Digital First Media acquires the Boston Herald for $11.9M

March 19, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Digital First MediaDigital First Media, one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States, has completed the acquisition of the Boston Herald for $11.9 million at an auction in which they outbid competitors GateHouse Media and Florida private equity firm Revolution Capital Group. The auction followed Herald publisher Patrick Purcell filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2017, citing declining revenue and readership.

Established in 1846 as a single two-sided sheet of news published by a group of Boston printers, the Boston Herald today has a circulation of 64,500, with an online following at BostonHerald.com.

Guy Gilmore, DFM’s chief operating officer, said, “DFM is pleased to have the opportunity to be a part of the Boston Herald through the next chapter of its storied history. The Herald is integral to the fabric of the great city of Boston”.

USA, Denver, CO & Boston, MA

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Hatched Media acquires fellow Australian independent FRANk Media

March 19, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Hatched MediaMelbourne-based independent agency Hatched Media has announced the merger and acquisition of fellow independent FRANk Media. No details of the transaction were disclosed.

FRANk Media was established in 2000 and offers communications planning, content marketing, programmatic, strategy, media buying, CRM, EDM, research, customer insight, PR, SEM, SEO, social media strategy and management, social media advertising, social media training and workshops, reporting, analytics and media planning, negotiation and buying. Owned and run by industry veteran Martyn Thomas, FRANk has transitioned all staff and clients across to Hatched to bolster the overall agency offering under the one roof.

Hatched founder and owner Jack Byrne said he has long admired Thomas and the FRANk team’s approach to its clients’ business, “Not only will their experience and strong strategic offering across communications be a welcome addition to the current offering, but culturally we are naturally aligned due to the high value we place on our people and level of care to our clients, which has ensured a seamless transition as a merged entity thus far,” he said.

Hatched will be adding FRANk’s current client list, which includes American Tourister, High Sierra, IXL Home, Lifestyle Communities, Movember, Luna Park (Melbourne), Lipault Paris, Sub Zero & Wolf, St John Ambulance (Victoria and NSW) and Sumitomo Rubber to their current list of clients, which include Automotive Brands Group, Dairy Australia, Sensis (Yellow Pages and White Pages), Fernwood Fitness, Dennis Family Homes, Strike Bowling, Henley Homes, Village Cinemas, Hairhouse Warehouse, Boost Juice, Capi Sparkling, and CBUS Property.

Australia, Melbourne

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Euromoney acquires European investment industry survey Extel

March 8, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

EuromoneyEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC, the international business information and events group, has acquired 100% of the business and assets of Extel from WeConvene. Extel will be integrated into Euromoney’s Institutional Investor Research business which is well known for its sell-side analyst and corporate IR performance research and rankings, and strengthens further Institutional Investor’s asset management offering. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Extel runs the annual independent survey of quality across the European equities investment community. The Extel Survey began in 1974 and in 2017 over 15,500 investment professionals cast 1.1 million votes across the investment industry, providing a huge dataset to help clients analyse and drive their market understanding.

The acquisition of Extel fits within Euromoney’s strategy of investing in its main themes, specifically asset management. Extel is deeply embedded in the equities investment community and its complementary data sets and highly valued analytics and insights will support the transition of Institutional Investor to a next generation 3.0 business model.

Will Rowlands-Rees, MD of Institutional Investor Research, said: “Although a small business, Extel has a strong reputation in the European market, and is highly complementary to our existing Institutional Investor Research offerings. By integrating these businesses, we will create a unique bulge bracket through domestic broker view of research product evaluation in the European market at a time of tremendous market change driven by MiFID II. I look forward to leveraging our shared expertise and knowledge, and partners in the investment community to build a stronger and broader set of capabilities across our portfolio of products to help with these challenges.”

UK, London

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Park Group and Studio Squared merge to form Tilt Creative + Production

March 1, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Tilt CPFilm and video production firm Park Group and the content specialists from Studio Squared have merged as Tilt Creative + Production, a fully integrated creative and production firm formed to assist national and local clients with creation of traditional and digital video content.

Park GroupUnder the terms of the merger, Park Group founder Dave Trownsell and partner Stacy Murphy will hold a minority share of TiltCP, which is majority owned by former S2 president Ron Carey. Carey will serve as CEO of the combined entity, which employs just under 40 people.Studio Squared

“Combining as one allows us to concept a creative idea, produce that idea, edit that idea and pull it off through the efficiencies we gain by keeping the entire process in-house,” says Carey, who served as a senior vice president at The Martin Agency before joining S2 in 2014. “Content is proliferating across a number of traditional and digital channels and screen sizes, so we have built TiltCP to deliver a high volume of quality, creative content that remains reflective of every client’s brand.”

