WholesomeBabyFood to the next level by adding mobile, social and video features to our existing strong content.”

totallyher, Evolve’s female vertically-focused online branded sales company, will continue to lead all sales efforts for Momtastic including WholesomeBabyFood.com by creating custom integrated marketing programs incorporating mobile, video, social media and rich display products.

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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Yahoo! to acquire 5to1 Holding Corp

May 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Yahoo! has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 5to1 Holding Corp. 5to1 is an online advertising alliance consisting exclusively of major media publishers. Built on a proprietary publisher-controlled platform, 5to1 offers top brand advertisers premium inventory at mass scale. The acquisition of 5to1 will enable Yahoo! to build upon its publisher partnerships and expand its premium inventory.

“5to1’s innovative platform and premium private marketplace will further enable Yahoo! to extend our advertising leadership,” said Wayne Powers, SVP, Advertising Sales for the North America region. “5to1 provides additional access to publishers and unlocks the value of unsold inventory for premium brand advertisers.”

5to1 focuses on premium brands and media partnered in a marketplace environment, enabling major media publishers to fill unsold inventory with premium advertisements. 5to1 works with more than 20 premium publishers.

“We’re thrilled for our media partners that Yahoo! is backing our platform and the alliance,” said James Heckman, 5to1 CEO and co-founder. “The 5to1 team is looking forward to joining Yahoo! at the close of the transaction and being part of its global reach.”

Yahoo! expects to close the acquisition in the second quarter. After the close of the transaction, the 5to1 team will be joining Yahoo! as part of the Ad Marketplaces group.

USA, Sunnyvale, CA

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Pricetector acquires price-alert services business Price Protectr

May 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Pricetector, a private Social Loyalty company, has acquired price-alert services business Price Protectr LLC for an undisclosed sum.

“Priceprotectr.com has earned great recognition for having saved consumers millions of dollars through their innovative price-alert services,” said Rob Levy, Pricetector Founder and CEO.  “We look forward to incorporating their technology into our Social Loyalty platform.  Current and future users can expect major enhancements in the coming months that will make it easier for consumers to save more money in more ways.”

As part of the transition, the Price Protectr team will stay on as strategic consultants as Pricetector makes final its preparations for launch.

“We are thrilled to be working with Pricetector and are looking forward to their launch later this year,” said Price Protectr CEO,James Wallace. “Price Protectr will live on as the foundation for Pricetetor’s Social Loyalty platform.”

“Early in our engagement, they saw our innovative approach to helping people save money,” said Tim Tonella, President of Price Protectr. He continued, “With the additional capital and resources that Pricetector brings, the value of the platform can grow exponentially.”

“Price Protectr has been our pride and joy for a long time,” said Dave Cohen, Price Protectr co-founder and CTO. “We look forward to this next phase being even more successful than the last.”

The acquisition heralds Pricetector’s strategic and aggressive investment in preparation to launch and lead the Social Loyalty revolution.  The U.S. retail market is over $1.8 trillion per year. Unveiling later in 2011, Pricetector intends to fundamentally change the relationship between retailers and their customers by creating a platform that rewards both the retailer and the consumer and creates a sustained mutually beneficial relationship.

USA, Los Gatos, CA


 

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Wolters Kluwer Health completes the acquisition of Lexi-Comp

May 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Wolters Kluwer Health has completed the acquisition of Lexi-Comp, a leading provider of drug information and clinical content for pharmacists, clinicians and hospitals internationally. The intent to acquire Lexi-Comp was previously reported on Fusion DigiNet. The acquisition is the latest in a series of strategic acquisitions Wolters Kluwer Health has made in its Clinical Solutions business as part of the company’s strong focus on the point-of-care market.

Arvind Subramanian, President & CEO of Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions said, “This acquisition is very much aligned with our growth strategy of building out our strong portfolio of Clinical Decision Support (CDS) solutions to further our leadership position in the point-of-care market. This strategy will enable our customers to access leading clinical content, drug information for the retail and hospital pharmacies and innovative mobile offerings.”

Lexi-Comp provides services and content to nearly 1,500 hospitals internationally, has more than 1,700 drug monographs and is particularly strong in the area of mobile content for pharmacists and clinicians. To support and supplement effective clinician-patient interactions, Lexi-Comp also provides patient medication leaflets in 19 languages. The company is headquartered nearCleveland, Ohio and has approximately 150 employees.

Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

USA, Philadelphia, PA

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GameFly acquires Direct2Drive.com from IGN Entertainment

May 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

GameFly, the online video game rental subscription service, has acquired IGN Entertainment‘s Direct2Drive.com (D2D), a digital distributer of video games. D2Dwill continue to offer PC and Mac titles for gamers to purchase and download digitally. As part of the transaction, IGN will gain a minority equity stake in GameFly, but will play no direct role in GameFly’s operations or governance.  News Corporation will take an observer seat on GameFly’s board. Terms of the deal are not disclosed.

“We’re very excited to bring the D2D team onboard at GameFly and expand our ability to deliver games to consumers,” saidDavid Hodess, CEO of GameFly. “Only GameFly can offer a complete library of physical and digital games for the PC, Mac and consoles in one place.”

“GameFly has been an innovator in the video games industry, and it continues to evolve with the expansion of its digital offering. We’re excited to continue working and partnering with GameFly moving forward,” said Jorge Espinel, EVP of Strategy and Corporate Development for News Corp. Digital Media Group and GameFly’s board observer.

USA, Los Angeles, CA

 

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