Kenergy Scientific to acquire online game show iwonitlive.com

March 2, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

NJ-Kenergy Scientific has completed a Letter of Intent to acquire all of the assets of I Won It Live Enterprises. These assets include all intellectual property, including trademarks, domain name and an operating on line game show that offers both unique advertising opportunities and revenue generating opportunities for Kenergy.

The website, http://www.iwonitlive.com is believed to be the first website to offer members instant prizes for winning on line games where players play live against other contestants. Mr. Michael Johnson, a successful pioneer in creative internet businesses, developed the concept in 1999 and recently developed and expanded the site. The current membership is growing daily and the site is expected to generate positive cash flow this year. The site affords Kenergy a continuous advertising opportunity to promote both the http://www.greensmartstore.com website, as well as store advertising. Kenergy and other companies will provide prizes and receive additional advertising at the games in the form of promotional presentations. Other companies will pay small advertising fees per game that are expected to grow rapidly.

Ken Glynn, President of Kenergy Scientific, stated that he would not attempt this venture without new personnel on the team and he also announced that two of the founders and the technical support team of I WON IT LIVE Enterprises will be coming on board to fully operate the website. Mike Johnson will be serving as CEO for the website and salaries will be based solely on commissions from site revenues. The acquisition costs will be payable over one year and will likely be fully paid from the site revenues. Glynn welcomed Johnson and his support team to the table and expects the transaction to be completed shortly.

USA, Flemington, NJ

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UBM disposes of French medical print business

March 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

United Business Media has sold its French medical newspaper and magazine business to a management buyout team led by Gérard Kouchner, the business’s Chief Executive since 2005.  UBM has sold the business on behalf of its UBM Medica division and will retain a 37.1% equity stake.  The cash consideration was €4.4m and UBM has extended vendor finance of €6m to the management buyout team, valuing the transaction at €13m on an enterprise basis.

The business publishes weekly, bi-weekly, monthly and other subscription and controlled circulation titles for the French healthcare professional community.  It also has a number of smaller print media and customised marketing products for the French medical community.  In 2010 the business generated revenues of approximately €40m and employed around 170 staff at its Paris premises.

UK, London & France, Paris

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UBM disposes of UK licensed trade portfolio

March 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

United Business Media is disposing of its UK licensed trade portfolio to William Reed for an initial cash consideration of £1.5m and further deferred performance-related consideration of up to £150,000. UBM is selling the portfolio on behalf of its UBM Connect division. The transaction is expected to close within a month, subject to the conclusion of a TUPE consultation process.

The sale of the portfolio – which comprises The Publican print magazine title, websites and awards event, together with the Theme and Bar Show brands – augments William Reed’s existing portfolio serving this market.

This transaction involves a total of 14 staff transfering to William Reed in accordance with the application of TUPE.

UK, London & West Sussex

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UBM acquires Indian travel tradeshow SATTE

March 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

United Business Media has acquired SATTE, India’s largest travel and tourism exhibition. UBM has acquired the event on behalf of UBM Asia from Cross Section Publications Pvt Ltd.

Launched 17 years ago, SATTE  takes place each January in New Delhi and is now India’s largest travel and tourism event. The show performed strongly in 2011 attracting approximately 600 exhibitors and 9,300 attendees from more than 40 countries. SATTE has progressively expanded beyond its original focus on inbound travel to India and now also supports the outbound market. This reflects the rapid rise of domestic Indian spending on international travel. The 2011 edition of SATTE took place on 27 January.

SATTE is supported by T3, the leading controlled circulation monthly publication for the Indian travel indusry and which is an official publication at many of India’s travel industry events. T3 contributed around 15% of the business’s $1.6m revenues in 2010. Completion of the acquisition of T3 is subject to Indian regulatory approval. Approval is expected to be granted by the end of April. As at 31 March 2010, SATTE’s gross assets were £630,000.

Navin Berry, SATTE’s founder, owner and publisher of Cross Section will remain with the business post-completion. In addition to Mr Berry, the business employs 12 staff in New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.

The acquisition is anticipated to exceed UBM’s cost of capital criterion in its first full year of ownership.

Jimé Essink, President & Chief Executive Officer of UBM Asia said, “The acquisition of SATTE brings us a leading position in India’s rapidly-growing travel and tourism industry and adds to our portfolio of tradeshows in India where we are already one of the country’s largest commercial event organisers. We are committed to continuing to invest in and expand our business in India, leveraging UBM’s existing worldwide interests in the travel and aviation markets.”

India, New Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalor

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UBM to acquire stake in Famdent, India’s largest dental exhibition and conference business

March 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

United Business Media has agreed to form a joint venture with Drs Anil and Jyotika Arora to operate the Famdent dental exhibition and conference business in India. UBM will own 60% of the Famdent business, with the remainder of the business being owned by Drs Anil and Jyotika Arora. The transaction is expected to complete in the next three months. UBM is forming the joint venture on behalf of its UBM Medica business.

