Viggle Acquires Wetpaint

December 16, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet
viggleViggle, the television and music loyalty service launched in 2012, has acquired Wetpaint, an entertainment media and technology company focused on television fans, for approximately $30 million in cash and stock.

Wetpaint provides original content to over 12 million monthly unique users and provides a way for fans to stay connected with celebrities and TV shows.

“Wetpaint is the perfect complement to our business for users, TV network partners and advertisers,” said Greg wetpaintConsiglio, President and COO of Viggle. “This combined company brings together Viggle’s proven promotion, entertainment rewards and monetization capabilities with Wetpaint’s reach, social distribution technologies and best-in-class content. Wetpaint leverages the power of social media to ensure TV fans are getting the latest news and commentary about the shows they love, and enables us to expand our offering to before, during and after the show airs.”

For marketers, this acquisition creates significant opportunities to reach a passionate audience with targeted messages across an “always on” entertainment experience that now includes multiple touch points and platforms. Marketers already benefit from Viggle’s extensive reward program, as well as in-app advertising, and that will now be extended through Wetpaint’s online content and social media streams.

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USA, New York, NY

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Vox Media to acquire Curbed Network

December 12, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

voxAccording to Fortune, Vox Media is to acquire Curbed Network in a deal made up of cash and stock worth between $20 and $30 million.

curbed-network-logoreal estate, dining & nightlife, shopping & fashion, and design. Real estate blog Curbed was founded in 2004 as a side project by Lockhart Steele, who was then managing editor of Gawker Media. Eater was founded in 2005 and features local content for 27 cities around the U.S. and Racked was launched in 2007. The sites collectively bring in 5 million monthly unique visitors.

Vox recently raised $34 million in a round of funding led by Accel Partners that could grow to as much as $40 million, according to Fortune’s Dan Primack.

USa, Washington, D.C.

 

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Axel Springer acquires N24

December 12, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

n24Axel Springer SE has  acquired  N24 Media GmbH, the 24 hour news channel. The N24 Group employs around 300 staff working including at its subsidiaries N24 and MAZ&More. N24 also produces the main news bulletins for SAT.1, ProSieben and kabel eins. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Axel Springer plans to combine N24 and the Welt group, which publishes a daily broadsheet Die Welt. According to Axel Springer, “N24 becomes the central moving image provider for all Axel Springer brands”.

The editorial team of WELT Group is extended to include the N24 digital editorial team. The joint WELT Group/N24  editorial team will in future produce both brands’ journalistic content for all the digital channels, as well as for the WELT Group’s print products. N24 also has a TV and program editorial team. The result is one of the largest multimedia editorial teams in Germany.

The management will be Jan Bayer, 43, President of WELT Group and Printing of Axel Springer, Torsten Rossmann, 50, Chairman of the N24 management board, and Stephanie Caspar, 40, Managing Director of WELT Group.

Jan-Eric Peters, 48, editor-in-chief of WELT Group, will be responsible for all content of the WELT Group and their joint digital services. Arne Teetz, 46, editor-in-chief of N24, will be responsible for all moving image content.

Stefan Aust, 67, previously a shareholder of N24, becomes publisher of the Group from 1 January 2014. Thomas Schmid, 68, will also remain publisher of the WELT Group until 30 June 2014.

Jan Bayer said, “N24 and the WELT Group complement each other perfectly and together represent the multimedia spectrum of journalism. N24 benefits through this partnership from the editorial quality and digital expertise of WELT Group. Axel Springer and WELT Group gain access to the moving image and live news competence of N24.”

Germany, Berlin

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Progressive Digital Media Group acquires Pyramid Research from UBM

December 12, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

progressiveProgressive Digital Media Group the provider of business information to the consumer and technology markets, has acquired the business and trading assets of Pyramid Research, a leading  of business information and market analysis for the Information and Communications Technology industry, from UBM for a gross consideration of US$3.3 million in cash payable on completion. Completion, which is subject to UK employee consultation, is scheduled for 2 January 2014 and will be financed from the Group’s existing cash resources.

pyramidresearchFor nearly 25 years, Pyramid has been providing practical advice on market and service opportunities to leaders in the converged communications, media and technology industries. Pyramid’s market analysis is centred on detailed primary research complemented with insightful analysis and dynamic modelling tools.  Pyramid has offices in London, Boston and Argentina with subscribers located across the globe.

