Social media monitoring business Brandwatch acquires PeerIndex

December 17, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

Social media monitoring business Brandwatch, which raised $22 million in May this year, has acquired PeerIndex, a London-based company providing social media analytics based on footprints from use of major social media services. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to TechCrunch, it was done mostly for shares in Brandwatch, with some cash.

PeerIndex was founded in 2010 by Azeem Azhar. The company has raised a total of £5 million.

Writing in the Brandwatch blog, Giles Palmer, CEO of Brandwatch said:

“Until now, however, it has not been a very deep tool for understanding audiences – the people who create, read and share content. As we thought about this and started to piece together our ideas for how we could develop data and systems that would bring this fascinating information to light, I happened to be speaking at an event with Azeem Azhar.

As we talked, I became acutely aware that PeerIndex were years ahead of us in their understanding and technology for influencer analytics and mapping.

I thought that if we could add their technology and know-how into Brandwatch, we’d be able to create something that doesn’t exist in the market today.”

brandwatch

UK, London

 

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Tiger Media to acquire Interactive Data, LLC

December 15, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

Tiger MediaTiger Media, a Shanghai-based media company, is to acquire The Best One, Inc., parent company of U.S.-based data solutions provider Interactive Data, LLC. Interactive Data is headquartered in Atlanta, GA and has its primary technology office in Seattle, WA.

id-logo1Interactive Data’s recently expanded management team has been executing on an aggressive growth plan in a multi-billion dollar market of risk management and marketing data solutions.

Commenting on the Acquisition, Robert Fried, Chairman of Tiger Media stated, “We are excited to acquire TBO. We were looking for a U.S. partner who would also be able to expand our China operations. We believe this Acquisition with TBO will give our shareholders an excellent opportunity to realize increased value on their investment.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, current shareholders of Tiger Media and TBO will own approximately 34% and 66% of the combined company, respectively, following the Acquisition. Approximately 65% of the shares to be issued to TBO shareholders in the Acquisition will be non-voting preferred stock, and 30% of those shares will only be issued upon achievement of certain revenue targets. The Acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015, is subject to customary conditions to closing as detailed in the merger agreement, as well as the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of Tiger Media entitled to vote.

In connection with the Acquisition, Tiger Media will be redomesticating as a Delaware company. The affirmative vote of 2/3 of the votes cast at the Tiger Media meeting will be required for domestication in Delaware. The structure of the transaction will be in the form of an acquisition with TBO merging into a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tiger Media, with the Tiger Media subsidiary as the surviving corporation that will now be headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

Following the Acquisition, Derek Dubner, CEO of TBO, will join Tiger Media as Co-CEO along with Peter Tan, current CEO of Tiger Media. Robert Fried will remain Chairman of the Board. Also, following the Acquisition, Derek Dubner and Daniel MacLachlan will join the Tiger Media Board, increasing the Tiger Media Board from five members to seven members.

Cassel Salpeter is acting as financial advisor and Akerman LLP is acting as legal counsel to Tiger Media. Nason Yeager is acting as legal counsel to TBO.

Shanghai & USA, Atlanta, GA

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Yahoo completes acquisition of BrightRoll

December 15, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

YahooYahoo! Inc. has completed its acquisition of BrightRoll, a programmatic video advertising platform. Yahoo paid approximately $640 million in cash.

See also – Yahoo to acquire BrightRoll for $640M Posted on November 13, 2014

brightrollBrightRoll is a profitable business with net revenues expected to exceed $100 million in 2014. The company has a team of around 400 employees.

USA, Sunnyvale, CA & San Francisco, CA

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Hearst Corporation to increase equity interest in Fitch Group to 80 percent 

December 12, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

Hearst CorpHearst Corporation is to purchase an additional 30 percent interest in global ratings agency Fitch Group from Fimalac S.A., bringing Hearst’s equity interest to 80 percent. Fimalac will retain a 20 percent equity interest in Fitch Group. The transaction is valued at $1.965 billion.