The Park and S2 merger comes as content demands for global brands are shifting away from traditional channels and moving onto a variety of digital platforms, streaming services, social media sites, and mobile devices. With the newfound demand comes the need for a high volume of creative production that must be met with speed and efficiency while still maintaining quality and ensuring that the client’s brand is accurately presented in the final product.

“As we have for over thirty years, our team will continue offering full-service production for television, film, and traditional advertising and marketing needs,” Trownsell says. “As we looked to the future of our industry, we recognized that we must also evolve and combine creative, strategy, production and post-production under one roof to offer clients a leaner and more responsive model to meet their needs.”

Founded in 1986, Park Group has become one of the largest media production groups in Virginia, offering national clients turnkey production and post-production services. S2 was formed by The Martin Agency in 2008 to produce digital point-of-sale, in-store advertising for major retailers and other businesses. The company was taken private this year by Carey, and several previous S2 employees have joined TiltCP. Clients include Walmart, Audi, Capital One, Ferguson Enterprises, and others.

USA, Richmond, VA

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Ubisoft acquires 1492 Studio

February 28, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

UbisoftVideo game publisher Ubisoft has acquired 1492 Studio, a game development studio specialised in the development of free-to-play episodic and interactive stories on mobile. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2014 and based near Montpellier, France, the team at 1492 Studio created the successful mobile franchise “Is it Love?”, a series of interactive dramas in which a player’s choices shape their storyline, determine their discoveries and deepen their relationships in the game. The game is one of the top five grossing mobile simulation games in France and one of the top 20 in the U.S..

Jean-Michel Detoc, executive director of Ubisoft Mobile , said, “‘Is It Love?’ already is one of the leaders in episodic, narrative-driven mobile games, with a highly-engaged community of players. This deal is in keeping with our strategy of reaching new audiences through smart, targeted, and highly profitable acquisitions.”

France, Rennes & Vailhauquès

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Ascential plans to sell exhibitions arm to focus on digital

February 27, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

AscentialPlans to focus on its festivals and digital businesses could lead to a £300 million sale of Ascential’s exhibitions division.

The specialist information group previously known as Emap announced the launch of a strategic review of its exhibitions business yesterday.

The exhibitions business, which generated £78 million of revenue last year, includes the Spring and Autumn fairs, home and gift shows for the retail trade; Bett, a series of educational technology events; and Pure, a fashion trade show.

Ascential traces its origins back to 1887, when Sir Richard Winfrey bought the Spalding Guardian. In 1947, the Winfrey family’s newspaper interests were consolidated to form the East Midland Allied Press (Emap). In 1996 it sold its 65 newspaper titles to Johnston Press for £111 million and then in 2007 sold its consumer magazines and radio businesses to H Bauer, the German publisher, for £1.1 billion. The following year the company, by now a business-to-business magazine and events group, was acquired by Guardian Media Group and Apax Partners for about £1 billion.

Analysts estimated that a sale , which also include CWIEME, a series of shows for the automotive, consumer electronics and power generation sectors, could generate proceeds of between £250 million and £300 million. Shares in Ascential jumped by almost 6 per cent yesterday, rising 22½p to 400½p.

The review does not include Cannes Lions, the festival and awards event for the creative and marketing communications, entertainment and design industries, or Money 20/20, a financial technology payments event platform about to be launched in China.

If Ascential does sell its exhibitions unit, it is expected to redeploy the proceeds to pursue acquisitions.

Emap rebranded itself as Top Right Group in 2012, then three years later underwent a fresh change of name to Ascential. In 2016 it was floated at 200p a share, equating to a market value of £800 million.

The launch of the strategic review of its exhibitions division came as Ascential reported a strong set of annual results. Revenues from continuing operations rose by 6.4 per cent to £375.8 million on an organic basis at constant currency, with Cannes Lions lifting revenues by 7 per cent to £65.6 million. On the same basis, underlying earnings were up 3.4 per cent to £119.5 million and a final dividend of 3.8p makes a total of 5.6p, up 19 per cent.

UK, London

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Private equity group Epiris buys NME publisher Time UK

February 26, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

EpirisPrivate equity group Epiris‘s Fund II has acquired Time UK from US media group Meredith Corporation, a month after Meredith purchased the magazine publisher. The terms of transaction were not disclosed.

Time UK’s portfolio encompasses more than 50 well-known brands, including NME, Country Life, What’s on TV, Woman’s Weekly and Wallpaper, and operates across multiple platforms – print, online, mobile, TV and experiences.

The company is led by CEO and PPA Chairman Marcus Rich, who joined TIUK in 2014 from DMG Media. Sir Bernard Gray, who is Chairman of New Scientist and formerly Non-executive Director of Immediate Media and Chief of Defence Material at the Ministry of Defence, will become Executive Chairman.

