Elsevier acquires Mendeley – cloud-based research management and collaboration platform

April 9, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

elsevierElsevier has acquired Mendeley, a London-based company that operates a global research management and collaboration platform. Researchers use Mendeley’s desktop and cloud-based tools to manage and annotate documents, create citations and bibliographies, collaborate on research projects and network with fellow academics.

“Mendeley is an innovative company with great culture, talent and collaborative spirit, and we will keep it that way,” said Olivier mendeleyDumon, Managing Director of Academic and Government Research Markets at Elsevier. “Not only that, but together we intend to scale and evolve Mendeley in ways that benefit the entire research community. We will provide greater access to content, data, and analytics tools to Mendeley’s users and its flourishing third-party app ecosystem, all of which will enable us to increase both Elsevier’s and Mendeley’s engagement with researchers.”

Launched in late 2008, Mendeley was the brainchild of three PhD students wanting an easier way to manage their research papers and collaborate with colleagues overseas. They developed a desktop app that could automatically extract metadata and keywords from PDFs, thus turning loose collections of PDFs into structured, searchable research paper databases that were synchronized to the cloud.

From the start, they were thrilled by the idea that this crowd-sourced data would allow Mendeley to analyse research trends across academic disciplines in real time, show readership statistics for individual research papers, connect researchers with similar interests and generate research paper recommendations based on collaborative filtering.

The Netherlands, Amsterdam & UK, London

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Time Out Group acquires Time Out Chicago

April 8, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Time Out Group has acquired Time Out Chicago. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Chicago offers something for everyone – from foodies and art aficionados to film fans and theater buffs and we will continue to provide expert recommendations and inspiration for all Chicagoans to get the most out of their city,” said Jennifer Morgan , President of Time Out North America.

Aksel Van Der Wal CEO of Time Out added, “Chicago is an extremely valuable market for us and this acquisition underscores our continued commitment to expanding our digital offering, while remaining the source for authoritative, dynamic content.”

USA, New York, NY & Chicago, IL

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Tampa Media Group acquires Clearwater Gazette

April 8, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Revolution Capital Group portfolio company, Tampa Media Group, has acquired weekly newspaper Clearwater Gazette from Chuck and Sandy Pollick.

“For six decades, Clearwater Gazette has been an influential and important voice in the community, and we’re impressed with the quality of the publication put together by the owners, Chuck and Sandy Pollick,” says Gary Alcock, Managing Director of Revolution Capital Group.

“The content and viewpoints of Clearwater Gazette mesh well with our existing portfolio of media properties in the region. In addition to that, it’s also an exceptionally well-run business,” says Jim Towers, a Senior Associate with Revolution.

Revolution Capital Group formed Tampa Media Group in October 2012 to purchase The Tampa Tribune from Media General. Clearwater Gazette is Revolution’s fifth acquisition.

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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Euromoney Institutional Investor to acquire HSBC’s Quantitative Techniques operation

April 4, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney logoEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC is to acquire HSBC’s Quantitative Techniques operation.  QT is the benchmark and calculation agent business of HSBC Bank plc and creates and maintains more than 100 equity and bond indices for HSBC’s Global Markets division as well as over 60 external clients. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

Completion of the sale will take place after a transition phase, which is expected to take six months.  Once the transaction has completed, HSBC has agreed to purchase index calculation services from QT for a minimum period of three years.

Euromoney believes the acquisition creates an opportunity to build a new business providing independent index compilation services.  Over more than 40 years Euromoney has built strong relationships with financial institutions which should help expand QT’s customer base and encourage other institutions to engage QT to calculate the indices for their own investable index products.  Euromoney also plans to use QT’s index calculation expertise to develop new index families across other parts of its business.

“We are delighted to acquire the Quantitative Techniques operation from HSBC,” said Richard Ensor, chairman of Euromoney.  “HSBC is a trusted and important partner as well as a key client.  Euromoney looks forward to working with HSBC over the next three years and, it hopes, for many years afterwards to develop the QT business.  This acquisition gives Euromoney the opportunity to establish a significant footprint in the attractive index compilation market.”

UK, London

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LifeApps Digital Media acquires Sports One Group

April 3, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

LifeApps-Icon-2012-85pxLifeApps Digital Media Inc., a digital media company focusing on health, fitness, sports publications, and next-generation social networks, has acquired Sports One Group and Performance Gear, a wholesale supplier to the promotional products industry providing athletic apparel, uniforms and decorating services. Effective as of April 1, 2013, LifeApps has acquired certain assets of Sports One Group, including a supplier base of leading fitness apparel designers and over 1,300 customers.

“We believe this is a great acquisition for LifeApps and a step towards expanding our physical and digital products across our sports, health and fitness based communities,” said Robert Gayman, CEO of Life Apps. “Through this new digital platform, we can now service the promotional and sports industries, the sporting goods sector and individual health enthusiasts with our diverse family of e-commerce and m-commerce fitness products. We are confident that the LifeApps team will be able to enhance and improve the current e-commerce business of Sports One Group and build an m-commerce solution for the business in the near future. In addition, the acquisition of Sports One Group will provide an immediate revenue stream to the Company.”

