BroadbandTV acquires YoBoHo

BBTV_Logo_black_writingMedia and technology business BroadbandTV (BBTV) has acquired kids content producer and publisher YoBoHo. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

YoBoHoYoBoHo owns and operates HooplaKidz, one of the largest YouTube Kids and Family networks, as well as 27 other channels. The company has a video library of over 8,000 videos mainly produced by the company. The vast majority of its content is original Intellectual Property. All 55 YoBoHo employees will join BBTV. RTL Group, the European entertainment network, provided funding for BroadbandTV’s acquisition of YoBoHo.

“We’re very pleased to conclude the acquisition of a top player in the kids space at a time when the kids content vertical is experiencing burgeoning growth,” said Shahrzad Rafati, BroadbandTV Founder and CEO. “BroadbandTV is also making a multi-million dollar investment in YoBoHo to further expand its library of original content, broaden its international footprint, and further diversify its revenue streams.”

Canada, Vancouver, British Colombia

IRI acquires Chinese market research organisation Datasea

IRI_logoInformation Resources, Inc. (IRI) has acquired Datasea, a Chinese analytic services and market research company with deep knowledge and expertise in the retail and consumer packaged goods industries.

“We are building a Chinese company powered by the latest global insights, analytics and technology and bringing the latest tools and technology to this market,” said Andrew Appel, president and chief executive officer, IRI. The agreement represents the most recent execution of IRI’s strategic commitment to dramatically increase our geographic footprint to meet the global market research needs of our clients. It also complements other facets of IRI’s strategic direction, including expanding our data assets and leveraging this data with advanced analytics, plus consumer and shopper marketing services that enable our clients to achieve sustained levels of more rapid growth. We look forward to integrating IRI and Datasea’s strengths to bring enhanced offerings to our clients.”

In 2013, IRI completed the acquisition of Aztec, a provider of market measurement and related services in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the U.K. It also acquired FreshLook Marketing, which offers data and consulting services to the fresh food industry, in 2013.

Founded in 1996, Datasea clients include consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers, as well as companies in related industries, such as quick service restaurants and cosmetics. It maintains offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Jinan, supported by a nationwide service network.

USA, Chicago, IL & China, Beijing

IHS acquires RootMetrics

ihs_logo_mpIHS Inc. has acquired mobile network analytics company RootMetrics. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

RootMetrics offers highly detailed network analytics on a subscription basis to mobile operators and infrastructure providers in the U.S. and U.K. The company will remain headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and will continue to operate with the RootMetrics brand name. The company employs rm-logo170 colleagues based mostly in the U.S., with a growing presence in the U.K.

USA, Englewood, CO & Bellevue, WA

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Market Track acquires New Momentum

MarketTrackMarket Track, a provider of advertising, promotional, and pricing intelligence solutions in North America, has acquired New Momentum (NewMo). The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

newmoBased in the San Francisco Bay area, NewMo provides online brand protection and eCommerce price monitoring services to many of the world’s most respected brands.

Commenting on the NewMo acquisition, Paul Salay, Market Track’s President, said, “NewMo has developed a proven expertise in helping companies reduce online fraud and protect their valuable brand equity. The unique combination of the two companies’ technology platforms coupled with NewMo’s unique, data-driven solutions will enable us to offer enhanced services to our clients through industry-leading innovation and thought leadership in this ever-changing digital landscape. The NewMo acquisition is just one of many investments Market Track is making to support our clients’ evolving needs across pricing optimization, competitive intelligence and assortment planning.”

USA, Chicago, IL & San Francisco Bay, CA

 

LinkedIn is to acquire lynda.com for around $1.5Bn

Screen Shot 2015-04-16 at 14.28.51LinkedIn is to acquire lynda.com, an online learning company teaching business, technology and creative skills. Based in Carpinteria, CA, lynda.com was co-founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin.

The transaction is valued at approximately $1.5 billion, approximately 52 percent cash and 48 percent stock and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015. Most members of the lynda.com team are expected to join LinkedIn.

Through a subscription to lynda.com’s service, individual members and organisations have access to a comprehensive collection of courses taught by industry experts, offered in English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese. In addition to individual subscribers, lynda.com serves corporate, government and educational organizations through its lyndaEnterprise, lyndaPro, lyndaCampus, lyndaLibrary and lyndaKiosk products.

“The mission of LinkedIn and the mission of lynda.com are highly aligned. Both companies seek to help professionals be better at what they do,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “lynda.com’s extensive library of premium video content helps empower people to develop the skills needed to accelerate their careers. When integrated with the hundreds of millions of members and millions of jobs on LinkedIn, lynda.com can change the way in which people connect to opportunity.”