FitchRatingsHearst acquired its original interest in Fitch Group in March 2006 and had most recently held 50 percent of the company. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015 following receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals.

“We believe the credit rating, financial information and risk management services Fitch provides to the global financial community are critical in today’s economy,” said Steven R. Swartz, president and CEO of Hearst Corporation. “Strategically, Hearst continues to diversify into data and information-based companies while growing its world-class media assets. We are excited to continue to work with Fimalac and Marc Ladreit de Lacharrière to make Fitch Group an even bigger success.”

“Since the beginning of our relationship with Fitch, it has seemed to me that the company fits perfectly into the profile of businesses in which Hearst should seek to expand,” said Frank A. Bennack, Jr., former Hearst CEO and current executive vice chairman of Hearst Corporation. “The record of advances in the business over that period shows that excellent management is in place, our partners at Fimalac are aligned with us in strategy for the future and the diversification from our highly-valued traditional portfolio is proving to be rewarding. Stepping up from 50 percent to 80 percent makes great sense and we’re all excited.”

USA, New York

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Reliance Capital to sell its 16% stake in Indian travel portal Yatra.com

December 12, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

yatraAccording to the Economic Times, Reliance Capital is to sell its 16 per cent stake in travel portal Yatra.com for an estimated Rs 500 crore (around $80 million) and is in talks with 2-3 international investors.

Other Yatra.com shareholders include Norwest Venture Partners – 30%, TV-18 group – 10%, Intel Cap – 7% and Valliant Capital – 10%. The management team owns 6%.

Founded in 2005, Yatra.com provides reservation facilities for more than 12,000 hotels in India and over 400,000 hotels around the world. It has an operating income of $51 million for the year.

India, Mumbai

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Moody’s completes acquisition of remaining stake in Copal Amba

December 12, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

moodysMoody’s Corporation has completed its acquisition of the remaining shares of Copal Amba and now owns 100% of the company. Moody’s announced on September 30 that it had agreed to acquire the remaining minority stake in Copal Amba.

Copal Amba“We are continuing to expand Copal Amba’s capacity and capabilities to meet the strong demand for high-quality outsourced financial research and analytics,” said Linda S. Huber, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Moody’s. “Moody’s is committed to building on Copal Amba’s extensive expertise to advance our global efficiency while continuing to grow Moody’s overall business.”

Copal Amba’s offshore research and analytics services support a wide range of clients, from global financial institutions and Fortune 100 corporations to boutique investment banks and asset managers. It was formed through Moody’s acquisitions of Copal Partners in 2011 and Amba Investment Services in 2013. Copal Amba operates seven service delivery centers and has approximately 2,500 staff worldwide.

The acquisition of the remaining shares in Copal Amba is not expected to have an impact on Moody’s earnings per share (EPS) in 2014 and is expected to be approximately $0.04 to $0.05 accretive to Moody’s EPS in 2015. Moody’s funded the acquisition from international cash on hand. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

USA, New York, NY

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Yonder acquires Sovetnik from Runa Capital

December 9, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

YandexYandex, “the Google of Russia”, has bought Sovetnik by Metabar from Runa Capital, a Russian venture capital fund.The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

sovetnikSovetnik, which means “advisor” in Russian, is a browser extension that helps users find the best offer for online shopping. Sovetnik notifications appear when a person chooses an item in an online store. The application analyses the content of the page that the user is viewing, and shows multiple choice of on-line marketplaces where one can buy the same product with the best options – by quality of additional services and price. Sovetnik is used by more than two million people in Russia.

“Sovetnik provides a hint instantly, in the right place, and at the right time. People do not have to figure out where to make a purchase”, says Alexander Feoktistov, Head of Yandex.

Runa Capital fund invested $1 million in Metabar in 2011. Metabar team invented Sovetnik in 2013 and decided to pivot and focus on this project and the business around it. Runa Capital reports that the Yandex acquisition deal provided a multiple return on investment.

