LexisNexis to acquire MLex

 

Legal & Professional has acquired MLex, a global legal media organization providing market insight, analysis and commentary on regulatory risk. the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Access to breaking news and expert analysis of the latest developments in regulatory risk is becoming ever more critical for our customers,” said Mike Walsh, CEO of LexisNexis Legal & Professional. “With the addition of MLex, LexisNexis will be able to provide global in-depth coverage of key developments in regulatory risk allowing our clients to keep abreast of the changing regulatory landscape. MLex’s regulatory news offerings will be a great complement to our leading portfolio of news assets including Law360, Nexis and Moreover.”

 

MLex focuses on providing insight, analysis, and commentary into key developments in regulatory risk. They employ an investigative approach combined with in-depth, forensic coverage of cases via a team of expert reporters, qualified lawyers and industry experts in more than a dozen bureaus around the world, including Brussels, Washington DC, Sao Paolo, Hong Kong and San Francisco.

USA, New York, NY

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Wilmington acquires Financial Research Associates LLC

Wilmington plc has acquired the trading assets and assumption of certain liabilities of Financial Research Associates LLC (FRA), a US conference and networking provider of specialist events in healthcare and finance, for a maximum consideration of up to $20.6m (£13.2m).

Wilmington is acquiring FRA from its founding management team, who will continue in the business. The acquisition comprises a net initial consideration of $13.0m (£8.3m) in cash with two deferred cash consideration amounts of $1.5m each payable on 1 July 2016 and 1 July 2017 conditional upon the continued employment of the management team. Further deferred consideration of up to $4.6m is potentially payable in cash subject to FRA achieving challenging revenue and profit targets in the two financial years ended 30 June 2016 and June 2017 respectively.

FRA, was established in 2001 and is managed by Lori Medlen, CEO and Ellen Wofford, COO. The business has a successful portfolio of over 80 specialist events, focussed on finance and healthcare. FRA has 47 employees based in two offices; Charlotte, North Carolina and Santa Cruz, California.

In the twelve month period ending 31 December 2014, revenue for FRA was $10.5 million. The business made an adjusted profit before interest, amortisation and taxation of $2.6 million and had gross assets of $1.4 million. At 30 June 2015 the value of assets and of certain liabilities acquired resulted in a net liability of $0.4 million.

Commenting on the acquisition, Pedro Ros, Chief Executive Officer of Wilmington, said:
“FRA is a quality business with excellent market positions supported by an entrepreneurial and ambitious management team. This earnings enhancing acquisition provides Wilmington with new networking opportunities and capabilities within our Finance and Healthcare areas.

We are delighted that Lori, Ellen and the rest of the FRA team are joining Wilmington at this exciting time in our evolution. The acquisition will also strengthen our base in North America as we look to further internationalise our business.”

UK, London & USA, Charlotte, NC and Santa Cruz, CA

IHS acquires RootMetrics

ihs_logo_mpIHS Inc. has acquired mobile network analytics company RootMetrics. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

RootMetrics offers highly detailed network analytics on a subscription basis to mobile operators and infrastructure providers in the U.S. and U.K. The company will remain headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, and will continue to operate with the RootMetrics brand name. The company employs rm-logo170 colleagues based mostly in the U.S., with a growing presence in the U.K.

USA, Englewood, CO & Bellevue, WA

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LinkedIn is to acquire lynda.com for around $1.5Bn

Screen Shot 2015-04-16 at 14.28.51LinkedIn is to acquire lynda.com, an online learning company teaching business, technology and creative skills. Based in Carpinteria, CA, lynda.com was co-founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin.

The transaction is valued at approximately $1.5 billion, approximately 52 percent cash and 48 percent stock and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015. Most members of the lynda.com team are expected to join LinkedIn.

Through a subscription to lynda.com’s service, individual members and organisations have access to a comprehensive collection of courses taught by industry experts, offered in English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese. In addition to individual subscribers, lynda.com serves corporate, government and educational organizations through its lyndaEnterprise, lyndaPro, lyndaCampus, lyndaLibrary and lyndaKiosk products.

