Bigben Interactive acquires French games developer Cyanide for €20M

May 14, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Bigben interactive logoBigben Interactive has acquired Cyanide, a French studio developing video games for €20 million, obtaining 100% of the company’s shares and voting rights. In the wake of Bigben’s increased stake in the capital of the Kylotonn Racing studio, this transaction will allow the Group, until now a publisher and distributor of video games, to fully integrate the development phase of games.

The transaction is to be paid for half in cash and for half through the issue of Bigben new shares in order to remunerate the transfer of Cyanide shares (dilution ranging from 3.5% to 4.0% of Bigben’s current share capital).

In order to avoid any further dilution, Bigben also purchased all potential capital instruments on the day of the transaction for an additional € 1.1 million in cash.

An earn-out capped and based on the net profit of Cyanide (and its subsidiaries) for FY 2018-19 (as at 31 March 2019) may be paid in September 2019. The closing of the transaction is scheduled to take place in June 2018.

Created in 2000 by 7 seasoned developers of the video game industry, Cyanide is one of the French reference studios recognized for the development of creative video games in numerous genres (strategy, narrative, shooting, management, sport, action and adventure) as well as for the quality of its productions.

Based in France (Paris and Bordeaux) and in Canada with 110 employees on its payroll, the studio expects €6.1 million sales and a €1.9 million net profit for financial year 2017/2018 (closing on 31 March 2018, pending audit results).

Alain Falc, chairman and CEO of Bigben, said, “This acquisition is a capital milestone in Bigben’s strategy as it greatly enhances our ability to create new games that meet our ambitions in the AA segment. Bigben is also proud to welcome to its Group the talents of Cyanide, one of the most creative French studios in the sector and we will be supporting their upswing towards new, even more ambitious projects.”

France, Lesquin & Nanterre

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DMGT to recommend Silver Lake’s recommended cash offer for Zoopla

May 11, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

SilverLake ManagementZephyr Bidco, a subsidiary of Silver Lake Management Company V, and ZPG Plc, the owners of Zoopla, have reached agreement on the terms of a recommended cash acquisition of the entire share capital of ZPG Plc for 490p per ordinary share, a material premium to the volume weighted average price for the three month period ended 10 May 2018.

The Board of ZPG Plc, which includes two representatives of DMGT, intends to unanimously recommend this offer to ZPG Plc shareholders and DMGT has given an irrevocable undertaking to accept the offer in respect of its entire holding, amounting to 29.8% of ZPG Plc’s issued share capital.  If approved, the transaction will become effective in the third quarter of calendar year 2018.

DMGT has been invested in Zoopla Property Group since 2012, when DMGT’s online property business, the Digital Property Group, merged with Zoopla. DMGT subsequently held a 55% stake in the combined entity.  DMGT maintained its support through ZPG Plc’s IPO in 2014.

Paul Zwillenberg, Chief Executive, commented: “The recommended all cash offer for ZPG promises to deliver a very significant return for DMGT.  The sale of our stake, pending shareholder approval at ZPG, fits with our long track record of successfully identifying new opportunities, incubating young businesses and supporting their growth to create value for shareholders.”

USA, Menlo Park, CA & UK, London

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Content production company CreativeDrive acquires Zebra Worldwide

May 9, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

CreativeDriveIndependent global content production company CreativeDrive has acquired Zebra Worldwide to combine CreativeDrive’s network of over 150 studios in the U.S., Latin America, Asia and Europe with Zebra’s portfolio of video and content production and localization offices across London, Paris, Cape Town, Kiev and Sydney. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Zebra Worldwide was founded by Management Consultant Luke Hammersley and Creative Director/Writer Nic Franklin as a production company in May 2005. Zebra is a major international content partner for brands and agencies, providing still and moving image production, post-production, localisation and associated technology services through their office network. Through their independent client base and long-standing moving image localization partnership with adam&eve DDB, Zebra work with global brands such as Reckitt Benckiser, Hilton, Ryobi Powertools, Hotels.com, and in 2017 were live in over 100 markets internationally.

Zebra Worldwide will retain its identity in the short-term, eventually transitioning to become CreativeDrive EMEA in the coming months. Zebra Worldwide CEO and founder Luke Hammersley will become CreativeDrive EMEA CEO, reporting to CreativeDrive’s Global CEO, Myles Peacock. Nic Franklin becomes Creative Director and MD, Cape Town. Sarah Rose has been promoted from Finance Director to COO, EMEA.

CreativeDrive Global CEO Myles Peacock, said: “Zebra’s ability to deliver world class video and content production through their global teams and powerful localization platform addresses brands’ insatiable need for content that is customized for specific regions and cultures. The entire Zebra Worldwide team is a natural fit to both our existing culture and our mission to continuously challenge the status quo by consistently producing high-quality content with unparalleled speed and scale.”

