Accenture Agrees to Acquire Mackevision

AccentureAccenture has entered into an agreement to acquire Germany-based Mackevision, a leading global producer of 3D-enabled and immersive product content. The acquisition will add state-of-the-art visualization capabilities to Accenture Interactive’s digital services portfolio – strengthening its ability to create compelling, next-generation customer experiences and industrial, extended reality applications. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Mackevision’s creation, visualization and production services are used for online product configurators, digital and print catalogues, virtual showrooms, point-of-sale kiosks, augmented and virtual reality experiences, as well as broadcast video and feature films. Mackevision has developed a differentiated ability to leverage engineering data to construct ‘digital twins’ of complex physical products. By applying the latest techniques in CGI, visual effects and AR/VR, Mackevision can generate nearly any type of visual content from these twins – effectively turning engineering data into immersive product experiences and virtual applications. This highly-specialized approach has the potential to transform product design as well as fuel the next generation of consumer experiences.

Mackevision has earned international acclaim for its work on the HBO Series “Game of Thrones” – for which it was awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Visual Effects. The company’s high-end creative and visual effects capability is especially relevant in the growing field of extended reality, where life-like models and environments are considered critical to creating fully-immersive experiences.

Brian Whipple, head of Accenture Interactive, said, “Mackevision’s capabilities will add a whole new dimension of content innovation to our portfolio of services. The ‘digital twin’ concept has massive implications not only from a scaled media production and marketing standpoint, but also for our broader vision of helping clients render the most compelling experiences possible.”

Ireland, Dublin & Germany, Stuttgart

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Hearst completes acquisition of Rodale magazine and book businesses

HearstThe publisher Hearst has finalised the acquisition of global health and wellness content company Rodale’s magazine and book businesses, announced in October 2017. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With 93 editions in 64 countries, Rodale is credited with having launched the organic movement in the U.S. in 1942, and publishes many established health and wellness lifestyle brands, including Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Prevention, Rodale’s Organic Life, Runner’s World and Bicycling. Rodale Books is known for conversation-changing titles including Former Vice President Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz’s Onward and Dave Asprey’s The Bulletproof Diet. Upon completion of the acquisition, Rodale’s multi-platform content business will be managed by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst with more than 300 editions and websites around the world.

Hearst Magazines President David Carey said, “Maria Rodale has grown her family’s business into a peerless authority that reaches an enormous audience. Hearst and Rodale are already publishing partners around the world, including the U.K., the Netherlands and Japan, and we’ve seen first-hand how the content resonates. We are pleased to add them and all of Rodale’s brands to our vibrant and varied global portfolio, providing readers with dependable information and offering marketers unbeatable scale and a trustworthy environment in the increasingly important health and wellness space.”

United States, New York, NY & Emmaus, PA

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Endeavor acquires marketing agency 160over90

WMEEndeavor, the new name for the entertainment conglomerate formed after WME’s acquisition of IMG, has agreed to acquire branding and marketing agency 160over90 from private equity firm Searchlight Capital Partners. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

160over90 handles branding and marketing for a number of colleges, sports teams and brands, including Ferrari, the Indianapolis Colts, the Philadelphia Eagles, UCLA and Under Armour. The agency, which has about 180 employees, will be housed within Endeavor Global Marketing, the division that in recent years has acquired experiential agencies IMG LIVE and Fusion Marketing, as well as public relations firm Catalyst. Endeavor also has a stake in ad agency darling Droga5.

Mark Shapiro, co-president of WME and IMG, which still exist as independent businesses within Endeavor, said, “As the business continues to move away from the 30-second spot and into a full-fledged focus on experiences, we want to be fully armed and stand out with a unique platform. The 160over90 agency can enhance the platforms and channels and content that we are creating and producing for our clients, from Hollywood to sports.”

USA, New York, NY & Philadelphia, PA

RTL Group acquires United Screens

RTLThe RTL Group has fully acquired United Screens, the leading multi-platform network in the Nordic countries. The transaction, which closed on 2 January 2018, provides for a price of SEK 120 million (€12.4 million) on a debt and cash-free basis subject to usual post-closing adjustments. Additionally, RTL Group plans to invest SEK 25 million (€2.6 million) to fund the company’s growth plan across the Nordic region.

United Screens generates over 500 million video views a month on YouTube and represents hundreds of influencers in music, lifestyle and entertainment across all social media platforms. The company was founded by Malte Andreasson, Stina Bergfors and Bonnier Ventures in 2013 and is based in Stockholm, Sweden, with offices in Oslo, Norway and Helsinki, Finland. Bonnier Ventures financed the company since the early start. Before the foundation of United Screens, Malte Andreasson worked as Scheduling Director for the Swedish channel TV4, while Stina Bergfors was the Country Director for Google and YouTube in Sweden. Malte Andreasson continues to head United Screens as CEO.

RTL Group CEO Bert Habets, who has become Chairman of the Board of United Screens following the transaction, said: “This acquisition is another step in accelerating our ‘Total Video’ strategy, as United Screens strengthens our MPN presence in Europe. With our highly popular creators and leading market positions in each territory, RTL Group is the only European company to offer advertisers pan-European digital video campaigns in premium and brand-safe environments.”

Luxembourg & Sweden, Stockholm

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dmg events acquires Atticus events and hotel interior design series HI Design

dmg MEAAdmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa, a leading international events company, has acquired boutique business forum organiser Atticus Events’ HI Design portfolio. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Focused specifically on the interior design of luxury hotels, HI Design organises specialist business meetings between key buyers from currently active hotel projects and a curated selection of International FF&E suppliers. With each edition held in a different five star hotel location, HI Design events are currently run annually in Europe, Asia and MEA.