“Pyramid is well known to us and we are delighted that the opportunity has arisen for this business to join the Group”, said Simon Pyper, Chief Executive of Progressive Digital Media. “Pyramid has a well regarded brand name, a portfolio of high quality data assets and moreover, an expanding presence in some of the world’s fastest growing markets.”

Owing to the subscription nature of the business the acquisition is expected to be earnings neutral in the first full year of ownership and earnings accretive thereafter. The net assets to be acquired on completion are expected to be approximately US$0.3 million.

UK, London

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2. UBM

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GTI acquires Inside Buzz

December 5, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

inside buzzGTI Media, publishers of TARGETjobs, TARGETjobs Events and TARGETcourses, has acquired Inside Buzz. The Inside Buzz content will be available on TARGETjobs.co.uk. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Inside Buzz offers students independent reviews from company employees to help them understand company culture, working practices and, most of all, make a more informed decision about whether to make a job application. Since Inside Buzz was founded by Thomas Nutt in 2010, 5,500 employees have completed the workplace survey and have submitted 115,000 individual reviews and rankings on their employers. 

Graham Storey, GTI Media CEO, said: “We are delighted to add Inside Buzz’s innovative products to our graduate recruitment services and welcome Thomas and his team to GTI. We believe the insights that Inside Buzz offers to students will help them research potential employers and make more targeted applications.”

UK, Oxon, Wallingford

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ITE revenues up 12% following a year of Asian acquisitions

December 5, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

ITEInternational trade exhibitions and conferences group ITE Group has announced preliminary results for the year to September 2013.  Revenues are up 12% to £192 and headline profits are up 12% to £59.4m. £106m of revenues are booked for 2014.

Russell Taylor, CEO of ITE Group plc, said, “”ITE has continued to expand its business this year through a mixture of organic and acquisition led growth.”

This year ITE has acquired Trade Link in India,  Platform Exhibitions in Turkey, 50% of ECMI in Malaysia and last month Sinostar in China.

Taylor went on to say, “Good organic growth across our core portfolios in Russia and the CIS together with a strong biennial performance from the Moscow International Oil and Gas Exhibition have combined with the newly acquired businesses in Asia to deliver record financial and operating results.”

ITE sept 13Click on the table for an enlarged view

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Pearson to sell The Mergermarket Group to BC Partners

November 29, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

mergermarketPearson Plc is to sell The Mergermarket Group to BC Partners for an enterprise value of £382 million, payable in cash.

Mergermarket is a provider of global corporate financial news, intelligence and analysis to advisory firms, investments banks, law firms, hedge funds, private equity firms and corporations operating in 65 countries. The Company was founded in 1999 and acquired by Pearson in 2006 for £101m plus a subsequent earn-out.

bcpartnersMergermarket has grown substantially under Pearson’s ownership, reporting revenues of £100 million, operating income of £25 million and profit before tax of £23 million in the 12 months to 31 December 2012, and continues to grow strongly.  Over the same period, Mergermarket contributed 2.5 pence to Pearson adjusted earnings per share.  At 30 June 2013, Mergermarket had gross assets of £129m.

The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2014. Pearson intends to redeploy the proceeds from the sale in its global education business.

Nikos Stathopoulos, Managing Partner at BC Partners, said, “Mergermarket is a high quality company and a global market leader with an attractive business model, strong growth, and loyal customers. We are pleased to partner with CEO Hamilton Matthews and the whole of the Mergermarket team to continue to invest in the growth of the business through product development and geographical expansion to deliver value and innovation to customers”.

UK, London

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Informa acquires a stake in Chinese company Baiwen

November 27, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

informa2Informa plc has acquired a stake in Baiwen, the owner and organiser of the annual China Beauty Expo (“CBE”). the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

CBE is the largest beauty trade event in China, comprising three co-located exhibitions that take place annually in Shanghai in May: Cosmetics China, Cosmetech and Beauty Shanghai. In 2013, the 18th edition of CBE attracted around 1700 exhibitors from 22 countries and some 250,000 visitors across a floor space of approximately 120,000 sqm.

CBEPeter Rigby, Chief Executive of Informa, said, ​”The acquisition of a stake in Baiwen is an exciting and strategically important move for Informa, increasing our exposure to the Chinese exhibition market and further strengthening our position in the beauty and aesthetics segment. We look forward to working closely with our partners at Baiwen to extend the strong growth record of CBE and leverage our collective expertise to exploit other opportunities.”

UK, London & China, Shanghai

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Tarsus Group – Mexico Acquisition

November 27, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

TarsusTarsus Group is to acquire a 50% interest in a company that owns two major exhibitions in Mexico from E.J. Krause & Associates (“EJK”) to establish a joint venture with EJK.