“The mission of LinkedIn and the mission of lynda.com are highly aligned. Both companies seek to help professionals be better at what they do,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “lynda.com’s extensive library of premium video content helps empower people to develop the skills needed to accelerate their careers. When integrated with the hundreds of millions of members and millions of jobs on LinkedIn, lynda.com can change the way in which people connect to opportunity.”

Further Reading:

Ryan Roslansky, head of global content products at LinkedIn, blogged in more detail about the acquisition here. Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, wrote a post about the acquisition here, and Lynda Weinman, co-founder of lynda.com,  posted about it here.

Mountain View, CA & Carpinteria, CA

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Artexis Easyfairs – 5 acquisitions in Q1 2015

artexis easyfairsArtexis Easyfairs has announced 5 acquisition in the first quarter of 2015.

1. Easyfairs acquires Pack&Move Basel
24th March 20145

Artexis Easyfairs, through its Easyfairs Switzerland GmbH subsidiary, has acquired Pack&Move Basel from MCH Messe Basel. Easyfairs plans to bring together the two trade shows Pack&Move Basel and Transport&Logistics Bern, which will be co-located with Easyfairs’ three packaging events in Zürich. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The new Swiss logistics event will take place annually at Messe Zürich, with the first edition on 6th & 7th May 2016, alongside the established packaging events Empack, Packaging Innovations and Label&Print.

Belgium, Brussels & Switzerland, Basel

2. Easyfairs acquires Northeral
20th March 2015

Easyfairs has acquired Northeral, organiser of Algiers based Maghreb Pharma Expo, the largest pharmaceutical technology trade show in Africa. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Matt Benyon, Head of UK and Global at Easyfairs, added, “We were very impressed by the rapid success of Maghreb Pharma Expo. Since its launch in 2012, it has grown to attract 167 international exhibitors and over 1600 visitors. We see great synergies in combining Northeral’s local expertise with Easyfairs’ experience in launching and geo-cloning events.”

Belgium, Brussels and Algiers

3. Easyfairs acquires Tank Storage Magazine
10th March 2015

Easyfairs has acquired Tank Storage Magazine. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Tank Storage Magazine is a publication for the tank storage market, covering breaking news, market analysis, policy and regulations affecting the industry as well as new products and equipment. The print edition is sent to readers in 80 countries globally including Oiltanking, Peter Cremer, BP, Morgan Stanley, Flint Hill Resources, Macquarie and Rubis.

It is a good strategic fit for Easyfairs, which delivers a portfolio of tank storage events. These take place in the bulk liquid storage hubs and strategic ports of Abu Dhabi, Antwerp, Singapore, Hamburg and Rotterdam and include StocExpo, which the company acquired from Horseshoe Media in 2011.

Matt Benyon, Managing Director, Easyfairs UK & Global, said: “When we bought StocExpo it was always part of the strategy to acquire the magazine when the moment was right. Tank Storage Magazine is the most respected and influential publication in the sector so we’re absolutely thrilled to have acquired it. It’s a very natural development and provides great continuity and more marketing opportunities for all those involved in the magazine or events.”

Belgium, Brussels & UK, London

4. Artexis Easyfairs acquires Dry Cargo Europe Conference & Exhibition
10th March 2015

Artexis Easyfairs has acquired the management of the Dry Bulk Conference and Exhibition from the publishers of Dry Cargo International. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The event will be rebranded the Dry Cargo Europe Conference and Exhibition and will open its doors to visitors on 30 September and 1 October 2015 at Ahoy Rotterdam in The Netherlands, alongside Artexis Easyfairs’ trade show for powder and bulk technologies, Solids.

Jason Chinnock and Andrew Hucker-Brown, joint publishers and owners of Dry Cargo International commented,

Bas van Gent, Group Event Director of Artexis Easyfairs said: “Dry Cargo Europe is going to be a great addition to the Solids. The international visitors and delegates will be able to get an overview not only on what is happening in dry cargo logistics, but also in the treatment, storage, handling and processing of powders and bulk solids. We are delighted that we will be welcoming many new exhibitors and delegates to Rotterdam, the world’s fourth largest port complex.”