Matt Denton, President of dmg events Middle East, Asia & Africa, said, “The HI Design portfolio dovetails perfectly with the work our teams do with INDEX and the growing selection of Hotel Shows. The acquisition of HI Design gives us another way to serve our market, bringing suppliers together with buyers from four and five-star hotel projects in a well-controlled atmosphere primed for doing good business.”

UAE, Dubai & UK, Hertfordshire

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IMG acquires Exhibitions International

IMGIMG, subsidiary of US talent agency Endeavor, has acquired the global museum exhibition producer Exhibitions International, as well as its portfolio of events including King Tut: Treasures of the Golden Pharaoh (on which the two companies had previously collaborated), Pompeii: The Exhibition and Mummies of the World.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Exhibitions International will sit within IMG’s events division with arts and entertainment. Furthermore, John Norman, Exhibitions International’s founder and president, will become managing director of exhibitions for IMG Events. Norman’s team will also join IMG Events. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Stephen Flint Wood, SVP and managing director, Arts & Entertainment Events at IMG, said, “I had the pleasure of collaborating with John Norman when we staged Tutankhamun together in Australia in 2011. I quickly realised why John was regarded as the best in the business and was therefore delighted when we had the opportunity for him and the rest of his team to become part of the IMG family. As managing director, John will have the full support and resources of the global IMG network, and we in turn have a new opportunity to expand our world-class events offering.”

USA, New York, NY

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The News Lens acquires tech news website Inside

The News LensThe News Lens has acquired Inside, a tech-focused Chinese language news website, making TNL the first digital media startup in Taiwan to buy another one. The move will raise TNL to the top ranks of Asian digital news sources on technology. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With Inside, TNL’s lifestyle sub-brand ELD and the original Chinese-language news site TNL, the TNL group now reaches close to 8 million unique visitors a month. From its offices in Taipei and Hong Kong, TNL produces three other digital editions – Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and the English-language international edition.

TNL also welcomed a new angel investor, Felix Hong, manager of Nest (an Alphabet company) to the Taiwan office. Hong will serve as an adviser to TNL. With his extensive background in tech, the internet of things and the startup ecosystem within greater China, Hong will strengthen TNL’s presence in content distribution, international reach and content advisory. He will also help TNL to position and build Inside.

Joey Chung, TNL’s CEO and co-founder, said, “As we start our next stage strategy of gradually consolidating and introducing different verticals for our target audience with an eye on leveraging TNL’s existing sales, video, IT and international market presence, we are eager to broaden the content offerings and international audience reach of Inside, while using this initial integration experience as a template for acquiring or introducing future brands.”

Taiwan

Essence Ventures acquires Essence Communications from Time Inc.

EssenceEssence Ventures LLC, an independent African-American owned company focused on merging content, community and commerce, has acquired multi-platform media company Essence Communications Inc. from Time Inc. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The all black female executive team of Essence, including Essence President Michelle Ebanks, will have an equity stake in the business, reestablishing Essence as a 100% black-owned independent company.

Since its founding in 1970, Essence has advocated women’s empowerment and the diverse images and lifestyles of black women. Today, Essence is an international, omni-channel destination for diverse storytelling and original content comprising beauty, fashion, lifestyle, entertainment and culture.

Essence currently reaches a global audience of more than 16 million across its various platforms encompassing its signature print magazine; digital, video and social platforms; television specials, and live events, including the annual Essence Festival, a cultural celebration that debuted in 1995 and is now one of the country’s largest annual events, attracting more than 450,000 attendees.

Richelieu Dennis, founder and chairperson of Essence Ventures, said “We are excited to be able to return this culturally relevant and historically significant platform to ownership by the people and the consumers whom it serves and offer new opportunities for the women leading the business to also be partners in the business. We remain committed to leveraging our resources to provide opportunities for other culturally-rooted entrepreneurs and businesses that further our culture and create economic opportunities for our communities.”

USA, New York, NY

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Apple acquires app developer Buddybuild

AppleApple has acquired Buddybuild, a Vancouver-based app tools developer focused on continuous integration and debugging tools. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Buddybuild was founded in 2015 by former Amazon employees Dennis Pilarinos and Christopher Stott. In its nearly three years of existence, the startup has managed to raise around $8.8 million. Its existing customers includes Mozilla, Hootsuite, Reddit, SoundCloud, FourSquare and The New York Times.

As part of the acquisition, Buddybuild will be rolled into Xcode, Apple’s suite of development tools for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.

USA, San Francisco, CA & Vancouver, BC

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Bowmark Capital sells Law Business Research to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners

lbrLevine Leichtman Capital Partners has acquired Law Business Research (LBR), a provider of research, news, data and insight on international business law and legal markets, from Bowmark Capital.

LBR, which was established in 1996, was sold to Bowmark in 2013. The sale was managed by Fusion Corporate Partners on behalf of its original founders, Richard Davey, Callum Campbell and Sebastian O’Meara.

LBR creates content spanning 120 jurisdictions across its brands, serving a client base that comprises major corporations, government agencies and the global legal industry.  It is a information provider in fields such as competition law, arbitration law, cross-border investigations and Latin American corporate law.

Since Bowmark acquired the company, LBR has more than doubled its sales and profits.  It has added new territories and products, including two new titles, ’Global Investigations Review’ and ’Global Restructuring Review’, as well as a new workflow application, ’Arbitrator Research Tool’.  It has also significantly enhanced its technology platform and opened offices overseas.   During this period, employee numbers grew by 80 per cent.

Julian Masters, Bowmark senior partner, added: “The fact that 96 per cent of the world’s top law firms work with LBR is a tribute to the quality of the business and its management team.  The company is well-positioned to continue its strong record of success under its new owner.”

USA, Beverley Hills, CA & UK, London