Russia, Moscow

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Sky to sell Sky Bet to CVC Capital Partners

December 4, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

Sky BetSky is selling a controlling stake in its online betting and gaming business, Sky Betting & Gaming , to CVC Capital Partners in a deal which values Sky Bet at £800 million.

Sky will receive cash of £600 million on completion and further deferred and contingent consideration up to the value of £120 million. The total value of £800 million represents a multiple of approximately 15x EBITDA for the 12 months ended 30 June 2014.  Sky will retain an equity stake of approximately 20 per cent in Sky Bet and ongoing board representation. As part of the transaction Sky has also entered into a long-term brand licence agreement with Sky Bet.

The Sky Bet management team, led by Managing Director Richard Flint, will remain with the business under the new ownership structure with all Sky Bet’s employees moving across into the new entity.  The business will remain headquartered in Leeds.

Jeremy Darroch, Group Chief Executive of Sky, said: “In the last ten years, we have successfully grown Sky Bet from a start-up to one of the leading online betting and gaming companies in the UK. This transaction will allow us to focus further on the substantial growth opportunities in our core international pay TV business while realising significant value for our shareholders.”

 The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2015.

 UK, Leeds

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Pinewood Shepperton acquires remain 50% interest in Shepperton Studios Property Partnership

December 4, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

Pinewood Shepperton plc , a provider of services to the film and television industry, has acquired the 50% interest in the Shepperton Studios Property Partnership formerly owned by clients of Aviva Investors. As a result, the Company is now the sole owner of SSPP.

In 2006, Aviva and the Company formed SSPP as a 50-50 joint venture to hold and develop the land and buildings of Shepperton Studios under a 999 year lease and to underlet it to Shepperton Studios Ltd (wholly owned by the Company) for 20 years. At that time, Aviva made a total payment of £30.5 million comprising £10.5 million in cash and a long term loan of £20 million to SSPP.

Since 2006, SSPP has invested some £9.8 million in new developments at Shepperton Studios and SSL has achieved consistent earnings growth through optimising occupancy of the Studio’s soundstages and ancillary production facilities.

Today’s acquisition comprises a total cash payment to Aviva of £36.8 million, including the full repayment and cancellation of the now £24.0 million of drawn debt facility within SSPP provided by Aviva.

The 50% share of the SSPP net assets acquired was £9.5 million as at 31 December 2013, including the £24.0 million of Aviva debt funding, and 50% of the net income for the year ended 31 December 2013 was £2.8m.

Ivan Dunleavy, Chief Executive, Pinewood Shepperton plc, said, “The purchase of Aviva’s interest in SSPP will give the Company full control over the Shepperton site and future investment in the facilities there. We thank Aviva for their contribution and investment in Shepperton Studios over the past eight years.”

UK, Shepperton, Middlesex

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ITE acquires Eurasia Rail exhibition in Turkey

December 2, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

ITEITE Group plc, the international exhibitions group is acquiring TF Fuarcilik ve Organizasyon Anonim Sirketi (TFF) for around £8 million through its  wholly owned Turkish subsidiary, E Uluslar Arasi Fuar Tanitim Hizmetleri. As part of the transaction, TTF has acquired the Eurasia Rail exhibition from Turkel Fuarcilik Anonim Sirketi (“Turkel”), a company controlled by Mr Hasim Korhan Yazgan and Ms. Isil Yazgan.

The Eurasia Rail exhibition serves the rolling stock and railway infrastructure industries in Turkey and the surrounding region and is held each year at the IFM (World Trade Center) in Istanbul. The upcoming exhibition will be held in March 2015, marking the 5th edition of this event, which is expected to sell more than 10,000m2 net and be attended by around 20,000 professional visitors over 3 days.

ITE’s Chief Executive Officer, Russell Taylor, said, “I am pleased to welcome the Eurasia Rail exhibition into ITE’s Turkish business. This move represents progress in achieving the Group’s aims to strengthen and  expand its operations in sectors with further potential for growth and diversifying the geopolitical risk in our portfolio.

UK, London & Turkey, Istanbul

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