GetYourGuide acquires Gidsy

April 24, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

gidsyGetYourGuide, a spin-off of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and an online portal for tours and activities at destinations across the globe, has acquired Gidsy. Gidsy is a Berlin-based, peer-to-peer platform for discovering local experiences and things to do. GetYourGuide will integrate Gidsy’s marketplace of  experiences and make them bookable on www.getyourguide.com. Gidsy’s full team will join GetYourGuide. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Gidsy has been backed by Sunstone Capital, Index Ventures and by names such as Werner Vogels, Christophe Maire and Ashton Kutcher.

“GetYourGuide is very excited to gain Gidsy’s great expertise and know-how in the world of online tours andgetyourguide activities,” said Johannes Reck, CEO of GetYourGuide. “By combining Gidsy’s proven excellence in design and expertise in building engaging mobile and social experiences with GetYourGuide’s fast-growing web platform and strong distribution network, we are positioned to completely transform the way travel activities are discovered, bought and sold. Thanks to this move, GetYourGuide is providing consumers with an unmatched resource for  finding and booking travel experiences.”

Switzerland, Zurich & Germany, Berlin

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Google acquires Wavii for $30M

April 23, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

waviiGoogle Inc has acquired natural language processing startup Wavii for around $30 million in cash. Google outbid Apple who wanted the company for its voice-activated personal assistant Siri division.

It is only one month ago that Fusion DigiNet reported Yahoo had acquired mobile news aggregator Summly,  Wavii’s main competitor, for a similar amount.

The Wavii team, including founder Adrian Aoun, will  relocate to Google’s Knowledge Graph division Mountain View, California.google

USA, Mountain View, California & Seattle, WA

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DealMates acquires I Love Discounts

April 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

dealmatesDigital News Asia is reporting that DEAL Mates Sdn Bhd has acquired I Love Discounts, a move that sees Dealmates, which claims to be Malaysia’s No 1 flash sales site, boost its current 500,000 members by an additional 250,000.ilovediscounts

I Love Discounts’ current forecast revenue is an estimated RM7 million (US$2.3 million). The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

I Love Discounts was founded in 2010 by partners Edwin Koh, Andy Teh, Davie Saw and Desmund Hang, as Ilovediscounts.my under Aeterno Sdn Bhd.

The agreement was signed between both parties in February 2013.

Full story

Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur

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ITV acquires The Garden

April 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

itvITV plc is to acquire 100% of the multi-award winning independent producer, The Garden, the company behind 24 Hours in A&E and Inside Claridge’s.

ITV will pay an upfront cash consideration of £18m with a further capped cash payment contingent on The Garden’s future performance.  The additional consideration is only payable on the delivery of significant profit growth over the next five years.  In 2012 The Garden made an operating profit of £2.5m. 

The Garden’s Chief Executives, Nick Curwin and Magnus Temple, said: “The values and ethos of The Garden will remain unchanged, as will our appetite for innovation, our insistence on delivering to the highest standards and our focus on the key relationships we’ve built up over the years. Being part of ITV will help us grow further in the UK and, in particular, to achieve our international ambitions. We will be working more closely with ITVS whilst continuing to concentrate as hard as ever on our important relationships with Channel 4 and the BBC. We are both totally committed to this new venture and we look forward to many successful and exciting years ahead with our new partners.”

UK, London

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Eniro acquires majority holding in blog network Bloggerfy

April 20, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

eniroEniro, one of the largest search companies in the Nordic region and Poland, is acquiring a majority holding in Bloggerfy for SEK 0.5 M from FameAds Sweden. Bloggerfy is one of the Nordic region’s largest blog networks.  Eniro will control 51% of Bloggerfy, FameAds Sweden will control the remaining 49%.

Bloggerfy develops and operates sales of sponsored links and banners for bloggers that are linked to the bloggerflynetwork in Sweden and Norway. The network currently comprises approximately 65,000 registered bloggers in Sweden and 8,500 bloggers in Norway. In total, the network has approximately 2.5 million unique visitors per week, of whom about one million are expected to increase traffic on Eniro’s search services.

“Today, blogger trends are rapidly reflected in corporate sales. With Bloggerfy we can use the power of bloggers’ influence on purchasing patterns to a direct benefit for Eniro’s customers,“ says Sara Kullgren, SVP Group Products and Services at Eniro.

Sweden, Stockholm

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Euromoney Institutional Investor acquires a majority stake in the Centre for Investor Education in Australia

April 19, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney logoEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC, the international online information and events group has acquired  a 75% stake in the Centre for Investor Education (CIE).

Based in Melbourne, Australia, CIE was founded in 1997 and is a provider of investment forums for senior CIEexecutives of superannuation funds and global asset management firms.  Principal events include the Chief Investment Officers Symposium and the Major Market Players Symposium, both held annually in Australia, as well as the International Investing Symposium which was held in Tokyo earlier this month.  CIE was acquired in 2010 from its founder, Melda Donnelly, by Erling Sorensen and Jamie Nemtsas who have expanded its portfolio of events and will remain shareholders in CIE until December 2015.

