Euromoney Institutional Investor acquires Insider Publishing

March 19, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney logoEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC is expanding its insurance and reinsurance business with the acquisition of Insider Publishing Limited.

Euromoney has paid an initial £16.8 million for Insider Publishing, funded from its existing committed borrowing facility.  It expects to make an additional deferred consideration payment in 2015 based on the growth in profits of Insurance Insider from 2012 to the average of the 2013 and 2014 calendar years.  Insider Publishing recorded an unaudited pre-tax profit of £2.1 million on revenues of £4.7 million for the year to December 2012.

Insider Publishing, set up by former Lloyd’s insurance underwriter Peter Hastie in 2000, is a leading information source for the Insurance insiderinternational insurance and reinsurance markets.  Its business model is centred on trusted, premium subscription content served through The Insurance Insider, the non-life insurance and reinsurance online news service, and a number of other specialist titles, all providing senior industry professionals and advisers with insight and intelligence on the London and international insurance and reinsurance markets.  Insider Publishing also runs a series of events including The Insurance Insider Honours awards dinner and the London One Hundredforum for senior executives of the London insurance market.

“We are delighted to acquire Insider Publishing,” said Richard Ensor, chairman of Euromoney. “Euromoney expects the international non-life insurance and reinsurance markets to remain major consumers of business information.  The acquisition gives Euromoney the opportunity to build critical mass in these markets and it will continue to run the two complementary brands, Reactions and The Insurance Insider, side by side.”

UK, London

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PennWell acquires the Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference from Willbros Engineers

March 18, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

PennwellPennWell Corporation has acquired the Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference from Willbros Engineers and entered into an agreement with the Geospatial Information & Technology Association (GITA) to produce the annual conference and exhibition. The 22nd annual Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference will be held October 28-30, 2013 at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston. Terms of the agreements with Willbros and GITA were not disclosed.

GITA founded the Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference in 1991 and developed the conference into an important technical event for the oil and gas pipeline sector. For the October 2012 Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference, GITA partnered with Willbros Engineers to conduct the event as GITA completed its transition to an all-volunteer organisation. Over 350 industry professionals attended the October 2012 Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference in Houston, which also had 55 exhibitors and sponsors. The annual event includes multiple conferences and networking sessions.

Robert F. Biolchini , president and CEO of PennWell, said, “We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to work with GITA with the goal of rapidly accelerating the growth of the Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference and we also look forward to the ongoing support of Willbros and other sponsors of the event. The pipeline and transportation sectors of the industry are experiencing phenomenal growth due to the resurgence of exploration and drilling in North America, and we intend to leverage PennWell’s publishing assets and event expertise of our editorial staff of the Oil & Gas Journal, Offshore, and Oil & Gas Financial Journal in a close collaboration with GITA to expand the conference and preserve the standard of quality in conference content established by GITA over the last 21 years.”

PennWell’s portfolio of conferences and exhibitions also includes Deep Offshore Technology (DOT), Offshore Middle East, Offshore Asia, Offshore West Africa, PetroWorld India, and Oil Sands Heavy Oil Technologies in Canada. PennWell publishes Oil & Gas Journal.

Tulsa, OK

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Maxim up for sale

March 15, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Alpha Media Group has put Maxim up for sale.

“Maxim constantly evaluates its position in the market and has decided now is the optimal time to entertain strategic relationships and offers. The brand will only consider offers that are meaningful and beneficial to both the brand and its investors.”

Maxim was founded in the UK by Felix Dennis, and became hugely successful in the the US.Maxim was so successful upon its arrival in the U.S. It still has a circulation of 2 million. Dennis sold Maxim for $250 million to a management team backed by the Quadrangle Group. After Quadrangle defaulted on its debts, Cerberus Capital Partners took over the title in 2009. Staff numbers have been reduced and the business is said to be financially sound.

Alpha Media Group Inc. was formerly known as Dennis Publishing, Inc. It changed its name to Alpha Media Group Inc. in August 2007.