Belgium, Brussels & The Netherlands, Rotterdam

5. Artexis Easyfairs acquire FACTS
29th January 2015

In late December 2014, Artexis Easyfairs reached an agreement with company Con-Fuse about the acquisition of FACTS, the comics, sci fi and anime festival in the Benelux held annually at Flanders Expo in Ghent, which is also run by Artexis Easyfairs.

Dirk Van Roy, CEO of Artexis Easyfairs Benelux said: “With FACTS, we diversify again within our events portfolio. For several years already, FACTS has experienced significant growth in a segment that is new to us. As a market leader in the organisation of ultimate meeting & market places, our aim is to increase the experience of this close-knit community even more”.

In October 2014, FACTS was organised for the 24th time. Since its inception, FACTS has developed into a successful, 2-day event of 250 exhibitors and 40,000 visitors. It is not only the oldest, but also the biggest comics, sci fi and anime festival in the Benelux.

Emmanuel, Koen, Jörgen en Stefaan will certainly continue to provide their expertise for the next 3 editions of the festival and will be cooperating closely with Artexis Easyfairs Benelux.

The cooperation will start effectively from the next edition of FACTS, which will be the 25th already. This anniversary edition will take place on 26 and 27 September 2015 at Flanders Expo in Ghent.

Belgium, Brussels & Ghent

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Postmedia acquires Sun Media English Language Newspapers and Digital Properties

PostmediaPostmedia Network Canada Corp. has completed is $361M (Canadian) acquisition of Sun Media Corporation’s English language newspapers and specialty publications, as well as digital properties, from Quebecor Media Inc.

quebecor“Today we welcome more than 2,500 new employees and more than 170 new brands, along with loyal audiences and business partners, to the Postmedia family,” said Paul Godfrey, President and CEO. “With the completion of this transaction Postmedia becomes one of Canada’s largest newsmedia companies with even more compelling, made-in-Canada offerings for marketers. For our readers and audiences, we will continue to deliver the content they value most from their favourite Postmedia and Sun Media brands – across all of our platforms.”

To finance the deal, Postmedia issued $140-million of debt subscription receipts and, earlier this month, completed a rights offering that raised $173.5-million. It will also use proceeds from the sale of the Montreal Gazette production facility and some corporate cash to finance the Sun Media purchase.

Quebecor has kept its French-language titles, including Le Journal de Montréal.

Canada, Toronto

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Forbes Media acquires private photo sharing app Camerama

Forbes_Logo_registeredForbes Media has acquired the private photo sharing app Camerama. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Camerama Salah Akram Zalatimo, founder of Cameraman in 2014, will join the company as VP of Mobile Products, reporting to Forbes Media Chief Product Officer Lewis D’Vorkin.

camerama“Salah brings with him a unique set of skills, experiences and assets. He’s been a founder of a business, he has the technical know-how and the data-driven mindset that will help Forbes expand its growth in mobile apps,” said Lewis D’Vorkin. “Our goal is to build passionate communities under the Forbes umbrella – the kind that marketers want to reach and that generate valuable and relevant content.”

USA, New York, NY

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A Fusion Deal: Sale of 50.1% stake in Global Pacific & Partners’ worldwide conference portfolio to ITE Group plc

22 AOWFusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce the sale on behalf of its client Global Pacific & Partners (GPP) of a 50.1% shareholding in their worldwide oil & gas event portfolio to ITE Group Plc, a major London-listed international events company with significant capacity in global oil and gas.

The portfolio of events includes GPP’s market leading Africa Oil Week (AOW) conference held in Cape Town for the last 21 years. AOW incorporates Africa Upsteam and the Africa Independence Forum, other events in the portfolio include established oil & gas events in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

ITE2The cash consideration paid on completion for 50.1% is £16 million, with put and call options in place over a maximum of ten years, to enable ITE to acquire the remainder of the shares. The overall consideration to be capped at a maximum of £50 million.

Fusion acted exclusively for the shareholders of GPP. The shareholder founders and existing organisers of the event, will remain with the portfolio for the next few years at least.