The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing for Euromoney in financial year 2013. Euromoney has paid an initial A$14.4 million (£9.9 million) cash consideration for a 75% interest in CIE, to be adjusted up or down dependent on CIE’s results for the year to December 2013.  Euromoney will acquire the remaining 25% of CIE’s equity in two instalments based on CIE’s profits for the years to December 2014 and 2015.  The acquisition will be funded from Euromoney’s existing committed borrowing facility.  CIE recorded an unaudited pre-tax profit of A$1.5million (£1.0 million) on revenues of A$4.3 million (£2.9 million) for the year to December 2012.

“We are delighted to acquire CIE,” said Richard Ensor, Chairman of Euromoney.  “Euromoney expects to benefit from the rapid growth of Australia’s asset management industry.  This acquisition of the high-quality CIE business gives us the opportunity to consolidate further our position in this premium segment of the events market.  We look forward to working with Erling Sorensen and Jamie Nemtsas to develop CIE further.”

UK, London & Australia, Melbourne

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Scripps Networks Interactive Acquires Asian Food Channel

April 18, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

afcScripps Networks Interactive Inc. has acquired Asian Food Channel (AFC), a food-focused pay television network. The Asian Food Channel, which is based in Singapore, reaches about 8 million subscribers in 11 markets.

“Asia and the rapid growth in pay television households throughout the region hold great promise for Scripps Networks Interactive and its international ambitions,” said Kenneth W. Lowe, the company’s chairman, president and chief executive officer. “Acquiring the Asian Food Channel significantly expands our presence in key growth markets and provides us with a solid foundation on which to build a growing lifestyle media business in the region. The channel aligns perfectly with our lifestyle programming focus.”

The Asian Food Channel broadcasts 24 hours a day, seven days a week and leverages a substantial library of acquired Asian and international video content as well as a growing number of originally-produced programs. The network generates revenues through regional and local advertising sales as well as fees from pay television operators.

Derek Chang, who was appointed recently as managing director of the Asia Pacific region for Scripps Networks Interactive, will oversee the management and integration of the Asian Food Channel. He also will oversee operations of Scripps Networks Interactive’s existing networks in the region.

USA, Knoxville, TN & Singapore

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Burda International GmbH takes over Gruner + Jahr activities in Poland

April 18, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Burda International GmbH is taking over all Gruner + Jahr activities in Poland, creating a media company with over 30 magazines, more than 20 online media services, established events and a strong book business

The takeover is subject to approval under cartel law, and a decision is expected in July. In future the company will be headed by Magdalena Malicka (formerly G+J) and Justyna Namięta (Burda Poland).  With a combined reach of 23 per cent, Burda becomes the second largest Polish magazine publisher.

Fabrizio D’Angelo, Managing Director Burda International, explains: “For Burda in Poland the strong position this creates is an excellent basis for expanding its core business of magazines, and provides optimal conditions for further investments in the digital future. This will enable us to make the very best use of the growth opportunities in the booming economic environment of Poland.”

Germany, Munich & Warsaw, Poland
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Publicis Groupe to acquire Neev in India

April 18, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

PublicisPublicis Groupe is to acquire Neev, an Indian technology services providers specialising in eCommerce, SaaS (Software as a Service) and cloud applications across web, social and mobile. Neev will be aligned with Razorfish, one of the largest interactive marketing and technology companies in the world; the acquisition triggers the launch of the Razorfish brand in India.

Founded in 2005 and based in Bangalore, Neev has  grown quickly and now employs a team of 250 specialists.

“Razorfish can now offer scaled expertise in India, complementing its already strong presence in Greater China and Australia,”says Vincent Digonnet, President APAC of Razorfish and Digitas networks. “At the core of Razorfish lies innovation and technology, and we can only launch the brand in a market with a very deep tech development capability. Neev is providing us with the right engine, including an ability to deliver sophisticated state of the art web, ecommerce, mobile and social solutions. In addition, the acquisition will support the development capabilitiesof Razorfish technology teams in the US.”

Earlier this year, Publicis Groupe acquired the digital agency Convonix based in Mumbai and back in 2012 acquired  iStrat (December 2012), Resultrix (August 2012) and Indigo Consulting (April 2012).

The agency will operate as Razorfish Neev led by Neev CEO, Saurabh Chandra . He will report into Kanika Mathur , Managing Director for Razorfish and Digitas India, with a direct connection to Ray Velez , Global CTO for Razorfish.

UK, London & India, Bangalore

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USA TODAY Travel Media Group acquires Tripology

April 18, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

USA TODAY LOGOUSA TODAY Travel Media Group has acquired Tripology. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Tripology is an interactive travel referral service focused on connecting travelers with experienced travel specialists. Available free to consumers, Tripology utilises proprietary technology to match traveler requests with travel professionals. USA TODAY plans to offer Tripology.com referral services across Gannett media outlets.

“The acquisition of Tripology fits well into our overall growth strategy. The USA TODAY Travel Media Group has been expanding its tripologydigital portfolio of travel news, products and services over the past year. For decades, we’ve provided our audience with helpful and easy to use travel content and now we’re adding more tools to help consumers with their travel experience,” saidJohn Peters , president of USA TODAY Travel Media Group. “Time-starved travelers researching and booking cruises, honeymoons, family reunions, and other complicated travel often require the services of a travel professional and Tripology can match them with a specialist.”

USA, McLean, VA

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