Hearst Corporation completes UK portion of Lagardère Global Acquisition

August 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Hearst Corporation has completed the UK portion of its international transaction with Lagardère SCA.

The deal unites National Magazine Company, Hearst Corporation’s principal UK business, and Hachette Filipacchi UK Ltd. The new organisation has been rebranded as Hearst Magazines UK.

With the acquisition of Hachette Filipacchi, Hearst Magazines UK has the UK publishing rights to global media superbrands ELLE and ELLE Decoration, along with Psychologies; and the ownership of Red, All About Soap, Inside Soap, Digital Spy and Sugarscape.

The combined business, comprising 26 magazines, 22 digital assets and other branded properties, will make Hearst Magazines UK one of the biggest media players in the country, reaching more than 16 million adults in print and 20 million monthly unique users online.

This UK deal forms part of Hearst Corporation’s acquisition of Lagardère’s international press and magazine business, which includes nearly 100 titles, 50 websites and numerous mobile and tablet applications in 14 markets including the U.S., Russia, Ukraine, Italy, Spain, U.K., Japan, The Netherlands, Hong Kong, Mexico, Taiwan, Canada, Germany and China (which will close later this year).

Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Chief Executive, Hearst Magazines UK, and Executive Vice President, Hearst Magazines International said: “This move consolidates our status as a leading UK media owner. NatMag and Hachette Filipacchi have built a stable of world-class brands,and this combined portfolio gives us a unique opportunity to develop and expand our commercial potential. We very much look forward to working with our new colleagues on this exciting venture.”

UK, London

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Thomson Reuters acquires precious metals consultancy GFMS

August 5, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Thomson Reuters has acquired analyst firm GFMS (formerly known as Gold Fields Mineral Services), a precious metals consultancy, specialising in research into the global gold, silver, platinum and palladium markets. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“The strategy for our commodities business has been to deliver best-of-breed, specialist services and unique content to energy, metals and agriculture professionals via our next generation desktop Thomson Reuters Eikon,” said Shaun Sibley, global head, commodities, Thomson Reuters. “This investment coupled with our acquisition of Point Carbon last year is helping us deepen those propositions by bringing in specialist talent to our team which delivers invaluable insight, information and tools to our clients.

“Our clients will now have access to additional high-value GFMS content via Thomson Reuters Eikon in the future. We’re extremely pleased to join forces with GFMS and significantly strengthen our offering to the metals market,” added Sibley.

Both Philip Klapwijk, chairman of GFMS, and Paul Walker, CEO of GFMS, will remain with the business and take up new roles as global head of metals analytics and global head of precious metals respectively. They will report to Mitchel Ingham-Barrow who is Global Head of Metals at Thomson Reuters.

“This is an exciting time for GFMS as we become part of the large-scale and dynamic company that is Thomson Reuters, helping us to provide an even sharper focus on the global metals markets,” commented Philip Klapwijk, incoming global head of metals analytics, Thomson Reuters. “We see the Thomson Reuters Eikon desktop as one of the most innovative tools for metals professionals and we look forward to enhancing this proposition even further with the addition of our research and analysis.”

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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Half Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trends Report for Private Equity in the Information Industry

August 1, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Berkery Noyes has released its Half Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trends Report for Private Equity in the Information Industry.

The report analyses merger and acquisition activity in the private equity market over the first half of 2011 and compares it with activity in the four previous sixth-month periods. Berkery Noyes includes in this report transactions made by financially sponsored acquirers within the Information Industry, including purchases made by subsidiaries or platforms of private equity firms.

Berkery Noyes data shows that transaction volume and aggregate value rose considerably over the second half of 2010.  Transaction volume gained 11 percent in the first half of 2011, rising to 171, while value rose a considerable 21 percent in the first half, hitting $11 billion.

“The data shows that the private equity market continues to improve in the number of completed deals from the trough of 2009,” said John Shea, COO of Berkery Noyes. “The upward trend has been lumpy, however, and will probably continue that way for some time.”

The report also highlights the activity of Thomas H. Lee Partners within the information industry this half as the most active financial acquirer, with 10 acquisitions.  Thomas H. Lee Partners also announced the highest valued transaction this half, the pending acquisition of Acosta, Inc., a subsidiary of AEA Investors LP, for $2 billion.

A copy of the First Half 2011 Private Equity Industry M&A Report is available here.

USA, New York

 

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Zondervan acquires The Beginner’s Bible

July 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

The Beginner’s Bible has been acquired from Mission City Press by Christian children’s publisher Zonderkidz, a division of Zondervan.

The concept for the product was first developed in 1985 and The Beginner’s Bible was introduced in 1989 as a complete storybook Bible.  Zondervan entered into a distribution agreement with Mission City Press in 1997 and has served as the exclusive publisher of The Beginner’s Bible since 2004 with Zondervan’s children’s group, Zonderkidz, managing the publishing program.  To date, over six million copies of The Beginner’s Bible have sold in all editions and it is available in more than 20 languages worldwide.

