ePals Corporation completes the acquisition of Carus Publishing Company

December 15, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

ePals Corporation has completed its previously reported acquisition of Carus Publishing Company.

Carus, which includes the Cricket Magazine Group, Cobblestone Publishing and Open Court Publishing, publishes 14 magazine titles covering all age groups (0 to 14+) on a variety of subjects (fiction, science, history, culture), hundreds of books and a growing collection of recognized Web and mobile applications.

The acquisition of Carus accelerates ePals’ entrance into the home subscription market by adding Carus’ subscriber base of more than 300,000 grandparents, parents and extended family members, as well as a broad array of publications for children across a variety of subjects. Carus also brings to ePals an experienced team of creative professionals and a unique library of high quality, leveled content for use throughout the ePals Global Community in building collaborative learning experiences for students around the world.

USA, Washington DC

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Pearson to sell 50% stake in FTSE to the London Stock Exchange for £450 million

December 15, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson has agreed to sell its 50% stake in FTSE International Limited to the London Stock Exchange Group for £450 million in cash.

FTSE is a world-leader in the creation and management of more than 200,000 equity, bond and alternative asset class indices. With offices in London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Madrid, Milan, Mumbai, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Tokyo, FTSE works with partners and clients in 80 countries worldwide.

Marjorie Scardino, Pearson’s chief executive, said: “FTSE is a bellwether of global financial markets and a world-class business. We have enjoyed supporting the company’s excellent and highly professional team to build the business. Proud as we are of that long association, FTSE’s strategy is different from our own. We wish it every success as we continue to build our digital business information services around the Financial Times.”

Pearson and London Stock Exchange Group currently each own 50% of FTSE. Under the terms of the agreement, London Stock Exchange Group will acquire from Pearson the 50% of FTSE that it does not own and continue to use the FTSE name. The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of 2012.

In 2010, FTSE reported total revenues of £98.5 million and total EBITDA of £40 million. At 31 December 2010, FTSE had gross assets of £100.8m.

Pearson expects FTSE to make a total post-tax contribution to Pearson’s adjusted earnings of approximately £18 million or 2.2p per share in 2011.

The transaction follows the sale of Pearson’s stake in Interactive Data last year for $2bn. It marks Pearson’s exit from companies that are primarily providers of financial data and strengthens the FT Group’s focus on global business news, analysis and intelligence, increasingly delivered through subscription models and digital channels.

Pearson intends to use the proceeds of the sale to support and accelerate its strategy, investing in its businesses both organically and through acquisitions of companies with complementary content, technology and geographic exposure. In recent years Pearson’s organic investments have enabled it to gain share in many of its markets. The company has also made a series of bolt-on acquisitions (including vocational training companies in the UK, global business intelligence through Mergermarket, universities in South Africa, online learning businesses in North America, language schools in China and school systems in Brazil) which have rapidly enhanced Pearson’s earnings and return on invested capital.

UK, London

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SAY Media Acquires ReadWriteWeb

December 15, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

SAY Media has acquired ReadWriteWeb. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, according to TechCrunch Say Media paid around $5 million.

Founder and editor-in-chief Richard MacManus will continue to lead ReadWriteWeb as part of SAY Media’s editorial team. In addition to ReadWriteWeb’s current staff, new writers will contribute to the technology publication, starting with Dan Frommer, founder and editor-in-chief of SplatF, who will serve as editor-at-large.

“ReadWriteWeb has established itself as a leading news and analysis source for the tech community, reaching high-level business influencers and decision makers. Its editorial team is frequently sourced and considered to be one of the best in the business,” said Matt Sanchez, CEO, SAY Media. “As we looked to acquire a property that would further strengthen our technology channel, ReadWriteWeb naturally rose to the top of the list. Richard and his team are extremely passionate about the content they create and have worked very hard to develop a deeply engaged and informed community of tech enthusiasts.”

As part of SAY Media’s portfolio of owned and operated media properties, ReadWriteWeb will take advantage of the Say Media’s proprietary technology platform, experienced ad sales team, and design expertise to scale its business to reach more technology enthusiasts and decision-makers. This acquisition will strengthen SAY’s Tech channel offering. Current sites in SAY Media’s Tech channel include: Android and Me, Gear Patrol, gdgt, SplatF, TechDirt and more.

