Artemis Energy Holdings to acquire WooEB.com

September 14, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

wooeb-logoArtemis Energy Holdings the owner of press release distribution site TransWorldNews and business social networking platform LinkMyStock.com, is to acquire WooEB.com. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

WooEB.com is an online social networking portal that provides members the ability to manage their online content. WooEB.com currently is ranked according to Alexa Global Rank 45,935.

Tom Powers of Artemis Energy Holdings stated “With the addition of WooEB.com and the revenue streams it provides I think this acquisition will enhance the overall portfolio of Artemis Energy Holdings for our shareholders.”

USA, Atlanta, GA

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Centaur Media plc – full year results

September 12, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

centaurCentaur Media plc, the business information, events and marketing services group, has published its full year results for the year to 30 June 2013.

Financial highlights

  • Adjusted EBITDA up 10% to £12.9m (2012: £11.7m)
  • Adjusted profit before tax up 8% to £8.6m (2012: £8.0m)
  • Reported loss before tax of £37.4m (2012: profit £2.7m) includes a non-cash impairment charge of £39.2m (2012: £nil)
  • Adjusted basic EPS up 7% to 4.5p (2012: 4.2p) with a proposed full year dividend of 2.4p (up 7%)
  • Cash conversion remains strong at 112% (2012: 120%)

Operational highlights

  • Revenue mix continues to improve
    • Digital contribution increased to 35%, paid-for content 28% and events 36%
    • Advertising revenues reduced as planned to 35% of total revenues
  • Refocus around market segments driving greater focus on delivery of revenue and cost synergies

The acquisition of Econsultancy.com Limited was completed in July 2012, Centaur reported that the integration is accelerating.

Note: The Econsultancy sale was a Fusion Corporate Partners deal. Fusion represented the shareholders of Econsultancy.

centaur results 13

Click on the table to enlarge the view

 

Mark Kerswell, Interim Chief Executive, commented, “We have continued to improve our revenue and earnings profile as well as accelerate the delivery of our strategic objectives. We now have a sharper focus on markets and customers and a strong pipeline of new digital platforms and event launches. We are better placed to exploit fully the numerous opportunities across the Group. “Our digital, subscription and events businesses are growing well, whilst our print, advertising funded businesses are stable. With deferred revenues up 27%, the outlook for 2014 is positive.”

UK, London

Related articles:

Posted in Company Results, Conference/Exhibitions/Events, Content Media, Internet Media, Market Data & Information, Publishers, ~Europe. Tags: , . Leave a Comment »

WGSN acquires Mindset Communicaco e Marketing Ltda in Brasil

September 4, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

wgsnWGSN, the global trend forecasting service, has acquired Mindset Communicaco e Marketing Ltda, its marketing partner in the Latin American market.

Mindset is an advisory agency dedicated to research and analysis of future and current consumer behavior. It works with many leading companies in Brazil and brings a loyal subscriber base and great relationships with major retailers, merchandisers and designers across the region. Mindset has been a reseller of WGSN’s trend service subscription for nine years.

This agreement will provide Mindset access to WGSN’s infrastructure, wider global markets and their expertise in technology, content, operations and customer excellence. It will enable WGSN to be even closer to its customers in Latin America and create local content direct for that market. It will also enable other Top Right Group businesses to benefit from Mindset’s expertise in Brazil and across the LATAM region.

Julie Harris, CEO of WGSN and Planet Retail commented: “We are delighted to announce this acquisition, which not only further strengthens WGSNs position in the Latin American market, but is also part of a wider strategic objective to expand our trend, retail and intelligence services in new and developing markets.”

This is the group’s second acquisition this year following the purchase of certain online assets of Mudpie, a provider of fashion trend forecasting with more than 200 customers worldwide.

Top Right Group Latin America is headquartered in Sao Paulo and will shortly move to a new office near Faria Lima.

UK, London & Sao Paulo

Posted in B2B Services, Conference/Exhibitions/Events, Consultancy, Content Media, e-Commerce, Internet Media, Publishers, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean. Tags: , , . Leave a Comment »

Bloomsbury acquires Hart Publishing

September 2, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

BloomsburyBloomsbury Publishing Plc has today completed the acquisition of Hart Publishing Ltd the Oxford-based legal publisher, from the management shareholders. The initial consideration of £6.5 million (which is subject to working capital adjustments) was paid in cash on completion from Bloomsbury’s own cash reserves.