Further Reading:

Ryan Roslansky, head of global content products at LinkedIn, blogged in more detail about the acquisition here. Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, wrote a post about the acquisition here, and Lynda Weinman, co-founder of lynda.com,  posted about it here.

Mountain View, CA & Carpinteria, CA

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Artexis Easyfairs – 5 acquisitions in Q1 2015

artexis easyfairsArtexis Easyfairs has announced 5 acquisition in the first quarter of 2015.

1. Easyfairs acquires Pack&Move Basel
24th March 20145

Artexis Easyfairs, through its Easyfairs Switzerland GmbH subsidiary, has acquired Pack&Move Basel from MCH Messe Basel. Easyfairs plans to bring together the two trade shows Pack&Move Basel and Transport&Logistics Bern, which will be co-located with Easyfairs’ three packaging events in Zürich. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The new Swiss logistics event will take place annually at Messe Zürich, with the first edition on 6th & 7th May 2016, alongside the established packaging events Empack, Packaging Innovations and Label&Print.

Belgium, Brussels & Switzerland, Basel

2. Easyfairs acquires Northeral
20th March 2015

Easyfairs has acquired Northeral, organiser of Algiers based Maghreb Pharma Expo, the largest pharmaceutical technology trade show in Africa. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Matt Benyon, Head of UK and Global at Easyfairs, added, “We were very impressed by the rapid success of Maghreb Pharma Expo. Since its launch in 2012, it has grown to attract 167 international exhibitors and over 1600 visitors. We see great synergies in combining Northeral’s local expertise with Easyfairs’ experience in launching and geo-cloning events.”

Belgium, Brussels and Algiers

3. Easyfairs acquires Tank Storage Magazine
10th March 2015

Easyfairs has acquired Tank Storage Magazine. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Tank Storage Magazine is a publication for the tank storage market, covering breaking news, market analysis, policy and regulations affecting the industry as well as new products and equipment. The print edition is sent to readers in 80 countries globally including Oiltanking, Peter Cremer, BP, Morgan Stanley, Flint Hill Resources, Macquarie and Rubis.

It is a good strategic fit for Easyfairs, which delivers a portfolio of tank storage events. These take place in the bulk liquid storage hubs and strategic ports of Abu Dhabi, Antwerp, Singapore, Hamburg and Rotterdam and include StocExpo, which the company acquired from Horseshoe Media in 2011.

Matt Benyon, Managing Director, Easyfairs UK & Global, said: “When we bought StocExpo it was always part of the strategy to acquire the magazine when the moment was right. Tank Storage Magazine is the most respected and influential publication in the sector so we’re absolutely thrilled to have acquired it. It’s a very natural development and provides great continuity and more marketing opportunities for all those involved in the magazine or events.”

Belgium, Brussels & UK, London

4. Artexis Easyfairs acquires Dry Cargo Europe Conference & Exhibition
10th March 2015

Artexis Easyfairs has acquired the management of the Dry Bulk Conference and Exhibition from the publishers of Dry Cargo International. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The event will be rebranded the Dry Cargo Europe Conference and Exhibition and will open its doors to visitors on 30 September and 1 October 2015 at Ahoy Rotterdam in The Netherlands, alongside Artexis Easyfairs’ trade show for powder and bulk technologies, Solids.

Jason Chinnock and Andrew Hucker-Brown, joint publishers and owners of Dry Cargo International commented,

Bas van Gent, Group Event Director of Artexis Easyfairs said: “Dry Cargo Europe is going to be a great addition to the Solids. The international visitors and delegates will be able to get an overview not only on what is happening in dry cargo logistics, but also in the treatment, storage, handling and processing of powders and bulk solids. We are delighted that we will be welcoming many new exhibitors and delegates to Rotterdam, the world’s fourth largest port complex.”

Belgium, Brussels & The Netherlands, Rotterdam

5. Artexis Easyfairs acquire FACTS
29th January 2015

In late December 2014, Artexis Easyfairs reached an agreement with company Con-Fuse about the acquisition of FACTS, the comics, sci fi and anime festival in the Benelux held annually at Flanders Expo in Ghent, which is also run by Artexis Easyfairs.

Dirk Van Roy, CEO of Artexis Easyfairs Benelux said: “With FACTS, we diversify again within our events portfolio. For several years already, FACTS has experienced significant growth in a segment that is new to us. As a market leader in the organisation of ultimate meeting & market places, our aim is to increase the experience of this close-knit community even more”.

In October 2014, FACTS was organised for the 24th time. Since its inception, FACTS has developed into a successful, 2-day event of 250 exhibitors and 40,000 visitors. It is not only the oldest, but also the biggest comics, sci fi and anime festival in the Benelux.

Emmanuel, Koen, Jörgen en Stefaan will certainly continue to provide their expertise for the next 3 editions of the festival and will be cooperating closely with Artexis Easyfairs Benelux.