New York, NY

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Trinity Mirror plc – Preliminary results for year ended 30 December 2012

March 14, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Trinity Mirror plc has announced its preliminary esults for the year ended 30 December 2012

Highlights

  • Revenue fell by £54.2 million to £706.5 million – in part due to the launch of a new national Sunday tabloid during February 2012.
  • Operating profit up 2.5% to £107.1 million.
  • Structural cost savings of £25 million.
  • EPS growth of 10.7% from 27.0 pence to 29.9 pence – driven by increased operating profit and reduced interest costs on falling debt.
  • Further reduction in net debt of £64.2 million – net debt reduced to £157.0 million after funding £14.2 million investment in Local World.
  • Continued de-risking of the Group’s defined benefit pension schemes – 25% of gross liabilities hedged through insurance contracts.
  • A non cash impairment charge of £60 million against the carrying value of goodwill in the acquired digital recruitment and digital property businesses.

Commenting on the results, Simon Fox, Chief Executive, Trinity Mirror plc, said:

“It has become clear to me in my first six months that not only is Trinity Mirror a strong and cash generative business, as evidenced by this past year’s financial performance, but that there is significant further unrealised potential.

We will be investing £8 million during 2013 to deliver our strategic objectives whilst ensuring we repay maturing long-term debt over the next 15 months. Over this period our financial flexibility will improve such that we can both meet our pension funding obligations and consider the potential for returning capital to shareholders.

Although the trading environment is expected to remain difficult, the strategic initiatives I have implemented will bring significant benefits with the ambition of delivering sustainable profit growth over the medium term.”

More information here.

UK, London

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ePublishing acquires B2B Audience Network

March 14, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

ePublishing has acquired B2B Audience Network. A business-to–business advertising network, B2B Audience reaches more than 300 online publications for clients including UBM, Cygnus, and GIE.

Andy Kowl, founder of B2B Audience Network, will be joining ePublishing as Senior Vice President of Publishing Strategy.

“We have always focused on maximizing publishers’ revenue by increasing reader engagement and enabling them to monetize it at every level,” said Thomas Chaffee , CEO of ePublishing. “Adding another contextual revenue opportunity for the hundreds of B2B titles powered by our EPS benefits both our clients and their customers.” In 2012, ePublishing acquired Ellington CMS and Marketplace software and 330 news websites from The World Company.

USA, Chicago, IL

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Complex Media acquires Sole Collector

March 14, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Complex Media has acquired Sole Collector expanding the company’s network of owned and operated sites. Sole Collector’s GM Steve Mullholand , along with his 10-person team, will join Complex Media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Sole Collector was founded 10 years ago by Steve Mullholand, and is based in Portland, Oregon. The site has 4.4 million unique monthly visitors and an online sneaker forum, with over 385,000 members. Sole Collector offers a sneaker database with over 15,000 listings, each quarter publishes Sole Collector print magazine and each month publishes Sole magazine on iPad.

“We’re thrilled to acquire Sole Collector and to bring on its talented team. They’ve created a uniquely successful destination for sneaker-obsessed males – some of the most discerning lifestyle consumers anywhere,” said Rich Antoniello , CEO of Complex Media. “With its authentic voice, enormous and constantly updated database, and loyal and engaged users, Sole Collector is exactly the kind of property we’re looking to add to our expanding collective of sites that define and influence youth culture. This is just the beginning of our aggressive and strategic expansion plan for 2013.”

USA, New York, NY & Portland, Oregon

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Wilmington Group acquires Spanish information and events Inese

March 7, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

wilmington-logoWilmington Group plc has acquired the trading assets of Inese, the provider of information and events to the insurance industry in Spain, from Reed Business Information for a net consideration of €1.4m in cash. The consideration will be financed out of the Group’s existing £65m multicurrency debt facility.

Inese was established in 1892 and was acquired by RBI in 2000. Inese is a leading provider of Spanish language subscription based inesepublications, online services for the Spanish Insurance Industry along with a number of annual events including the leading industry congress; “Insurance Week”. Inese also operates a digital news service in Latin America.

Approximately 40% of Inese’s revenue is derived from subscriptions, and a further 30% from annual awards and events. Throughout the last 3 years revenue has been stable and the business has enjoyed overall renewal rates on its subscription base of around 90%. Approximately 30% of total revenue is delivered digitally. In the year to 31stDecember 2012 Inese made a profit before taxation of €0.7m*1 and had gross assets of €0.8m.

The Business will form part of the Wilmington Pensions and Insurance Division and will work closely with the Axco insurance information business, providing Axco with access to Spanish language insurance markets.