USA, San Francisco, CA

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Wolters Kluwer Health acquires Medknow

December 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Wolters Kluwer Health has acquired Medknow PVT Ltd., a Scientific, Technical & Medical journal publishing operation headquartered in Mumbai, India and one of the largest open access publishers in the world. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Research is changing in the developing world with clinicians and researchers looking for more access to locally-written content that is peer-reviewed and accessible via open platforms,” said Karen Abramson, President & CEO, Wolters Kluwer Health, Medical Research. “Our acquisition of Medknow aligns with our strategy of continuing to invest in providing the latest, most trusted information to our customers around the world to help them fuel discoveries and enhance patient care.”

Founded in 1977, Medknow has a strong portfolio of more than 155 journals and offers much of its content electronically. The company has strong market share among journals published in India and also has a growing presence in Asia Pacific and the MEA region. In addition to its print and electronic journal content, the company provides an electronic peer-review system for authors and editors, ensuring high quality clinical research. The deal will enable Wolters Kluwer Health to accelerate advances in the open access arena. It also furthers the company’s growth strategy of continued investment in international expansion in key emerging markets across the globe.

USA, Philadelphia, PA & India, Mumbai

 

 

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ePals to acquire Cricket Magazine Group, Cobblestone Publishing and Open Court Publishing

December 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

ePals Corporation is to acquire Carus Publishing Company in a combined cash and stock transaction. Carus Publishing Company includes the Cricket Magazine Group, Cobblestone Publishing and Open Court Publishing. Carus also publishes 14 magazine titles on a variety of subjects (fiction, science, history, culture), hundreds of books and a collection of Web and mobile applications.

The acquisition of Carus accelerates ePals’ entrance into the home subscription market by adding Carus’ subscriber base of more than 300,000 grandparents, parents and extended family members, as well as a broad array of publications for children across a variety of subjects.

Carus Publishing Company,  The acquisition will add to ePals:

  • significant gross revenue which in 2010 was approximately US$16 million with EBITDA of nearly US$1 million and a net loss of approximately US$270,000;
  • more than 300,000 consumer subscriptions (approximately 70% from grandparents) and approximately 80,000 institutional subscriptions;
  • customer relationships with an estimated 30% of US middle schools and 3800 libraries;
  • a recipient of 65 Parents’ Choice awards and more than half of all International Reading Association, Paul A. Witty awards ever given;
  • mobile applications, including Carus’ Ladybug App; and
  • a licensing business in China for three localised Chinese publications based on Carus content.

“Since public listing four months ago, we have focused on launching LearningSpace 2.0 to enable schools to build safe learning communities as part of their K-12 cloud solutions, announced integration of Microsoft Office365 and GoogleDocs into our learning communities so that teachers can let their students use state of the art tools in a safe and secure manner, and launched major initiatives to establish ePals China and ePals Europe,” said Miles Gilburne, Chairman and CEO of ePals.

USA, Washington, DC & Chicago, IL

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CompareNetworks acquires Russell Publishing

December 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

CompareNetworks a provider of online B2B marketplaces for the scientific and healthcare industries, has acquired Russell Publishing. Russell Publishing’s titles include American Pharmaceutical Review, Pharmaceutical Outsourcing and International Drug Discovery.

“By merging world-class content from the Russell Publishing publications with CompareNetworks’ online product marketplaces, we will create the ultimate online resource for technology and product information in the life science industry,” said Brian Cowley, CEO of CompareNetworks.

The addition of the content from Russell Publishing will expand the pharmaceutical industry information offered on CompareNetworks’ sites. The assets of International Drug Discovery will complement Biocompare.com, the CompareNetworks vertical serving the life sciences. Assets from American Pharmaceutical Review and Pharmaceutical Outsourcing will enhance Drugdevcompare.com, which targets the drug development industry.

USA, San Francisco

 

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Mecom sells its media business in Norway to A-pressen AS

December 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Mecom Group plc has agreed the sale of Mecom Europe AS, which is the holding company for Edda Media AS, Mecom’s media business in Norway to A-pressen AS for an enterprise value of NOK1,725 million (€222 million).

The enterprise value of NOK1,725 million (€222 million) represents 7.9 times Edda Media’s FY 2010 EBITDA and 7.2 times Edda Media’s FY 2011 consensus EBITDA.  This is a significant premium to Mecom’s corresponding trading multiples.

After adjusting for certain minority interest, net debt and working capital items, the effective proceeds to Mecom for the Mecom Europe shares are expected to be approximately NOK1,800 million (€231 million) of which approximately NOK300 million (€39 million) will be represented by cash in Edda Media.

Edda operates 33 newspaper and websites. Its half-year revenue and profit have grown this year, with circulations down only one percent.