Alex Fortescue, Managing Partner of Epiris, said, “This deal is a complex corporate carve-out of the type in which we specialise. The business itself offers plentiful scope for transformation through operational improvement and M&A. We are thrilled to have got Fund II off to such a strong start.”

Chris Hanna, partner at Epiris, said, “At its heart this is a diverse, robust and cash-generative business. We intend to bring clarity and simplicity to it, to focus on maximising the potential of its high-quality portfolio.”

UK, London & USA, Des Moines, Iowa

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Newsquest to acquire regional media company CN Group

February 22, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

NewsquestNewsquest Media Group Ltd. is to acquire Cumbrian-based media company CN Group in a deal which is part of a larger, scaled operation by the board to better protect the long term future of the group, its staff and its pensioners. The business sold two of its local radio stations to Global Radio in the autumn. The terms of this transaction were not disclosed, but it is expected to complete shortly after shareholders meet on 9th March.

CN Group runs print, digital and event brands covering Cumbria, Northumberland, north Lancashire, and the Scottish Borders including several award-winning papers such as the News & Star, Cumberland News, Times & Star, The Whitehaven News, The Mail and Hexham Courant.

It also has a magazine division that includes Cumbria Life, Taste Cumbria, Bay Living, in-Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway Life, runs the Choose Cumbria marketing campaign, and events arm CN Events and a print division. It employs 324 people.

Henry Faure Walker, Newsquest chief executive, said: “We look forward to the opportunity of working with the CN Group, its staff and the community it represents in building on their great local brands and publishing expertise, and helping them forge a strong future. We will endeavour to support them with the scale and resources that Newsquest can provide, whilst enabling them to carry on what they have done so well for many years – namely providing first class content and advertising solutions for the people and businesses of Cumbria and the wider region.”

UK, Weybridge & Carlisle

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Bauer Media acquires UK fishing event The Big One

February 15, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Bauer Media GroupThe Bauer Media Group has acquired the UK’s biggest fishing show, The Big One. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Big One is held annually each spring in Farnborough and attracts almost 20,000 enthusiastic anglers. The acquisition complements and strengthens Bauer’s angling media business which already interacts with 600,000 anglers each month through its portfolio of magazines, digital editions, social media and websites.

The Big One will form part of Bauer’s growing specialist events portfolio, which includes the London Motorcycle Show, the MCN Festival and Your Horse Live, already attended by over 100,000 visitors each year.

Vince Davies, who launched and owns the event, will continue to work for Bauer as Event Director, building on the great success he has had growing the show since it launched.

Patrick Horton, Managing Director, Sport & Entertainment at Bauer Media, said, “I’m delighted we are acquiring the biggest event in angling and equally delighted that Vince will continue to work with Bauer Media on the show. It’s a brilliant event that celebrates the best that fishing has to offer, and has great potential in the new permanent event space in Farnborough. We look forward to putting the weight of Bauer’s angling media behind the event to make it bigger and better.”

Germany, Hamburg & UK, Ashford, Middlesex

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THQ Nordic AB acquires Koch Media GmbH

February 14, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

THQ NordicTHQ Nordic is to acquire 100 percent of the share capital in Koch Media. The total consideration amounts to EUR 121 million on a cash and debt free basis, equivalent to an equity value of EUR 91.5 million. EUR 82 million will be paid in cash and financed by current cash and bank balance. The remaining part of the consideration, amounting to EUR 9.5 million will be paid by consideration shares at a price per share which is based on the volume weighted average price of the company’s shares on Nasdaq First North during the twenty trade days preceding the signing date (14th February), i.e. SEK 95.44. Thus, the consideration shares will comprise 987,965 B shares.

Koch Media is a leading, independent producer and marketer of digital entertainment products in Europe and North America with studios in Germany, the UK, and the US, and offices in several Central and Northern European cities. Koch Media’s business consists of three business areas; i) Games, which are mainly published under the Deep Silver label with several AAA-intellectual property rights such as Saints Row, Dead Island and Metro; ii) Partner Publishing, which is the leading company in this business area in Europe and iii) Film, which is a business within movies for primarily the German- and Italian-speaking territories.

Koch Media generated net sales of approximately SEK 2,548 million and adjusted EBIT of approximately SEK 296 million for the period April – December 2017. The new group generated pro forma net sales and adjusted EBIT for the period April – December 2017 of SEK 2,933 million and SEK 505 million, respectively.

Lars Wingefors, CEO of THQ Nordic, said, “Koch Media has a long history of profitability despite losses incurred from some less successful game releases. THQ Nordic is convinced that the development studios of Deep Silver as part of THQ Nordic will successfully deliver at least four ongoing AAA game projects including Metro Exodus as well as the next Volition Studio AAA release and the next Dambuster Studio AAA release, together with a number of other game development and publishing titles.”

Austria, Vienna & Germany, Planegg

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