A further cash consideration of up to a maximum of £0.5 million will be payable on the achievement of certain revenue and title number targets for the period ending 31 March 2014. The acquisition is expected to generate cost savings and be immediately earnings enhancing contributing approximately £1.4 million of revenue to Bloomsbury in the year ending 28 February 2014.

Hart was founded in 1996 and has developed an extensive list with leading authors including Michael Fordham QC, Andrew Burrows, Grainne de Burca, JW Carter, Peter Cane, Simon Deakin, Vernon Bogdanor, Robert O’Donoghue, Philip Coppel QC and Michael Beloff QC amongst others. Hart generated £2.6 million of revenue and £0.5 million of profit before tax in the year ended 31 March 2013. Gross assets at that date were £1.4 million.

Nigel Newton, Chief Executive of Bloomsbury commented, “The acquisition of Hart increases our presence in the academic and professional market and is a significant step forward in achieving our ambition of generating 50% of turnover from this important sector. It is complementary to, and will substantially enhance, Bloomsbury Professional, in particular increasing the division’s international sales. Our growing proportion of academic and professional revenues will increase profit margins and give our results more stability. The mix of digital and subscription based services that can be built out of the acquisition are hugely exciting and will provide good financial returns.”

UK, London & Oxford

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Publishers, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

21st Century Fox acquires a $70 million stake in Vice Media

August 19, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

21st Century Fox has bought a $70 million stake in Vice Media. The deal gives Fox a 5% stake in Vice and values the company at $1.4 billion, according to a report  in the Financial Times.

Fox joins other minority shareholders including Raine, the merchant bank connected with WME, global marketing firm WPP and former Viacom honcho Tom Freston.

Vice started out as a Canadian music magazine but its growth in the past five years has been fuelled by online video, particularly its gonzo-style films from world trouble spots. The company had a turnover of $175m in 2012

USA, New York, NY & Brooklyn, NY

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~North America. Tags: . Leave a Comment »

Future acquires APC and TechLife – from Bauer Media Group in Australia

August 16, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

futureplcFuture plc‘s Australian business has acquired two technology brands – APC and TechLife – from Bauer Media Group.

The acquisition involves the two brands, the subscription lists and all related magazines, digital editions and websites in Australia. The brands will join Future’s existing Australian Technology portfolio, including TechRadar.com.au and T3.com.

Mark Wood, Future’s Chief Executive, said:

“The acquisition of APC and TechLife is the next stage in Future’s strategy of building a global technology content business around TechRadar, our top digital brand, and T3.com. “We are delighted to bring these two high-quality technology titles into Future, adding to our strong positions in the UK and US markets, and we look forward to building on their success and their impressive audience reach to become Australia’s leading technology publisher.”

Australia, Sydney

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~Oceana. Leave a Comment »

Dods acquires public sector publishing titles from Sift Media

August 16, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Dods (Group) Plc, the UK provider of political and government information and communication services, has acquired public sector publishing titles from Sift Media. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The agreement is for Sift Media’s PublicTechnology.net, PublicTenders.net and BusinessCloud9.com titles and its associated events, UK Public Sector Digital Awards and Business Cloud Summit.

Keith Sadler, CEO of Dods (Group) Plc, said, “We at Dods are delighted by the acquisition of PublicTechnology.net, PublicTenders.net and BusinessCloud9.com from Sift Media Limited. We will add these sites into its existing portfolio of websites and make further investment to improve the user and client experience on these sites.”

UK, London

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~Europe. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »

Elsevier acquires Woodhead Publishing

August 10, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

elsevierElsevier, a provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, has acquired Woodhead Publishing Limited, a UK-based publishing company publishing in the areas of food science, technology and nutrition; materials and engineering; textile technology; energy and environmental technology; finance, commodities and investment; and mathematics. The acquisition of Woodhead Publishing also includes Chandos Publishing, a library and information science publisher based in Witney, near Oxford.

“We are committed to improving research outcomes and researcher productivity,” said Suzanne BeDell, Managing Director, Science & Technology Books, Elsevier. “The acquisition of Woodhead Publishing helps us to achieve this objective. Woodhead’s global publishing program is complementary to Elsevier’s books portfolio and Martin Woodhead and his staff are as committed to content quality as we are.”