Tom Toumazis, Chief Executive of Mecom, said, “The sale of Edda Media is at an attractive valuation.  It will allow Edda Media to benefit from consolidation in the Norwegian media market and crystallise substantial value for Mecom shareholders.  In addition and importantly, I am delighted to say that we have agreed with A-pressen that we will continue to operate Sweetdeal together in Norway.  We have also agreed that we plan to explore opportunities for co-investing in and exploiting digital product development.  This alliance will benefit both companies and maintain links with the great team at Edda Media. The sale will of course materially improve our balance sheet.  It will allow us to consider, in due course and subject to a refinancing, an enhancement to the Company’s cash returns to shareholders, to focus on our future strategy and to invest to improve profitability in the remainder of the Group.”

Thor Gjermund Eriksen, Chief Executive of A-pressen, said: “A-pressen and Edda Media are a perfect fit for future success.  The acquisition will strengthen both A-pressen and Edda Media in today’s challenging media market.  Together with Edda Media, A-pressen becomes a solid media group with strengthened financials for joint development.  The reinforcement is crucial for the long-term commitment to develop and build the Norwegian media industry.  A-pressen has long and proud traditions to protect publishing values and editorial freedom.  Edda Media’s traditions, fundamentals and editorial independence will of course be respected and retained.”

Norway, Oslo & UK, London

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Hearst Corporation completes the acquisition of the majority of Hachette China operations

December 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Hearst Corporation has completed the acquisition of the majority of the Hachette China operations. The remaining operations, which include a joint venture with Marie Claire, are expected to conclude in the near future. This will mark the final portion of Hearst’s overall transaction with Lagardère SCA to acquire the company’s nearly 100 titles in 14 countries outside of France, including the U.S.

The acquisition includes most of Hachette’s magazine-related activities in China and oversight of seven titles, including global media superbrand ELLE, as well as Car and Driver, Woman’s Day andPsychologies.

In a joint statement, Hearst Corporation CEO Frank A. Bennack, Jr., and Duncan Edwards, president and CEO, Hearst Magazines International, said, “We’re very pleased to have finalized our acquisition in China and look forward to working with our Chinese publishing partners to produce great magazines and expand our existing portfolio of brands in this very important market.”

As a result of the transaction, Hachette China will change its name to Hearst Magazines China effective immediately.

USA, New York and China, Beijing

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Amazon Publishing to acquire Marshall Cavendish US Children’s Books Titles

December 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Amazon.com has signed a deal to acquire over 450 titles of Marshall Cavendish’s US Children’s trade books business, Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books (MCCB).

The list from Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books has been nominated for more than 150 industry awards and includes a diverse range of titles including “The Night Before Christmas” illustrated by Gennady Spirin, “Three Little Tamales” by Eric A. Kimmel, “Chalk” by Bill Thomson and “Yellow Star” by Jennifer Roy, as well as the National Book Award finalist “My Name is Not Easy” by Debby Dahl Edwardson. The acquisition creates the foundation for Amazon Publishing to further expand into picture books, chapter books and Young Adult novels.

“We’re excited to acquire the Marshall Cavendish Children’s Books titles and expand our publishing business in this area,” said Jeff Belle, Vice President, Amazon Publishing. “We believe the children’s book market segment presents a unique opportunity to innovate in both print and digital formats. And since many of these titles are not readily available as eBooks, we see a chance to connect a terrific group of authors and illustrators with more readers. We also see the potential for similar deals across other categories in the future.”

Marshall Cavendish was advised by Robin Warner, Atwood Capital Partners.

USA, Seattle & Tarrytown, NY

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Hubert Burda Media UK completes the purchase of Wedding and Wedding Flowers magazines from IPC

November 30, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Hubert Burda Media UK has complete the purchase of Wedding and Wedding Flowers magazines from IPC.

Wedding is an inspirational glossy for brides-to-be. Wedding Flowers is a UK consumer magazine devoted to big day blooms, providing ideas alongside practical and expert advice. 

Hubert Burda Media UK publishes a number of consumer and b2b titles, including Love it!, Full House!, Your Home, Essential Kitchen Bathroom Bedroom Magazine and Essential Kitchen & Bathroom Business.

Luke Patten, CEO of Hubert Burda Media UK, says: ‘We are delighted to add Wedding and Wedding Flowers to our portfolio, and look forward to welcoming the entire team to our High Holborn office. Laying claim to 25 successful years already, both titles will be receiving significant investment in order to improve and expand the brands even further.’ Staff transfer to Burda with immediate effect. There will be no interruption to the publishing schedule of the titles.

UK, Essex

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