Established 11 years ago, Famdent (www.famdent.com) launched its first event for the professional dentistry community in Mumbai in 2005, adding its Delhi event in 2009. The shows combine exhibition and conference elements, between them attracting more than 120 exhibitors, 2,200 conference delegates and 3,300 exhibition visitors. The success of Famdent’s events reflects the rapid expansion of the Indian dentistry profession, estimated to be a $120 million industry and growing 15-20% annually. There are more than 100,000 qualified dentists currently practising in India, with around 13,000 new dentists entering the market each year from 191 dental colleges. India’s major cities now have approximately 12,000 dental clinics.

Famdent’s events are supported by an eponymous clinical dental publication which has a controlled circulation of up to 12,000 copies per quarter. The publication contributed around 30% of the business’ revenues in 2010.

Famdent’s founders, Drs Anil and Jyotika Arora, will remain with the business following the formation of the joint venture, together with a further 13 employees. For the year ended 31 March 2010, the business generated revenues of approximately £0.4 million. Its gross assets were £0.3m.

UBM’s investment in the joint venture is anticipated to provide a return in excess of UBM’s cost of capital criterion in its first full year of operation.

Henry Elkington, Chief Executive of UBM Medica said: “The creation of our Famdent joint venture brings us a leading position in India’s rapidly-growing dental industry. I look forward to working with Anil and Jyotika Arora to grow the Famdent shows and to extend them to new territories across India and Asia. With our expanded platform in this space, we will also seek to broaden our offering in other Indian medical exhibition and conference markets.”

India, Mumbai

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Qype acquires Coupon Provider and Launches QypeDeals.com

March 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Consumer reviews and recommendations site, Qype has added coupons and discount vouchers to its business through the acquisition of Munich based CooleDeals.de, Germany’s third largest coupon and voucher business after Groupon and DailyDeals. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Outlining this latest move Ian Brotherston, CEO at Qype said, “The coupons and vouchers model offers the perfect complement to our existing reviews and recommendation business. We are pleased that bringing the CooleDeals platform and expertise onboard will allow QypeDeals to rapidly extend our ability to deliver ever more value for our consumers and business partners. Qype has always had a major part to play as a positive community-led force demanding improved customer service, product quality and value for money for consumers through Europe” Brotherston continues,”I feel that adding the QypeDeals discount vouchers service through our acquisition of CooleDeals will only reinforce this as we all move forward together.”

Thomas Bernik, CooleDeals, “Blending together the Qype consumer content with our vouchers and discounts will provide a unique proposition in the marketplace and add significant value to our own existing customers, who will really benefit from this deal. We have seen huge growth in our business over the past 12 months and now as part of Qype I am expecting that as demand for discounts and vouchers continues to explode, QypeDeals will become the dominant force through 2011 and beyond”

Germany, Hamburg & Munich

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The New York Times Company sells UCompareHealthCare.com to MDx Medical

March 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

The New York Times Company has sold its UCompareHealthCare.com unit to MDxMedical, Inc., parent company of Vitals.com. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

UCompareHealthCare.com (“UCompare”), based in Marlborough, Mass., provides dynamic Web-based interactive tools to help consumers both measure the quality of and find healthcare services, healthcare providers and healthcare facilities.

“Combined, the UCompare and Vitals.com Web sites are visited more than 100 million times annually by patients. They use the sites to make more informed and intelligent decisions about their doctors, hospitals and other healthcare facilities,” said Mitch Rothschild, co-founder and CEO of MDx Medical. “With this acquisition, we’ll have the scale to make health care access simpler and more transparent for the consumer-patient. We’ll be introducing powerful Web-based and mobile applications so patients can access better quality care more conveniently.”

The Times Company acquired UCompareHealthCare.com in March 2007.

USA, New York, NY, Marlborough, MA & Lyndhurst, NJ

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MXGI acquires CyberAction

March 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

CyberAction, the Digital Trading Cards business, has been acquired by Media Exchange Group, a leading cross-platform mobile digital publisher. CyberAction will retain its name and become the Brand Name behind Media Exchange Group’s existing technology for digital trading cards. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“With the technological infrastructure and distribution capabilities we have in place, we can finally take Christian’s vision for the CyberAction Trading Card to a level that simply wasn’t feasible before,“ says Joe Cellura, Chairman of Media Exchange Group.

Los Gatos, CA

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Reed Exhibitions acquires Brazil’s Multiplus Fairs and Events

February 28, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Reed Exhibitions Brazil has acquired Multiplus Fairs and Events, adding a strategically vital component to its growing global energy portfolio while also opening the door to new markets within the expanding Brazilian economy.

Multiplus, located in Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo State, organizes the leading ethanol manufacturing event in Brazil – Fenasucro – as well as the co-located agri-industrial event Agrocana. The company also works with Unica (Brazil’s sugarcane industry association) to produce the Brasil Ethanol Tradeshow alongside the association’s ethanol conference in Sao Paulo. In the northeastern city of Pernambuco, Multiplus produces a third event related to sugar cane and ethanol, Sucronor.

