Progressive Digital Media Group Plc – interim report for the six months ended 30 June 2012

July 26, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Progressive Digital Media Group, a content driven media company producing premium business information, has announced it results for the six months ended 30 June 2012.

Highlights

  • Adjusted EBITDA(note 1) increased by 10.3% to £4.3m (2011: £3.9m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA Margin (note 1) increased to 16.6% (2011: 15.5%)
  • Group revenue increased by 2.8% to £25.9m (2011: £25.2m) with Business Intelligence revenues up by 12.5% to £13.5m (2011: £12.0m)
  • Business Intelligence revenues account for 52.1% of Group revenue (2011: 47.6%)
    • Business Intelligence at +12.5%
    • Events and Marketing at -5.3%
  • Reported profit before tax of £2.0m (2011: £1.2m)
  • Successful completion of a £20m share placing to fund acquisitions.
  • Acquisition of Kable, one of the UK’s leading providers of technology expenditure intelligence. Kable provides business information, tactical intelligence, research, analysis and consultancy to a number of the UK’s leading blue chip companies. See the DigiNet article on the Kable acquisition.
  • Exit from the consumer email marketing sector.
  • Full year results likely to be in line with market estimates.

Mike Danson, Chairman of Progressive Digital Media Group Plc, commented, “Our first half results demonstrate that we have made good progress across a number of key metrics delivering increased revenues, margin and earnings against the prior year comparatives. We continue to focus on those areas which present the best opportunities for growth such as Business Intelligence, which pleasingly now accounts for over half of Group revenues.  Our results, together with the fundraising and acquisition of Kable form not only a good platform for future growth but also have allowed the Group to exit from the less profitable consumer email marketing sector.  Moreover, the launch of the new intelligence centres and the performance of our Business Intelligence division as a whole have positioned us well to develop the business rapidly from now on.”

Note 1: Adjusted EBITDA: Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation, impairment, and share based payments, and adjusted for costs associated with derivatives, acquisitions, integration and restructure of the Group. Adjusted EBITDA Margin is defined as Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of Revenue.

Note 2:  EBITDA: Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and impairment. Includes a charge of £0.5 million for share based payments (2011: £0.4 million).

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Yell Group Plc – results for the three months ended 30 June 2012

July 25, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Yell Group Plc has announced its results for the three months to 30 June 2012

Financial Highlights

  • Group revenue of £331m decreased by 15%
  • Digital services revenues grew by 40% to £38m
  • Digital directories revenue fell by 16% to £68m
  • Print and other directory revenues fell by 21% to £225m
  • EBITDA of £71m was down £40m
  • Free cash flow of £39m decreased £34m
  • Net debt of £2,181m decreased by £19m from March

Operational Highlights

  • Total digital revenue declined by 2%, and represents 32% of revenue
  • Total digital customers decreased by 0.2% to 925,000
  • Annual digital revenue per advertiser fell by 10% to £478
  • Live customer websites increased by 17% to 408,000
  • Digital directories visitors increased 13% to 44m in June
  • Mobile directories visitors increased 71% to 4.8m in June
  • Print advertisers reduced by 9% to 253,000
  • Print revenue per advertiser decreased by 7% to £780

Mike Pocock, Chief Executive Officer, said, “During the last quarter, we continued to transform the Group, capitalising on our unique position in the SME community. We continued our trials of new digital products, progressed new partnerships, introduced our new corporate brand and enhanced our digital capability through the acquisition of Moonfruit. Whilst we continue to deliver cost savings through our global operating model, the decline in our legacy product revenue continues to negatively affect EBITDA. The Group continued to generate significant amounts of cash and pay down debt. Looking ahead, we remain confident in our four year strategy to transform Yell.”

UK, London

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Dropbox acquires TapEngage

July 24, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Dropbox has acquired TapEngage, a company that enables advertisers and publishers to work together to create advertising that takes advantage of the power of tablets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition was announced by founders Matt Holden and Sean Lynch on the TapEngage blog.

“We started TapEngage because we’re really excited about the potential for new mobile technologies to change the face of commerce and computing. As we built TapEngage, we were fortunate enough to collaborate with a wide set of partners doing amazing things in the industry, which further fueled our excitement. However, sometimes you find a company that is making such an incredible impact, you can’t help but want to join forces.