EJK was founded in 1984 and is one of the largest privately held exhibition companies in the world. Headquartered in the US EJK has offices on three continents and produces over 80 events in 16 different industries.

The JV owns two events held in Mexico:

  • Plastimagen (2013: 17,400 net sqm), a leading exhibition in Mexico for the plastics industry, focussing on plastics processing and ancillary equipment, attracting engineering and production professionals from plastics processing, packaging and manufacturing companies. It is run on an 18 month cycle with the next edition scheduled to be held in November 2014; and
  • Expo Manufactura (2013: 4,300 net sqm), a metalworking/manufacturing exhibition, featuring machine tools, assembly technology, fabricating, software, coil winding and welding technologies.   Visitors include production and engineering professionals from across a wide spectrum of Mexican manufacturing industries. The show takes place annually, with the next edition due to be held in March 2014.

The JV provides the Group with an important hub in the growing Mexican exhibition market and it will be one of the top three largest international exhibition companies in Mexico. Under the terms of the Acquisition EJK will continue to manage the events post Acquisition.

The JV will also provide a platform for Tarsus to launch new exhibitions in Mexico, primarily drawing on Tarsus’s existing major brands. Concurrently Tarsus has agreed to collaborate with EJK by launching replications of existing EJK brands into territories in which Tarsus has a suitable launch platform.

The first of these will be in Indonesia where the Group has agreed with EJK to launch an edition of EXPO COMM in Jakarta. EXPO COMM is an ICT exhibition with a global schedule of events in Latin America, Europe, and Asia. It covers telecommunications, broadband, wireless 3G/4G, unified communications and network infrastructure. The first event is scheduled to be held in November 2014.

Douglas Emslie, Tarsus Group Managing Director, said:

“Mexico is a large and fast-growing market that has close trading ties with the US. The Mexican exhibition market is highly fragmented at present and offers exciting potential for growth.

“This agreement with EJ Krause enables Tarsus to acquire a stake in two leading events in Mexico – Plastimagen and Expo Manufactura. The joint venture fits our aim to  quicken the pace of our earnings by investing in quality assets in high growth markets.

“I am excited by the opportunity to work with EJ Krause to launch collaborative replications of Tarsus’ brands in Mexico and EJ Krause’s brands in emerging markets where Tarsus has an established footprint, initially  with an edition of EXPO COMM in Indonesia.”

UK, London & USA, Bethesda, MD & Mexico, Col. Del Valle

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Profits rise at Future plc

November 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Future plc, the specialist media group and digital publisher has announced preliminary results for the year ended 30 September 2013.

Financial highlights

Future results 2013

Click on the table for an enlarged view

  • Normalised Group revenues up 3% driven by Digital & Diversified revenue streams
  • Normalised pre-tax profit at £1.9m from loss of £2.7m in prior year
  • Digital revenues up 38% year-on-year, Digital & Diversified now 32% of total Group Revenues
  • Digital advertising now 59% of total advertising revenue, up from 48% a year ago
  • UK operations grow advertising and circulation revenues for the year
  • US operating profitably (at EBITDAE level) in H2
  • Net debt more than halved from £14.1m to £6.9m following the sale of non-core print activities
  • Reinstatement of dividend at 0.2 pence per share

Digital highlights

  • Unique users up 14% year-on-year to 57.7 million a month, US unique users up 18% − growth driven by TechRadar
  • Page views up 19% year-on-year to 328 million a month
  • TechRadar now reaching over 20 million unique users globally a month
  • Digital edition revenues up 44% year-on-year
  • Over 340,000 subscribers to digital editions, up 46% since September 2012

Mark Wood, Future’s Chief Executive, said: “Our digital revenue growth accelerated, with a 38% increase year-on-year, and we passed an important transition point with more than half our advertising revenues now digital. We have made real progress in reshaping the Future business, diversifying our digital revenues, making our US operations profitable and building global digital brands.

“We have an on-going programme to reduce the cost base and improve margins. During the year we transformed our balance sheet, paying down term debt from the proceeds of non-core asset disposals and extending our credit facility until 2017. This leaves us well positioned to execute on our growth strategy.

Overall, these are good results after difficult trading conditions earlier in the year, thanks to stronger trading across all areas in the fourth quarter. Looking forward, we see the encouraging Q4 trends continuing with forward advertising bookings up year-on-year, and revenue momentum across all sectors.”

Read the full announcement here.

UK, London

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