GPP Chairman, Dr Duncan Clarke and CEO, Babette van Gessel said “We are all delighted to join forces with ITE to work together on developing the events in our conference portfolio. ITE has significant capacity and an excellent reputation in global oil and gas to carry forward the growth achieved over the last two decades for our portfolio in Africa, Asia and Latin America.”

ITE Oil &Gas Portfolio Director, Daniel Read said “I am very pleased with the acquisition of a majority stake in a series of events that includes Africa Oil Week/Upstream Africa. It is the jewel in the crown of GPPs portfolio and takes our services to a number of new territories. We have a global network of staff, exhibitions and conferences that will promote Africa Oil Week to a huge worldwide audience. The scale of the industry in Africa and its potential for future growth is enormous. It’s great to know that we will be involved in keeping the leading stakeholders in the continent’s energy community connected and informed. I’m also looking forward to working closely with the team at GPP who have created and nurtured the growth of what has become the leading event for the industry in Africa.”

paul-slight_f_1_120_1Paul Slight, Director at Fusion, said “We were delighted to have worked with Duncan Clarke and Babette van Gessel and the rest of the team at GPP. The Africa Oil Week/Africa Upstream Conference is the longest-running and most prominent event held worldwide for Africa’s fast-growing oil, gas, LNG and energy industry. It will be an excellent fit with ITE’s events portfolio.”

The 22nd Africa Oil Week/Africa Upstream Conference, with the 13th Africa Independents Forum, takes place in Cape Town, South Africa, from 26th-30th October 2015 at the CTICC, with over 100 speakers, 150+ Exhibitors, and around 1,600 delegates.

UK, London & Africa, Cape Town & The Netherlands, The Hague

Other Fusion Deals:

Media & Business Information

Business Support Services and Energy & Environmental Services

Exhibitions & Conferences

Healthcare

Broadcast

Moody’s to acquire Equilibrium in Peru

moodysMoody’s Corporation is to acquire Equilibrium, a provider of credit rating and research services in Peru and other countries in Latin America.

Based in Peru, Equilibrium has operated since 1996. Following the acquisition, Equilibrium will continue to issue domestic ratings in Peru and Panama with an independent analytical and rating committee process. Renzo Barbieri will continue to lead Equilibrium’s operations following the acquisition.

equilibriumThe acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2015. Equilibrium’s operations in El Salvador will not be acquired; the other terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Equilibrium is highly-regarded for the quality of its credit ratings and research and the broad scope of its analytical coverage,” said Raymond McDaniel, President and Chief Executive Officer of Moody’s. “This acquisition positions Equilibrium to serve the growing needs of issuers and investors across Latin America while deepening Moody’s presence in this dynamic and expanding market.”
Equilibrium and Moody’s Investors Service have had a technical services agreement since 2007, through which Moody’s has provided Equilibrium with technical support .

USA, New York, NY & Peru

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Evolve Media acquires Total Beauty Media Group

evolve mediaEvolve Media LLC has acquired Total Beauty Media Group, owner of TotalBeauty.com. The term of the deal were not disclosed.

This is the third acquisition for Evolve Media in the last five months, having recently acquired Dogtime Media and AfterEllen.com (formerly of Viacom).

total beautyFounded in 2007, TotalBeauty.com has 3.5 million monthly users (comScore, January 2015). It features daily editorial coverage of beauty news and trends, along with thousands of user-generated reviews, spanning more than 55,000 products that include well-known prestige, mass-market, salon, and spa items. The acquisition of Total Beauty Media Group also includes BeautyRiot.com, a website that offers celebrity hairstyle how-tos and tips from top hairstylists, fashion stylists, and makeup artists.

 

TotalBeauty.com will eventually be housed under the comScore property, TotallyHer – Beauty & Style Portfolio. In addition, Total Beauty personnel will join Evolve Media’s staff in the Los Angeles and New York offices.

“The acquisition of Total Beauty Media is another important milestone for Evolve Media and reaffirms our commitment to consolidate the most influential lifestyle publishing brands online. The Total Beauty team has done a fantastic job of building the most comprehensive and authoritative beauty site on the web,” said Aaron Broder, CEO and Co-Founder of Evolve Media.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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