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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Future completes the acquisition of four consumer titles from Haymarket  

May 2, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Future plcFuture plc has completed the acquisition of the specialist consumer titles of What Hi-Fi?, FourFourTwo, Practical Caravan and Practical Motorhome from Haymarket Media Group.

It was originally reported that Future would buy five titles from Haymarket. However, Future will not now be acquiring Stuff. The consideration has therefore been reduced to up to £13m, including the issuance of 370,708 shares which are subject to lock-up restrictions for three months from the date of issue.

The four remaining titles generated revenue of £9.6m in the last financial year to June 2017.

UK, Bath & London

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Future plc acquires five specialist consumer titles from Haymarket Media Group for £14M Posted on March 21, 2018

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Bloomsbury Publishing acquires IBT Tauris for £5.8M

May 1, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

BloomsburyBloomsbury Publishing Plc has acquired IBT Tauris & Co. Limited, the London-based academic publisher. The consideration was £5.8 million. £4.8m will be paid in cash at completion and up to £1.0m will be paid post-completion.

IBT has a publishing list in Middle East Studies, History, Politics and International Relations. Other subject areas in which it has a sizeable presence are Visual Culture, Classics, Ancient History and Religion. IBT has a back list of 4,000 titles and publishes about 200 new titles annually. Around 90% of sales are in print, so there is significant potential to grow digital revenues. IBT titles will be included within Bloomsbury’s digital resources. The business will operate within Bloomsbury’s Academic & Professional division.

IBT generated £4.3 million of revenue in the year ended 31 December 2017. The Acquisition is expected to make a small profit in its first year, before reorganisation and acquisition costs, then be earnings enhancing thereafter. It will contribute approximately £3.5 million of revenue to Bloomsbury in the year ending 28 February 2019.

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury commented: “The acquisition of IBT consolidates our significant presence in humanities and social science academic publishing. IBT’s complementary lists have good growth potential, especially with their inclusion within Bloomsbury’s Digital Resources strategy. This acquisition represents another key step in our strategy to continue to grow quality recurring revenues through our digital resource offering.”

UK, London

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Euromoney completes disposal of its Global Markets Intelligence Division (CEIC and EMIS)

May 1, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney plcEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC has completed the disposal of its Global Markets Intelligence Division, to a consortium of CITIC Capital Partners Management Limited, the private equity arm of CITIC Capital Holdings Limited, and Caixin Global Limited, for an equity value of $180.5 million.

Original reporting and further details here

UK, London & Hong Kong

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Kew Media Group to acquire Essential Quail Media Group

April 30, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Kew Media GroupKew Media Group Inc. has agreed to acquire Essential Quail Media Group for an initial purchase price of AUD$32.8 million (C$31.9 million based on the current CAD/AUD FX rate of approximately 0.972), comprised of AUD$20.0 million (C$19.4 million) in cash and AUD$12.8 million (C$12.4 million) in Class B shares of KEW valued at C$10.00 per share.

EQ Media combines several entities with aggregate pro forma revenue of over AUD$60 million (C$58 million). The initial purchase price represents a transaction multiple of approximately 3.2x EQ Media’s estimated Adjusted EBITDA of AUD$10.2 million (C$9.9 million) for its fiscal year ending June 30, 2018. The cash portion of the initial purchase price will be funded through cash on hand and KEW’s credit facilities. The vendors may receive additional consideration in the future, conditional upon EQ Media meeting certain financial targets and other tests, which are described below.

EQ Media is a leading independent producer of high quality content for international audiences operating from offices in Los Angeles and Dallas-Fort Worth in the U.S. and Sydney, Australia. EQ Media produces content in a variety of genres, particularly non-scripted television series, for broadcast customers worldwide. Buyers of EQ Media’s programming include DIY, HGTV, Cooking Channel, Animal Planet, ABC Australia, SBS, Foxtel Networks 7, 9 & 10, BBC, National Geographic, PBS, Discovery, Sundance, History Channel, Arte, Netflix and Fox Network. EQ Media also has a longstanding relationship with Scripps Networks (now part of Discovery Inc.), producing more than a dozen full series orders and pilots together.

Steven Silver, KEW Founder & CEO, said, “EQ Media is an exciting addition to the KEW group and the transaction purchase price is an attractive valuation for such a prominent content producer. We expect the acquisition to be immediately accretive to earnings and to free cash flow. In addition, we expect to generate meaningful synergies from the sale of additional EQ Media content through KEW’s global distribution platform.”