“Zondervan has enjoyed a great partnership with Mission City Press as both organizations have long shared a common vision to bring God’s Word to life to the youngest generation,” said Scott Macdonald, President and CEO of Zondervan.  “We are honored that Mission City Press trusts us to carry forward this wonderful brand and we intend to continue to enhance and develop it to impact more young hearts for Christ.”

USA, Grand Rapids, MI

 

 

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WeddingWire acquires ProjectWedding.com

July 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

WeddingWire, a wedding technology company, has acquired ProjectWedding.com. Project Wedding, formerly a wedding property of eHarmony, Inc. and network partner of WeddingWire, provides wedding ideas, inspiration and advice for engaged couples.

“The WeddingWire team is thrilled to welcome Project Wedding to the WeddingWire family of brands,” says Timothy Chi, CEO, WeddingWire.  “This acquisition joins together two of the largest online wedding properties.  For our local and national advertisers, we now offer significantly greater reach and scale.  For our engaged couples, we will continue to invest in the unique and thriving communities on both properties.”

Over 1 million brides and grooms visit Project Wedding each month to interact with the supportive community, read curated editorial content and find the best local wedding professionals.  The acquisition of Project Wedding continues the rapid growth of WeddingWire’s digital footprint, which includes leading wedding planning sites, social media applications and mobile offerings.

“WeddingWire is an innovative leader in the wedding category and will continue to make Project Wedding a valuable resource for brides who want to find the best local vendors to make their wedding days memorable,” says Greg Steiner, eHarmony’s President and Chief Operating Officer.

USA, Bethesda, MD

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The Reader’s Digest puts itself up for sale

July 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that The Reader’s Digest Association has put itself up for sale and hopes to fetch around $1bn, “according to people familiar with the matter”. The Reader’s Digest Association has refused to comment. The process may result in the sale or spinoff of some Reader’s Digest properties rather than the sale of the entire company, two of the people told the newspaper.

The Readers Digest has been loss-making sine 2005. In 2007, an investment group led by private-equity firm Ripplewood Holdings bought The Reader’s Digest Association in a deal worth $1.6bn. However, they loaded the company with debt and the company struggled to pay the interest charges. In 2009 The Readers Digest Association filed for bankruptcy. Ripplewood gave up its ownership of the company loosing their initial £600m investment. The creditors, led by JP Morgan took ownership and replaced the $2.2bn of debt with a much more manageable $550m.

During the process, Reader’s Digest UK was placed in administration, because of complications with its pension fund. In 2010 private equity firm Better Capital bought Reader’s Digest UK from administration for £13m.

The Reader’s Digest Association was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace. For many years, Reader’s Digest was the best-selling consumer magazine in the United States. In 2009 they were overtaken by Better Homes and Gardens. Global editions of Reader’s Digest reach an additional 40 million people in more than 70 countries, with 50 editions in 21 languages. It has a global circulation of 17 million, making it the largest paid circulation magazine in the world.

USA, New York

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Centaur Media plc reports profits at top end of expectations

July 15, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Centaur Media plc, the business information and events group, has issued a pre-close trading statement for the financial year ended 30 June 2011.  The Group expects to report profits at the top end of the Board’s expectations, with reported revenues 14% ahead of the prior year and EBITDA margins increased from 11% to 14%. Underlying FY11 revenues, excluding the impact of acquisitions and adjusting for the phasing of exhibitions, are 10% ahead.

Trading

Digital advertising revenues continued to show stronger growth than print, with H2 revenues 21% ahead of the same period last year. Print advertising revenues grew by 7% in H2. Total advertising revenues, on both a reported and underlying basis, grew by 14% year on year.

Total reported paid for content revenues grew by 7% in H2, with Perfect Information increasing its digital revenues by 8% over the same period. Underlying total paid for content revenues are only marginally up year on year reflecting continuing weakness across the consumer publishing titles.

Events revenues continue to show steady growth, with reported H2 revenues 20% ahead of the same period last year. Underlying year on year revenue growth across the events portfolio was 13%.  Marketing Week Live reported record visitor numbers and revenues 26% ahead of last year. Forward bookings across the Group’s exhibitions portfolio are showing strong growth compared to the same time last year.

Impact of the restructuring

As recently reported on Fusion DigiNet, the Group has restructured into three operating divisions, the senior management team is being strengthened, operations within Business Publishing are being rationalised and a number of non-core assets have been targeted for disposal.

The Group anticipates that the annualised cost savings related to these initiatives will exceed £1.5m with an associated exceptional cash charge in FY11, principally related to redundancy costs, of approximately £2.5m. There will also be a significant non-cash impairment charge in relation to the write down of assets affected by the restructuring. The restructuring will have no impact on the Group’s underlying performance for the year to 30 June 2011.

The rationalisation of Business Publishing and disposal of non-core assets will reduce pro-forma FY11 revenues by approximately £7m. These assets made a small profit contribution to the Group in FY11.

The restructuring is designed to enable the Group to focus in the short and medium term on a portfolio of higher growth and higher margin assets.