UK, London & Spain, Madrid

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Condé Nast invests $20m in farfetch

March 7, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

cni-logoCondé Nast International, a division of Advance Publications, has led a $20m investment in farfetch, the e-commerce marketplace for independent fashion boutiques. Existing investors Advent Venture Partners, Index Ventures and e.ventures also participated in the fundraising.

“This investment will fuel our entry to new markets while assisting our growth in existing ones. Our goal to build a unique curated farfetchglobal franchise in online designer fashion is brought several steps closer through the exciting involvement of Condé Nast,” commented Jonathan Newhouse, Chairman and Chief Executive of Condé Nast International.

James Bilefield, President of Condé Nast International Digital, adds “As the leading multimedia publisher connecting people to the fashion brands they love, this investment underlines our commitment to extend the scope of our activities and back great entrepreneurs. It follows the recent news of our involvement with the e-commerce businesses Monoqi and Renesim in Germany, plus the investment activity of our parent company Advance Publications in the USA.” As part of the investment, James Bilefield will join the farfetch board.

farfetch launched in 2008 and brings together luxury brands from over 250 of the world’s most respected independent fashion boutiques for men and women. With 82,000 highly curated products from over 2,000 of the world’s best brands, farfetch currently has 150,000 customers in over 140 countries. farfetch is backed by Advent Venture Partners, Index Ventures, e.ventures and Condé Nast International.

UK, London &

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UBM Asia to acquire NOVOMANIA in China

March 7, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

novomania2UBM Asia has signed a binding agreement with NOVO Mania Limited, the organiser of NOVOMANIA, to acquire the annual urban fashion event in Shanghai. Upon completion, UBM will own 60% of a joint venture company, with NOVO Mania Limited, called UBM Novomania, to organise NOVOMANIA from 2013 onwards.

NOVOMANIA was launched in 2010 as an annual urban fashion event by the NOVO group of companies, a retailing and fashion conglomerate based in Hong Kong that operates and distributes over 50 international brands and has stores across 45 cities in China, and one of its partners, Focus Workshop, an innovative full service agency in China with expertise in luxury brands in beauty and wellness, fashion, real estate and FMCG. By bringing together designers, brands, buyers, distributors, retailers, franchisees, department stores, mall operators, real estate developers and the media, it creates a platform for introducing retail concepts to international brands which are seeking to enter the China market and for providing new business opportunities for domestic brands.

Showcasing the latest trends in major areas of urban fashion such as Denim&Urban, Sports&Street, Shoes&Accessories, Fashion&Chic and Contemporary&Premium, NOVOMANIA held at the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Centre inMarch 2012 occupied 25,000 gross sqm of exhibition space and welcomed 117 exhibitors from 13 countries and over 13,000 visitors. This year, Novomania will be held from 17 – 19 July at Shanghai Mart.

Jime Essink , President & Chief Executive Officer of UBM Asia said, “China is already the second-largest apparel market in the world and is set to surpass the US to become the world’s largest market in a few years. We are very pleased to partner with NOVO Mania Limited in the development and growth of this cutting edge fashion event targeted at the very rapidly-growing urban youth segment of the market. This joint venture continues our strategy of focusing on sectors and markets with the most exciting growth potential.”

Mr Guilherme Faria , General Manager of NOVOMANIA, together with his team, will be incorporated into the UBM China (Shanghai) office, reporting to the board of UBM Novomania.

Hong Kong & China, Shanghai & UK, London

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Pearson VUE acquires Exam Design

March 7, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson2Pearson VUE, the assessment services business of Pearson, has acquired Exam Design Inc, a provider of examination development software used in high-stakes testing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The purchase includes ownership of Exam Design’s flagship product, ExamDeveloper, a web-based suite of tools that helps users examdesigndevelop rigorous and defensible assessments for credentialing purposes while reducing the reliance on in-person meetings.

Pearson VUE has been working with Exam Design for over a year and currently publishes exams created through ExamDeveloper for a variety of clients. Headquartered in North Carolina, the Exam Design business and its employees will remain in their current locations, further supporting a seamless acquisition.

Robert Whelan, CEO and President of Pearson VUE, said: “Exam Design brings to Pearson VUE leading-edge test development technology that’s built on principles of psychometric integrity. Its expertise and services complement our own and fit perfectly with our future plans. This acquisition underscores our commitment to providing next-generation test development tools and services that support and protect the value of our clients’ credentials.

USA, Bloomington, MN & Durham, NC

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