Today, we are thrilled to announce that TapEngage has been acquired by Dropbox. We’re still working with the Dropbox team to determine next steps for TapEngage, but we wanted to give our clients and partners the update. We owe a debt of gratitude to our partners, investors, and friends —we couldn’t have done it without your support!”

USA, San Francisco, CA

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WorldOne acquires Sermo – an online community of U.S. physicians

July 23, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Healthcare insights and intelligence company WorldOne has acquired Sermo, an online community of U.S. physicians. In the six years since its launch, Sermo amassed a membership of 130,000 physicians and hundreds of clients, including eight of the top ten pharmaceutical companies in the world.

With the acquisition of Sermo and its leading discussion and crowdsourcing platform for physicians, WorldOne considerably expands its interactive and digital engagement capabilities. WorldOne already boasts a global network of 1.7 million healthcare professionals, including over 1 million verified physicians across 80 countries; adding Sermo’s membership will further increase reach, allow for unprecedented client list match rates, expand research opportunities, and serve as a catalyst for increased physician discussion, insights and collaboration.

“Sermo fits in perfectly with our strategy to extend our digital footprint across healthcare market research and enhance our growing portfolio of innovative engagement solutions,” said Peter Kirk, CEO of WorldOne. “Sermo has proven that sustaining an active, engaged community can result in higher interest in and response to market research as well as new promotional opportunities. Combining Sermo’s technology and social media expertise with WorldOne’s global scale enables us to rapidly accelerate our growth while offering the most enriching, collaborative online environment for physicians anywhere in the world.”

USa, New York, NY & Cambridge, MA

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Nexstar Broadcasting and Mission Broadcasting to Acquire 12 Television Stations

July 23, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Nexstar Broadcasting Group and Mission Broadcasting are to acquire twelve television stations and associated digital sub-channels in eight markets from entities controlled by privately-held Newport Television for $285.5 million. Nexstar will acquire ten stations as well as Newport’s Inergize Digital media operations and Mission will acquire two stations in Little Rock, AR.

Nexstar and Mission have also secured commitments for new $645 million Senior Secured Credit Facilities comprised of a $570 million Term Loan B due 2019 and a $75 million Revolving Credit Facility due December 2017.

Newport Television Stations to be acquired by Nexstar Broadcasting Group
    Market   Market Rank   Station   Affiliation
1   Salt Lake City, UT   33   KTVX   ABC
2   Salt Lake City, UT   33   KUCW   CW
3   Memphis, TN   49   WPTY   ABC
4   Memphis, TN   49   WLMT   CW
5   Little Rock, AR*   56   KLRT   FOX
6   Little Rock, AR*   56   KASN   CW
7   Syracuse, NY   84   WSYR   ABC
8   Binghamton, NY   157   WBGH   NBC
9   Binghamton, NY   157   WIVT   ABC
10   Elmira, NY   174   WETM   NBC
11   Jackson, TN   176   WJKT   FOX
12   Watertown, NY   177   WWTI   ABC

* to be acquired by Mission Broadcasting

Perry A. Sook, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nexstar Broadcasting Group, Inc., commented, “The Newport transaction is a transformational event for Nexstar from a strategic and operational standpoint and will bring very significant free cash flow accretion to the Company immediately upon closing. The acquisition significantly expands our revenue and operating base with stations where we can quickly apply our operating and management disciplines to meaningfully improve their performance which we believe will drive strong cash flow growth.”

In the first year following the closing of the transaction the twelve Newport stations and Inergize are expected to contribute approximately $110 million in incremental net revenue. In 2014, the anticipated second year of the combined operations, Nexstar believes the combined entity will generate approximately $550 million in net revenue. Giving effect to approximately $19 million in projected synergies, the acquisition is expected to generate approximately $55 million in additional EBITDA (definitions and disclosures regarding non-GAAP financial information are included later in this announcement) and is expected to provide free cash flow accretion in the first year of approximately 45% over the levels expected to be generated by Nexstar’s and Mission’s existing operations. The purchase price represents a multiple of approximately 5.5 times the average 2011/2012 broadcast cash flow of the acquired stations after giving effect to the anticipated operating improvements and synergies identified by Nexstar.

Nexstar and Mission plan to finance the acquisition of the Newport stations with new $645 million Senior Secured Credit Facilities comprised of a $570 million Term Loan B due 2019 and a $75 million Revolving Credit Facility due December 2017. In addition to financing the Newport transaction, Nexstar intends to use the proceeds of the new facilities to refinance its existing Credit Facilities, including amounts outstanding on its First Lien Revolving Credit Facility and its First Lien Term Loans, and to redeem all of its aggregate outstanding principal amount 7% Senior Subordinated Notes due January 15, 2014 and all of its aggregate outstanding principal amount 7% Senior Subordinated PIK Notes due January 15, 2014.