Canada, Toronto & USA, Los Angeles, CA

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Sinclair Broadcast Group to sell TV stations as part of Tribune acquisition

April 24, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

SinclairSinclair Broadcast Group Inc is selling 23 television stations to several companies after completing its $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media.

The sales are to obtain the necessary governmental approval of the Tribune transaction, the company said, as it has worked for months to win regulatory approval for the deal.

Chris Ripley, President and CEO of Sinclair, said, “After a very robust divestiture process, with strong interest from many parties, we have achieved healthy multiples on the stations we are divesting. While we continue to believe that we had a strong and supportable rationale for not having to divest stations, we are happy to announce this significant step forward in our plan to create a leading broadcast platform with local focus and national reach. The combined company will continue to advance industry technology, including the Next Generation Broadcast Platform, and to benefit from significant revenue and expense synergies”.

Standard Media Group, an affiliate of Standard General L.P., will acquire the following nine television stations in seven markets for $441.7 million in cash:

KOKH-TV, Oklahoma City, OK (affiliated to FOX)
WXMI, Grand Rapids-Kalamazoo-Battle Creek, MI (affiliated to FOX)
WPMT, Harrisburg-Lancaster-Lebanon-York, PA (affiliated to FOX)
WXLV-TV, Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem, NC (affiliated to ABC)
WRLH-TV, Richmond-Petersburg, VA (affiliated to FOX)
WOLF-TV (1), Wilkes Barre-Hazelton-Scranton, PA (affiliated to FOX)
WSWB (1), Wilkes Barre-Hazelton-Scranton, PA (affiliated to CW)
WQMY (1), Wilkes Barre-Hazelton-Scranton, PA (affiliated to MY)
KDSM-TV, Des Moines-Ames, IA (affiliated to FOX)
(1) Sinclair is not the licensee of these stations and will only be selling the assets of such stations that Sinclair owns, together with its right to purchase the licenses of the stations.

Meredith Corp will acquire CW-affiliated KPLR-11 in St. Louis for $65 million. Additionally, three stations are going to Howard Stirk and two are going to shared services agreement partner Cunningham Media. The buyer for the remaining seven stations is yet to be named.

USA, Hunt Valley, MD & Washington, WA & St Louis, MO & Baltimore, MD

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ITE sells metalworking exhibition Metaltech in Malaysia to UBM

April 24, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

ITEITE Group plc has sold TradeLink ITE Sdn. Bhd., the owner of Metaltech, the metalworking exhibition in Malaysia, to UBMMG Holdings Sdn. Bhd., a subsidiary of UBM plc for a total cash on completion consideration of MYR 23 million (£4.2m).

In the year to 30 September 2017, Tradelink ITE had gross assets of MYR 29.4m (£5.4m), reported a turnover of MYR 12.4m (£2.3m) and, due to non-recurring costs, made a loss before tax of MYR 1.7m (£0.3m).

Mark Shashoua, CEO, ITE Group plc said: “For the Metaltech team, this represents a logical and exciting development – their new parent has an existing business in Malaysia and can ensure the investment and continued success of the exhibition. I would like to thank our team in Malaysia for their contribution to ITE over the years and wish them well for the future.”

ITE acquired TradeLink in 2013.

UK, London & Malaysia

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DLT Entertainment acquires Vera Productions

April 24, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

DLT EntertainmentIndependent production and distribution company DLT Entertainment has acquired production company Vera Productions. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Through the deal Vera will continue to operate as a separate company under the DLT banner but will be wholly owned by DLT Entertainment. DLT will acquire Vera’s portfolio of extensive programming, approximately 300 hours in the catalogue, with series currently represented by a number of distributors.

Vera launched in 1994, and has since produced an extensive portfolio of award-winning shows including Bremner Bird and Fortune, three series of Getting On starring Jo Brand, Vicki Pepperdine, and Joanna Scanlan for BBC Four, four series of Alistair McGowan’s Big Impression for BBC One, six series of Mark Thomas Product and numerous Dispatches for Channel 4, including the recent President Trump’s Dirty Secrets, Politicians for Hire and How to Buy A Football Club. In addition, Vera has produced several pieces for Channel 4 News and created Big Trouble in Thailand for Bravo, and most recently produced Million Pound Jewellers for Channel 4 Arts and three episodes of Going Forward starring Jo Brand and Omid Djalili for BBC Four.

Donald Taffner Jr., President of DLT Entertainment, said, “We have had a long regard for the shows that Vera has produced […]. DLT are not in the production company aggregation business for growth and this acquisition does not signal a change in that philosophy, but welcomes Vera to the DLT family where we will provide business and financial support while Vera Productions will continue as the production entity for its programmes. It is a very exciting time.”

UK, London

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