The Group is targeting EBITDA margins of 20% within the next 12-18 months, driven by the further investment across new products and digital platforms within the new operational structure and benefiting from the cost saving and rationalisation initiatives announced on 28 June.

Reporting segments

As a consequence of the restructure of the business into three main operating divisions: Business Publishing, Business Information and Exhibitions, the Group will be adopting a new segmental reporting structure in the FY11 preliminary results that reflects the way the business is now managed.

Cash flow and balance sheet

The Group continues to maintain a strong balance sheet, with high levels of cash generation in the second half of the year.   After taking into account the cash outflow related to the FEM acquisition announced in April 2011, the Group will report net cash at 30 June 2011 of approximately £2m.

The Group has an existing credit facility with The Royal Bank of Scotland, which has been recently increased from £5m to £8m and extended to October 2012. In addition to providing adequate headroom for the Group’s working capital requirements, the increase in the facility will provide additional capacity to finance bolt on acquisitions.

The Group expects to publish its full year results on 15 September 2011.

Geoff Wilmot, Chief Executive, commented

“The last quarter of the year, which is normally our strongest, ended at the top end of our expectations.  The improved trading conditions experienced in FY11 have continued into the current financial year. The recently announced restructuring and rationalisation, our portfolio of market leading brands and our strengthened management team, will enable Centaur to benefit more rapidly from continuing recovery and from the recent investments in digital services.  This will provide a robust platform from which to deliver accelerated revenue growth and margin improvement in the medium term.”

UK, London

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Dennis Publishing acquires Women’s Fitness magazine

July 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Dennis Publishing has acquired Women’s Fitnessmagazine. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Women’s Fitness has an audited ABC circulation of 36,022 (July-Dec 2010) and was launched in 2002 . The title is aimed at women who enjoy exercise and want to stay fit as part of a healthy lifestyle.  Ideal for all fitness levels, the title provides workouts, training tips and nutrition plans for its readers. Women’s Fitness also has a website (womensfitness.co.uk) and a growing presence in the app store.

The title will sit alongside Health & Fitness magazine which will continue to cover the areas of health and lifestyle in addition to its regular fitness coverage.

Previously owned by Vitality Publishing, the move will see the team of five editorial and two sales staff relocate to the Dennis Publishing London HQ within the month. The magazine will initially be published by Divisional MD, James Burnay.

James Tye, CEO at Dennis Publishing said, “The acquisition of Women’s Fitness underlines Dennis’ strength in the fitness market.  As a brand,Women’s Fitness has already proved to be a successful newsstand brand but we know we can increase the brand’s reach in print and digital formats, both in the UK and overseas.”

UK, London

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Business Promotion acquires Internet Marketing NewsWatch from Nroo

July 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Business Promotion, Inc. has acquired Internet Marketing NewsWatch from Nroo, Inc. Internet Marketing NewsWatch is an online news source for Internet marketing. Business Promotion has acquired the website, its associated newsletter and related assets.

Since 2006, IM NewsWatch has provided news of the Internet marketing industry, covering regulatory announcements, announcements by search engines, and other major service providers, as well as excerpts from blogs of note. IM NewsWatch also reports news about e-business, e-commerce, blogging, industry leaders and experts, new e-business and Internet marketing product launches, new seminars/teleseminars/webinars, as well as what’s new in authority IM e-zines and publications.

Maher Mograbi, president of Nroo, Inc., commented, “We have enjoyed operating IM NewsWatch and providing this news service to the IM community. However, we have other projects planned and felt that IM NewsWatch could better fulfill its mission if others were at the helm. We are pleased that Business Promotion and its president, Phil Cullum, accepted the leadership of this respected news source.”

Business Promotion, Inc.’s other ventures include http://ConversationsWithMarketers.com and http://WirelessSalesPros.com.

USa, Gardnerville, NV & Lexington, KY

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Net Communities acquires Podcast Voices and Video

July 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Net Communities has acquired Podcast Voices and Video, a production business specialising in the production of online audio and video.  Podcast Voices was established in 2005 when the word Podcast had just been invented, since then its clients have included leading advertising agencies and brands such as Lonely Planet, Sunday Times Destinations Show, MPH / Top Gear Live and Imago Tech Media (UCExpo/IPExpo). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Podcast Voices Production Director and former shareholder said: “We are very excited about becoming a part of the Net Communities family, we have years of experience in producing online audio and video for a range of great clients, this move now gives us the opportunity to extend our offering to include the marketing and promotion of the audio and video programmes we create for our clients.  In addition we will now bring our skills in-house to enable the launch of sites like www.TechBuff.com, Net Communities new Photo and Video reviews site.”

Andy Evans Managing Director of Net Communities added “Wayne and his team are highly skilled in online audio and video production, we’ve used their services many times for bespoke projects created for clients like Sony Ericsson www.idealdayout.com and even for our own home page animated video.  I’m over the moon that we can now deliver in-house audio and video productions when creating innovative marketing solutions for our clients.”

UK, London

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