The new credit facilities are being led by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, UBS Investment Bank and RBC Capital Markets as joint lead arrangers and joint bookrunners.

Completion of the Newport transaction, expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012, is subject to Federal Communications Commission approval, the expiration of the applicable Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period and other customary closing conditions.

USA, Irving, TX

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SAY Media secures $27 Million in funding led by New Enterprise Associates

July 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

SAY Media has secured $27 million in funding led by new investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Shea Ventures and Correlation Ventures, as well as participation from existing investors. The new funding will be used to help the company further develop its publishing platform, grow its portfolio of media properties and fund strategic acquisitions.

With this round of capital, NEA’s Paul Hsiao will be joining SAY’s board of directors. The appointment of Hsiao, a recognized leader in venture capital who led investments in companies like Evernote and Gaikai, follows the recent announcement that Kim Kelleher, currently publisher at TIME Magazine, will join SAY Media as its new president in September.

“The intersection of Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley is really where we see the future of media and we are well-positioned to lead the publishing industry into a digital world,” said Matt Sanchez, CEO, SAY Media. “This funding round is a validation of our strategy and I’m delighted to have NEA as a partner to support continued investment in the strategy and the right acquisitions.”

In addition to the appointment of Kelleher, SAY strengthened its executive team, adding Christina Cranley, former senior vice president at Martha Stewart and publisher of “Everyday Food and Whole Living,” as its vice president of sales for eastern U.S., CBS’s Sam Parker as chief operating officer and David Richter as chief strategy officer. Former Condé Nast executive Kourosh Karimkhany also joined the leadership team as head of integration. SAY currently has 400 employees working in offices across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Over the past several months, SAY acquired ReadWriteWeb and Remodelista. The company owns and operates six properties and has 13 exclusive partnerships with sites including Fashionista, Gear Patrol and Food52. The company now represents 500 sites and reaches a global audience of 400 million.

USA, San Francisco, CA

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Autodesk to acquire Socialcam

July 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Autodesk is to acquire Socialcam for a purchase price of approximately $60 Million. Socialcam is a popular mobile social video capture, editing and sharing app and service that was launched in 2011. This transaction is expected to close in Autodesk’s third quarter of fiscal 2013 (which ends on October 31, 2012) and is subject to customary closing conditions.

“Mobile computing, the cloud and social media are improving and changing the way people design, engineer and create projects,” said Samir Hanna, vice president, Autodesk Consumer Group. “Video is an ideal medium for professionals and consumers alike to communicate and share their design ideas. We are excited to have Socialcam join our growing portfolio of applications, services and communities for digital art, personal design and fabrication, home design and entertainment.”

Socialcam is a smartphone application and web-based service that makes it easy to capture, edit and share videos. The Socialcam app has been one of the most popular mobile video apps in the iOS App Store and Android marketplace with over 16 million downloads since it was first launched in 2011. Autodesk will prioritize support for the existing Socialcam community, while investing in scaling the platform and developing a more comprehensive set of tools for Socialcam users. Autodesk also plans to use the Socialcam platform to help make its technology for professional film and video creators more accessible to a broader audience.

USA, San Rafael, CA

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Sinclair Broadcast Group to purchase 6 Newport TV stations; Also to purchase assets of WTTA-TV

July 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Sinclair Broadcast Group is to purchase the broadcast assets of six television stations owned and/or operated by Newport Television for $412.5 million.  The six stations are located in five markets and reach 3.0% of the U.S. TV households.  The transaction is subject to approval by the Federal Communications Commission, and antitrust clearance.  The Company anticipates the closing and funding of the acquisition to occur no earlier than December 2012, subject to closing conditions.  Upon closing, the Company expects to finance the $412.5 million purchase price, less a $41.25 million deposit, through cash on hand along with a bank loan and/or by accessing the capital markets.

“David Smith, President and CEO of Sinclair, said,  “The Newport stations acquisition is consistent with our focus of adding “big four” affiliates in mid-sized markets and strengthening our in-market positions.  Assuming our ability to create synergistic opportunities and given current market conditions, we believe the stations will be free cash flow accretive and add approximately $55.0 to $60.0 million of pro forma TV operating cash flow, on average, for 2012/2013.