The cooperation will start effectively from the next edition of FACTS, which will be the 25th already. This anniversary edition will take place on 26 and 27 September 2015 at Flanders Expo in Ghent.

Belgium, Brussels & Ghent

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Postmedia acquires Sun Media English Language Newspapers and Digital Properties

PostmediaPostmedia Network Canada Corp. has completed is $361M (Canadian) acquisition of Sun Media Corporation’s English language newspapers and specialty publications, as well as digital properties, from Quebecor Media Inc.

quebecor“Today we welcome more than 2,500 new employees and more than 170 new brands, along with loyal audiences and business partners, to the Postmedia family,” said Paul Godfrey, President and CEO. “With the completion of this transaction Postmedia becomes one of Canada’s largest newsmedia companies with even more compelling, made-in-Canada offerings for marketers. For our readers and audiences, we will continue to deliver the content they value most from their favourite Postmedia and Sun Media brands – across all of our platforms.”

To finance the deal, Postmedia issued $140-million of debt subscription receipts and, earlier this month, completed a rights offering that raised $173.5-million. It will also use proceeds from the sale of the Montreal Gazette production facility and some corporate cash to finance the Sun Media purchase.

Quebecor has kept its French-language titles, including Le Journal de Montréal.

Canada, Toronto

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LRP Conferences acquires education technology events from 1105 Media

LRPLRP Conferences, LLC, an affiliate of LRP Publications, has acquired the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), FETC Virtual Conference, Campus Technology Conference and the Campus Technology Forum from 1105 Media, Inc., a California based multimedia B2B company backed by Alta Communications and Nautic Partners. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

1105Campus Technology Conference, Campus Technology Forum, FETC, and FETC Virtual attract thousands of attendees seeking to understand the future of education technology. FETC, the largest of the four acquired events, hosts more than 9,000 professionals annually.

Ken Kahn, President of LRP Publications, said: “As LRP grows, we continue to seek out innovative products that can help us transform. We know FETC, FETC Virtual, Campus Technology Conference, and Campus Technology Forum can help us do that. With their addition we saw a great opportunity to reach a wider education audience, as well as build on our existing HR Technology market, offering a broader audience to our technology exhibitors.”

1105 Media will continue to operate its publishing and digital products in the education marketplace, including Campus Technology and THE Journal. Mike Eason, President of the 1105 Education Events group will join LRP and continue to oversee the business.

USA, Palm Beach, FL & Irvine, CA

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Scripps Networks Interactive to acquire controlling Interest in Polish TV operator TVN

SNi_DIM_BlueScripps Networks Interactive, a developer of lifestyle content for television, internet and mobile platforms, is to acquire a 52.7 percent interest in Poland’s multi-platform media company, TVN from ITI and Canal+ Group

tvnScripps Networks Interactive will pay an all-cash consideration of €584 million and will also assume €840 million of debt. Following completion, Scripps Networks Interactive will launch a mandatory public tender offer to further increase its ownership interest in TVN, as required under Polish law.

TVN is one of the leading media companies in Poland, with a portfolio of free-to-air and pay TV lifestyle and entertainment channels, including TVN, TVN 7, TVN Style, TTV, TVN Turbo as well as Poland’s 24 hour news channel, TVN24, and business news channel TVN24 Biznes i Swiat. The channels have a 22 percent share of Polish viewing in 2014. TVN Media has a 33 percent share of the market in advertising revenue for TVN’s own portfolio of channels, as well as selling advertising for a number of other commercial broadcasters in Poland.

Kenneth W. Lowe, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Scripps Networks Interactive said, “Poland is a vibrant media market with significant growth potential. TVN has an incredible portfolio of channels and services, and has delivered consistently strong creative and financial performance under the leadership of Markus Tellenbach,” said Lowe. “The business will be a strong addition to Scripps Networks Interactive, and we’re looking forward to working with the whole TVN team to achieve our significant ambitions in the region together.”

USA, Knoxville, TN & Poland, Warsaw

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Forbes Media acquires private photo sharing app Camerama

Forbes_Logo_registeredForbes Media has acquired the private photo sharing app Camerama. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Camerama Salah Akram Zalatimo, founder of Cameraman in 2014, will join the company as VP of Mobile Products, reporting to Forbes Media Chief Product Officer Lewis D’Vorkin.

camerama“Salah brings with him a unique set of skills, experiences and assets. He’s been a founder of a business, he has the technical know-how and the data-driven mindset that will help Forbes expand its growth in mobile apps,” said Lewis D’Vorkin. “Our goal is to build passionate communities under the Forbes umbrella – the kind that marketers want to reach and that generate valuable and relevant content.”

USA, New York, NY

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