USA, San Diego, CA

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Future sells Classic Rock and Metal Hammer

April 2, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

futureplcFuture plc is to sell its UK rock titles Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and associated brand extensions to Team Rock Limited for £10.2m. The sale will be made on a cash-free and debt-free basis. Completion will occur on 16 April 2013.

As well as Classic Rock and Metal Hammer magazines, the sale includes associated periodicals Prog and AOR, as well as branded events The Golden Gods and The Classic Rock Roll of Honour.

The net sale proceeds will be used to reduce the level of bank debt and provide additional headroom under the Group’s new credit facility for further strategic digital investment. Future retains a portfolio of music-making titles and the musicradar.com website.

For the year ended 30 September 2012, the revenue, gross contribution and adjusted pre-tax profit attributable to these brands were £8.6m, £1.8m and £0.2m respectively. At 30 September 2012, the gross assets relating to these brands were £6.6m.

Mark Wood, Future’s Chief Executive, said: “Classic Rock and Metal Hammer generate revenues predominantly from print. Their sale is in line with Future’s strategy of prioritising products which are international and digital. These two iconic print brands have not been central to that strategy and will thrive within a broader music business.”

UK, London

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Amazon.com to acquire Goodreads

March 28, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

amazonAmazon.com is to acquire Goodreads, a site for readers and book recommendations that helps people find and share books. Founded in 2007, Goodreads has more than 16 million members and there are more than 30,000 books clubs on the Goodreads site. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close during the second quarter of 2013

“Amazon and Goodreads share a passion for reinventing reading,” said Russ Grandinetti, Amazon Vice President, Kindle Content. “Goodreads has helped change how we discover and discuss books and, with Kindle, Amazon has helped expand reading around the world. In addition, both Amazon and Goodreads have helped thousands of authors reach a wider audience and make a better living at their craft. Together we intend to build many new ways to delight readers and authors alike.”goodreads

Goodreads’s headquarters will remain in San Francisco, CA.

USA, Seattle, WA & San Francisco, CA

 

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CBS acquires 50% of TV Guide

March 26, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

CBS Corp. is acquiring 50% of of TV Guide, the company that encompasses TVGN (formerly TV Guide Network) and TVGuide.com.

CBS is taking over the TV Guide stake held by One Equity Partners, the private-equity arm of J.P. Morgan Chase, which owned 49% of the company, with an option to buy another 1%. CBS is said to be paying about $100 million, less than the $122 million OEP spent in June 2009. CBS joins TVGN co-owner Lionsgate Entertainment.

“This is a strategic way for CBS to use its content brands and gain access to a highly distributed basic cable network that has a lot of upside,” said Leslie Moonves, President and Chief Executive Officer, CBS Corporation. “Lionsgate, led by my friend Jon Feltheimer, is a forward-thinking content company and a great partner for us here. We’re excited to bring CBS’s programming and production assets to the venture, and work with Lionsgate to rebrand and grow a channel that will be increasingly valuable to our carriage partners.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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McGraw-Hill completes the sale of McGraw-Hill Education to Apollo

March 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

McgrawhilleducationThe McGraw-Hill Companies has completed the sale of its McGraw-Hill Education business to investment funds affiliated with Apollo Global Management, LLC. The purchase price was $2.4 billion in cash.

Previous reporting.

The McGraw-Hill Companies will be renamed McGraw Hill Financial in the second quarter of this year and will focus on serving the global capital and commodity markets

The Company is using a portion of the approximately $1.9 billion in after tax proceeds from the sale to pay down short-term debt, in part driven by the special dividend paid in 2012, to resume share repurchases and to make selective tuck-in acquisitions.

“Consistent with our commitment to maximizing shareholder value, McGraw Hill Financial expects to continue to return cash to shareholders and to invest for growth,” said Harold McGraw III , Chairman, President and CEO of The McGraw-Hill Companies. “We have successfully completed our Growth and Value Plan, which had as its cornerstone the separation of our financial information and education businesses. The steps we have taken have unlocked value for shareholders, positioned the assets of McGraw-Hill Education for long-term success and accelerated the growth potential of the new McGraw Hill Financial.”

USA, New York, NY

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Mecom Group plc – results for year ended 31st December 2012

March 21, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

mecomMecom Group plc has announced its results for the year ended 31st December 2012.
HIGHLIGHTS

  • Adjusted EBITDA of €87.5 million (2011: €111.1 million)
  • Total revenue down 9 per cent to €910.5 million
  • Non-advertising revenues down 3 per cent to €546.1 million
  • Advertising revenues down 17 per cent to €364.4 million
  • Costs lower by 7 per cent, or €63.4 million, versus target of €40 million
  • Total adjusted Group earnings per share of 34.6 euro cents (2011: 46.1 euro cents)
  • Final dividend of 5.5 euro cents per share; full year dividend of 11.5 euro cents (including 3.5 cents relating to earnings from discontinued operations)
  • Net debt halved during the year to €129.5 million, with closing leverage of 1.4 times
  • Strategic Review progressing:
    • agreement signed for the disposal of Poland division
    • agreement signed for the disposal of Autotrack online classifieds business
    • processes continue in Denmark and the Netherlands

Full details here.

 

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