Brazil is the second largest producer of ethanol fuel after the USA and the world’s largest ethanol exporter. In 2009, Brazil produced 38% of the world’s total ethanol used as fuel and according to the Brazil Institute the country is the world’s “first sustainable bio-fuel economy.” At present, 90 percent of all new cars produced in Brazil run on “flex fuel.” According to the Brazil Ministry of Agriculture, as many as 100 new ethanol production plants will be built by 2014 to keep pace with demand. Nearly eight million hectares of sugar cane are under cultivation, but Unica expects this to increase to 14 million hectares by 2020.

“Multiplus is an important step in securing our position in the broader energy market of Brazil and, just as important, it is a key strategic element in our global renewable energy strategy,” said Chet Burchett, President of Reed Exhibitions Americas and a member of the company’s global board. “And Multiplus also puts us into important markets in Brazil’s Northeast and the interior of Sao Paulo State, with management that has proven its ability to launch and manage brands across a variety of industry sectors. That’s important in our long-term growth goals for Brazil.”

Reed Exhibitions has been active in Brazil since 1997, but in 2007 the company embarked on an aggressive plan for growth with the acquisition of a majority interest in Alcantara Machado and the formation of Reed Exhibitions Alcantara Machado (RXAM). Overnight, Reed became the largest tradeshow organizer in Brazil. In 2009, the selective acquisition of MG Media added the oil & gas-related Brazil Offshore to the RXAM portfolio of events as well as Salao Duas Rodas, the leading motorcycle event that joined the existing portfolio of Solao do Automovel (Brazil’s #1 auto show) and Fenetran, the country’s top truck and transportation event.

“Our goals for acquisition in Brazil are focused on strategic value. We already have the scale necessary for market leadership. Now, we are working a long-term plan with a clear understanding of where we want to play and how we intend to win,” Burchett said.

The addition of Multiplus opens the door to the furniture market in Brazil for Reed as well, with Movexpo e Brasil in Recife (the largest event in its sector in Brazil’s Northeast); Movinter, which is moving from Mirassol to Sao Paulo in 2012; and Salao Abimovel in Sao Paulo which Multiplus organizes on a management contract for the Moverergs, the furniture trade association.

Other events acquired as part of the deal include niche industrial services tradeshows (Forind and Forind Nordeste) in Sao Paulo and Recife, respectively, and a food service technology event (FFATIA) in Goiania, located in Brazil’s central western region.

Multiplus principals Augusto Balieiro and Fernando Barbosa will remain with the company and provide ongoing management of the existing events and new launches. Headquarters for the operation and its 38 employees will remain in Ribeirao Preto. Multiplus will report to Juan Pablo de Vera, who oversees RXAM as its president and is the senior executive for RX Brazil.

Sao Paulo

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Motorola Mobility invests in Catch Media

February 25, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Motorola Mobility Holdings, through its strategic investment arm, Motorola Mobility Ventures has made a strategic investment in Catch Media Inc., the provider of a patented licensed digital rights locker platform – Play Anywhere.

Catch Media’s patented registry, tracking, routing and clearinghouse technology, together with its unique post-acquisition license, provides retailers, carriers and consumer electronics vendors the ability to offer their customers legal and convenient access to their digital content from disparate devices – smartphones, tablets, set-tops, connected TVs and other connected devices inside and outside the home.

“Instant and easy access to music and video collections from any device, any place and at any time has become a necessity for consumers,” said Mony Hassid, managing director, Motorola Mobility Ventures. “Catch Media’s innovative B2B platform gives consumers the ubiquitous access they crave while compensating the content owners, content distributors and every other party that contributes to the ecosystem.”

“Teaming up with Motorola Mobility is very exciting for us and adds the support and expertise of a leading vendor for cellular carriers and Cable/Telco operators to the Play Anywhere® ecosystem,” said Yaacov Ben-Yaacov, co-founder and CEO of Catch Media. “Motorola Mobility’s support will enable our platform to be more tightly integrated across their devices.”

Ari Emanuel, Co-CEO of WME Entertainment, a strategic investor in Catch Media and one of the largest and most diversified Hollywood talent agencies, said, “Catch Media stands at the forefront of digital media companies seeking to offer consumers maximum convenience while ensuring that all the stakeholders in the process, including the actors, directors and content owners, share in the revenues generated. Motorola Mobility’s investment and guidance will serve as an important catalyst in the launch of Catch Media’s Play Anywhere services.”

Catch Media’s Play Anywhere system was rolled out with Best Buy Europe in Q4 2010 through a service called “Music Anywhere” offered by The Carphone Warehouse in the UK, and is expected to be rolled out in the U.S. in early 2011 in cooperation with the music industry. Catch Media will continue to work closely with the content industry to offer legal media cloud services that ensure rights holders are compensated as content is consumed across disparate devices.

USA, Libertyville, IL & Beverly Hills, CA

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