The stations to be acquired are:

  • WKRC (CBS 12) Cincinnati, Ohio (DMA 35)
  • WOAI (NBC 48) San Antonio, Texas (DMA 36)
  • WHP (CBS 21) Harrisburg/Lancaster/Lebanon/York, Pennsylvania (DMA 41)
  • WPMI (NBC 15) and WJTC (IND 45) Mobile, Alabama/Pensacola, Florida (DMA 60)
  • KSAS (FOX 26) Wichita/Hutchinson, Kansas (DMA 67)

Sinclair will also acquire Newport’s rights under the local marketing agreements with WLYH (CW 23) in Harrisburg, PA and KMTW (MNT 35) in Wichita, KS, as well as options to acquire the license assets.

Sinclair  is also purchasing the assets of Bay Television, which owns WTTA-TV (MNT) in the Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida market, for $40 million.  Bay TV is owned primarily by our controlling shareholders.  Since 1998, Sinclair has operated WTTA pursuant to a local marketing agreement, which will be terminated upon closing. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2012, subject to approval of the FCC.

USA, Baltimore, MD

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Live Nation Labs acquires music discovery app Rexly

July 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Live Nation Labs has acquired music discovery app Rexly. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition was announced on both company blogs.

Rexly blog, “We are ridiculously excited and deeply humbled to announce that Rexly has been acquired by Live Nation Labs, an innovation group inside Live Nation Entertainment that is building a portfolio of digital products from scratch and overhauling the Fortune 500 company’s brand. Team Rexly will open a San Francisco office for Live Nation Labs and focus primarily on mobile. The Rexly iOS App will remain available and continue to be developed.” Read the full announcement

Live Nation Labs blog, “Tonight I’m feeling reflective, on the eve of the announcement that we have acquired iPhone social music star Rexly and that the Rexly team will establish our new San Francisco presence, Live Nation Labs North, or LN² as it’s already known around here.” Read the full announcement

USA, San Francisco, CA

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Pearson to acquire Author Solutions for £116M

July 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson has acquired Author Solutions from Bertram Capital for $116 million in cash.

Formed in 2007, ASI is a leading provider of professional self-publishing services. It has enabled 150,000 authors to publish, market and distribute more than 190,000 books in print and electronic formats and benefits from several powerful growth trends including user-generated content, eBooks and digital publishing and marketing technologies.

Self-publishing is a rapidly growing segment of the consumer books market. According to Bowker, 211,000 titles were self-published in 2011 in either print or digital form, an increase of almost 60% on 2010. The self-publishing sector has also become an important source of talent and content for the publishing industry, producing several bestselling authors including Lisa Genova, John Locke, Darcie Chan, Amanda Hocking, Bronnie Ware and E.L. James.

The acquisition gives Penguin a leading position in this fast-growing segment of the publishing industry and brings significant opportunity for the two companies to collaborate. Penguin will gain access to ASI’s expertise in online marketing, consumer analytics, professional services and user-generated content. ASI will benefit from Penguin’s design, editorial and sales skills, and its strong international presence as it looks to expand outside the US.

Penguin’s chief executive John Makinson said: “Self-publishing has moved into the mainstream of our industry over the past three years. It has provided new outlets for professional writers, a huge increase in the range of books available to readers and an exciting source of content for publishers such as Penguin. No-one has captured this opportunity as successfully as Author Solutions, which has rapidly built a position of world leadership on a platform of outstanding customer support and tailor-made publishing services. This acquisition will allow Penguin to participate fully in perhaps the fastest-growing area of the publishing economy and gain skills in customer acquisition and data analytics that will be vital to our future.”

In 2011 Author Solutions generated revenues of approximately $100m, growing at an average annual rate of 12% over the past three years. Its business is split broadly evenly across three key areas: publishing, marketing and distribution services, with revenues generated primarily from services to authors.

The company has approximately 1,600 employees, located primarily in Bloomington, Indiana and Cebu City, the Philippines. Pearson will be expensing integration costs relating to Author Solutions in 2012 and expects the acquisition to enhance adjusted earnings per share and to generate a return on invested capital above Pearson’s weighted average cost of capital from 2013, its first full year. Author Solutions will be integrated into Penguin’s back office and technology infrastructure but will continue to be run as a separate business.

UK, London & USA, Bloomington, IN and The Philippines, Cebu City

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