The Netherlands, Amsterdam & USA, Waltham, MA & UK, Cambridge

Related articles

Posted in Content Media, Publishers, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Elsevier acquires certain book assets of Gulf Publishing Company

August 8, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

elsevierElsevier has acquired certain book assets of Gulf Publishing Company. The portfolio of 32 books includes petroleum engineering titles in drilling, pipeline, oil and gas, and safety.

The GPC titles are for professionals in upstream oil and gas engineering and cover drilling, recovery methods, reservoir management, processing, and pipeline transmission. They include the Gulf Drilling Series, which emphasizes current techniques and technologies in the drilling industry; handbooks in oil and natural gas engineering; books on enhanced and non-conventional recovery techniques, including the high interest area of hydraulic fracturing (fracking); and data handbooks useful as reference sources for researchers and applied engineers working with the physical and chemical properties of hydrocarbons.

“The acquisition of the Gulf titles expands Elsevier’s petroleum engineering offering, positioning Elsevier as the leading book publisher for the oil and gas industry,” said Suzanne BeDell, Managing Director, Science & Technology Books, Elsevier. “The titles are of high-quality and complement our existing energy and fuel list, which is a benefit for corporate and academic customers using our ScienceDirect platform.”

All of the GPC books will be available through the Elsevier Store and on ScienceDirect, a full-text scientific database offering journal articles and book chapters from more than 2,500 peer-reviewed journals and more than 11,000 books. Many of the titles are also available on Knovel, a web-based application integrating technical information with analytical and search tools to deliver answers engineers can trust.

The Netherlands, Amsterdam & USA, Waltham, MA

Related articles

Posted in Content Media, Publishers, ~Europe, ~North America. Tags: , , , . Leave a Comment »

MTG acquires leading Bulgarian online business

August 6, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

MTGModern Times Group MTG AB, the international entertainment broadcasting group, has signed an agreement to acquire 70% of the merged assets of Darik News and Net Info in Bulgaria from Darik Radio, the Bulgarian commercial radio operator, for an undisclosed cash consideration on a cash and debt free basis. The combined Operations have a broad range of services across 33 advertising funded sites, and comprise the market leading digital conglomerate in Bulgaria in terms of monthly online reach. MTG has the option to acquire the remaining 30% of the Company from Darik Radio within a five year period.

Darik News operates a wide range of websites including news site dariknews.bg; sports news site gong.bg; and weather site vremeto.bg. Net Info operates the email platform abv.bg with approximately 3.5 million users; video clip site vbox7.com; sports news site sportni.bg; weather site sinoptik.bg; and entertainment news site edna.bg. The combined Darik News and Net Info websites generated over 750 million monthly page views during the second quarter of 2013, and had almost 3 million individual monthly users. The combined company generated pro forma total revenues of EUR 4.2 million (approximately SEK 36 million) and was profitable for the full year 2012.darik20godini

The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and certain other terms and conditions. The Group would consolidate the assets within its Bulgarian free-TV operations, which are part of the Group’s Free-TV Emerging Markets business, upon completion of the transaction.

The acquisition complements MTG’s current Bulgarian operations, which consist of five linear TV channels, the Nova Play advertising funded video on demand website and the Nova News and Nova Sports news sites. The Operations are expected to generate both operational and financial synergies for the Group. The acquisition will also enable MTG to offer new and innovative entertainment solutions to Bulgarian customers, across multiple platforms. The Group’s Bulgarian media house is the second largest in Bulgaria, and had a combined commercial audience share of 32.5% in the 18-49 target audience in the second quarter.

The acquisition is part of MTG’s digital MTGx strategy, which aims to accelerate digital expansion and innovation. It does not only enable MTG to accelerate the growth of its broadcasting and online entertainment businesses in Bulgaria, but also provides a broad platform for continued digital expansion in the region.

Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, President and CEO of MTG, commented: “The acquisition of the Darik News and Net Info operations is a key milestone in the development of our Bulgarian presence. It significantly expands our overall customer proposition in Bulgaria, and will enable us to leverage our content in new and innovative ways across a number of popular platforms, to reach more people than ever before with the entertainment of their choice. We will also be able to extend our advertising proposition and reach, and to offer advertisers more extensive and finely tuned products than ever before.”

Sweden, Stockholm & Bulgaria, Sofia

Related articles

Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »