UBM Medica sells The Consultant Print Group

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM Medica has sold The Consultant Print Group to HMP Communications.  HMP investors included Alta Communications and Susquehanna Private Equity Investments. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Consultant Print Group is a print publication unit of UBM Medica, LLC and focused on the primary care market. The Group includes the print magazine and custom publishing operations of two titles, Consultant and Consultant for Pediatricians.  Both titles are highly respected, independent journals for primary care physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, and are known for their editorial excellence, strong readership, and respected brands.

Berkery Noyes acted as UBM Medica’s financial advisor in its negotiations with HMP Communications.

UK, London & USA, Norwalk, CT

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Pearson to acquire Schoolnet for $230M

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson is acquiring Schoolnet, a fast-growing and innovative education technology company that aligns assessment, curriculum and other services to help individualise instruction and improve teacher effectiveness. Pearson will acquire Schoolnet for $230m in cash.

Schoolnet now serves more than 5 million US pre K-12 students through partnerships with districts and states, supporting about one-third of America’s largest urban cities.

Marjorie Scardino, Pearson’s chief executive, said: “Being able to offer a connective digital spine for learning has been Pearson’s goal for years. Schoolnet has shared our passion, and together we can make that spine more flexible and powerful for schools, teachers and students.”

Based in New York City, Schoolnet was founded in 1998 by Jonathan D. Harber and Denis P. Doyle, who developed the Schoolnet instructional management suite to help school systems use data to boost learning.

Jonathan D. Harber, Schoolnet’s chief executive, will stay on, along with his senior leadership team, and continue to serve as CEO of Schoolnet and as a senior executive at Pearson.

Will Ethridge, chief executive of Pearson North America, said: “We are excited to have Jonathan and the talented Schoolnet team join Pearson. We see an excellent fit between the capabilities of our two organizations, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to work together to improve learning and accelerate growth.”

USA, New York, NY

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Max Media Group acquires ClassicCorvettes.com

April 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Max Media Group has acquired http://www.classiccorvettes.com, and 35,000sf showroom of Classic Corvettes and Collectables in Tarpon Springs Florida.

James Grady CEO of MXMI. stated, ” This acquisition enables us to now have a world class showroom and repair facility for classic and collector cars and class A office space for our corporate office and Internet radio studio. Classic Corvettes and Collectables is now a valuable asset in our luxury transportation division. Our new corporate headquarters are now located at 304 S Pinellas Ave Tarpon Springs FL. This acquisition is another example of our business model and growth plan. We continue to seek out complementary websites and companies to add value to our growing media network! ”

USA, Palm Harbor, FL

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UBM Q1 results

April 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Highlights

  • Q1 revenue was up 13.7% to £237.7m (Q1 2010: £209.1m); underlying revenue growth of 7.5%.
  • Adjusted operating profit up by 18.6% to £44.6m (Q1 2010: £37.6m).
  • Operating profit margin rose to 18.8% (Q1 2010: 18.0%) driven by strong events margin.
  • Revenue patterns and margins reflect seasonal variations and our expectations remain in line with the outlook described in our 2010 results – for segmental detail see sections below.
  • We have continued to manage the portfolio actively during the period and have announced the acquisition of two Indian events businesses while disposing of print titles in France, the UK and the US.

David Levin, Chief Executive Officer, UBM said:
“We are pleased with the performance of the business in the first quarter where we have seen good underlying revenue growth of 7.5% and we remain on track to meet our expectations for the full year. As we said at the full year we expect the improved quality and shape of the business to result in sustained underlying revenue growth during 2011 broadly in line with the 5.6% growth enjoyed in 2010. Overall we anticipate continued growth in profit largely driven by a full year of contribution from our acquisitions and continued momentum in our Events business tempered by targeted investment in Data Services, TD&M and Online.”

Unaudited results for the three months ended 31 March 2011
Revenue 2011 2010 Change Underlying Change
£m £m % %
Events 84.1 62.8 33.9 15.9
Targeting, Distribution & Monitoring 46.9 43.0 9.1 8.3
Data Services 55.6 54.6 1.8 4.9
Online – Marketing Services 19.7 13.8 42.8 14.2
Print – Magazines 31.4 34.9 (10.0) (13.1)
Total Revenue 237.7 209.1 13.7 7.5
   Margin
Adjusted operating profit 2011 2010 Change 2011 2010
£m £m % % %
Events 27.7 16.5 67.9 32.9 26.3
Targeting, Distribution & Monitoring 9.9 10.1 (2.0) 21.1 23.5
Data Services 12.5 13.3 (6.0) 22.5 24.4
Online – Marketing Services (2.1) (1.6) (31.3) (10.7) (11.6)
Print – Magazines 0.2 1.0 (80.0) 0.6 2.9
Corporate Operations (3.6) (1.7) nm n/a n/a
Total Adjusted Operating Profit 44.6 37.6 18.6 18.8 18.0

Events

  • YTD event revenues are up 33.9% to £84.1m (Q1 2010: £62.8m); underlying growth was 15.9%.
  • Key drivers were strong emerging markets performance, growth at our key US technology events and the newly acquired UBM Canon events, partially offset by some weaker performances for example at BSEC which is exposed to the UK education sector.
  • UBM Canon events have traded ahead of their 2010 editions and in line with the acquisition business case.
  • Adjusted operating margin of 32.9% (Q1 2010: 26.3%) reflected the contribution of UBM Canon, with major events concentrated early in the year.
  • We are encouraged by the performance of Events in Q1, traditionally the quietest quarter in the year, and reiterate our guidance of continued underlying growth, albeit at a slowing pace given the comparatives become more challenging as the year progresses.
  • As stated in February, we expect the positive margin impact from biennial events to be less pronounced than usual given their relative size within the overall portfolio and as we continue to invest in the development of new markets and events.
  • Forward bookings for UBM’s 2010 Top 20 events running in the next 12 months are up 20.7%.

Targeting, Distribution & Monitoring (“TD&M”)

  • PR Newswire’s revenues rose 9.1% to £46.9m (Q1 2010: £43.0m); underlying growth was 8.3%.
  • Continued growth in US non-wire products (especially MultiVu and Vintage) was accompanied by a robust performance in US wire and good international growth.
  • Adjusted operating margin of 21.1% (Q1 2010: 23.5%) reflects the step up in IT costs from Q3 2010, some margin dilution from a larger proportion of revenues generated from US non-wire and international activity as well as higher sales force and product investments relative to Q1 2010.
  • TD&M volumes and revenues reflect seasonal variations. We expect continued revenue growth in 2011, as set out in the full year results, and overall margins to be slightly ahead of the second half of 2010 (20.8%).

Data Services

  • Data Services revenues rose 1.8% to £55.6m (Q1 2010: £54.6m), with underlying revenue growth of 4.9%.
  • Performance reflect higher UBM TechInsights revenues, good growth in most digital data products and solid listing fees performance at Vidal, partially offset by lower print directory sales, declines in aviation advertising revenue and some weakness in our subscription driven Trade & Transport business.
  • The timing of the publication of print directories creates revenue and profit seasonality. Adjusted operating margin for the period was 22.5% (Q1 2010: 24.4%). The decline from Q1 2010 reflects a higher proportion of UBM TechInsights activity, lower print directory sales and related advertising and investment in new products.
  • As set out in the full year results, we expect that full year revenues will grow at the solid pace demonstrated in 2010, given comparatives become more challenging as the year progresses, and that full year margins will be broadly in line with those of the second half of 2010 (16.0%).

Online – Marketing services (“Online”)

  • Online revenues rose 42.8% to £19.7m (Q1 2010: £13.8m), with underlying revenue growth of 14.2%.
  • Continued strong growth in the technology community (most notably Information Week) was aided by contributions from acquisitions including Canon Communications, GAO and OBGYN.net.
  • Online adjusted operating margin was -10.7% during the period compared to -11.6% in Q1 2010.
  • Our outlook for online remains the same as at the full year results – we continue to expect good growth in revenues, although there is likely to be some moderation in underlying rates as the year progresses. Operating margins are expected to continue to reflect the dilutive effect of investment in new products, particularly Virtual Events and engagement offerings, and we do not currently anticipate margins being much higher than in 2010.

Print – Magazines (“Print”)

  • Print revenues fell by 10.0% to £31.4m (Q1 2010: £34.9m), with underlying revenues down 13.1%.
  • During the period we disposed of the Publican and French medical print titles. Since the end of the period we have transferred UBM Canon’s electronics titles in China to the eMedia Asia JV, in which we own a 39.9% interest, and have also disposed of the Consultant titles in the US.
  • Adjusted operating margin for the period was down to 0.6% (Q1 2010: 2.9%).
  • After taking into account the disposals and the £14.6m pro forma from 2010 acquisitions (adjusted for the transfer of Chinese electronics titles), we expect underlying revenues for the print portfolio to decline at rates broadly similar to those seen across our portfolio for 2010 (c-12%).
  • We continue to expect the margins in print to improve over time, however following the disposals (which had enjoyed 8.1% margins), 2011 margins are expected to be broadly similar to 2010.
  • UBM’s print magazine portfolio comprised 114 titles at 31 March 2011 (31 Mar 2010: 109).

Portfolio changes

  • During the period we announced the acquisitions of the Indian Travel show SATTE and a 60% stake in Famdent, India’s largest dental exhibition and conference business. The initial consideration for these two acquisitions will be c£3.0m and the combined revenues were approximately £1.6m in 2010.
  • The French medical, Publican and Consultant titles contributed £41.9m to full year 2010 revenues and £3.4m to profits.

Net debt

  • UBM’s consolidated net debt stood at £459.0m as at 31 March 2011.
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SAY Media acquires Dogster

April 20, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

SAY Media today announced it has acquired Dogster, creator of community sites Dogster and Catster, to build out its portfolio of owned and operated vertical media properties.

“Dogster, Inc. has done a tremendous job building a safe, trusted environment for community members to share their passion for their pets, made evident by their growing audience of more than two million unique visitors each month,” said Matt Sanchez, CEO and co-founder of SAY Media. “The team’s established expertise in community building and social media distribution, combined with the considerable resources of SAY, will lead to a more robust, engaging experience for members.”

SAY Media pan to acquire numerous other sites as it builds out out its roster of “interesting, passionate verticals”. In addition to their acquisition plans, SAY Media also plan to build new properties to expand its growing independent media network.

The Say Blog reports, “Our mission is to be the undisputed home of independent, passion-based media. This acquisition marks an important milestone in the evolution of our company as we begin to build our portfolio of owned and operated properties by acquiring and launching media sites with strong point of view, passionate editors, and active and engaged communities.”

USA, San Francisco

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Mecom rejects approach by Dutch banks

April 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

The Finacial Times is reporting that Mecom has rejected an approach from Dutch banks Rabobank, ING and ABN Amro proposing that Mecom sell close to 50 per cent of its stake in Wegener, the group’s Dutch subsidiary and the largest publisher of regional daily newspapers in the Netherlands.

Mecom reported full-year revenues down 2 per cent to €1.41bn (€1.46bn) while losses, after exceptional items relating to cost-cutting and depreciation and amortisation of software, narrowed to €73m (€146.2m).

Read the full story

UK, London

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UK Buyout market registers strongest quarter in two years

April 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Data from Lyceum Capital and Cass Business School’s UK Growth Buyout Dashboard shows that 23 smaller private equity buyouts worth an aggregate £828 million* completed between 1 January and 31 March 2011 – the highest volume and value seen in any single quarter during the past two years.

This quarterly trend analysis of private equity transactions in the £10 million to £100 million segment highlights a continuing upward trend and represents a strong start to the year.

The report’s authors say the figures reflect growing confidence and appetite amongst investors to support businesses which, having proven their resilience during the downturn, and are now well placed to harness emerging growth opportunities.

Number of investments

Whilst 11 transactions in the £10-25 million value range make up 48% of all mid-market ativity, the 12 deals completed in the £26-100 million range was a higher volume than has been seen any quarter during the previous two years .

Type of investments

Management buyouts (MBOs) continued to be the most prevalent transaction type in Q1 2011, accounting for 61% of all activity (14 of the 23 deals). However the data also illustrates that there has been a sharp rise in the number of secondary buyouts.

Eight SBOs completed – the highest volume of this type of deal in any quarter over the last two years and accounts for a third of all transations completed in Q1 2011.

The reports authors believe this rise was expected given the increased number of larger deals recorded and that the trend reflects the number of private equity houses continuing to rely on old-style intermediary-based deal sourcing, rather than research-led direct origination.

Only one public-to-private transaction was launched in the quarter, underlining the lack of appetite for de-listings within the mid-market.

This lack of interest is unlikely to improve given the recently announced proposals to change the Takeover Code.

Investments by industry

Technology, media, telecommunications (TMT) businesses attracted the most private equity investment in the quarter, with the seven deals completed in the sector accounting for 30% of all deals in Q1 2011.

This is a sharp rise in activity from previous quarters (Q4 2010: 3, Q3 2010: 2), continuing an underlying trend which saw the annual number of deals involving TMT businesses nearly treble from four in 2009 to 11 in 2010.

The other sector showing increased activity is retail and consumer, in which more deals were transacted (four) than in any other quarter over the past two years.

Trade, IPO and Secondary Exits

The first quarter of 2011 has seen the number of exits from private equity investments remain relatively steady with 11 deals completing in Q1 compared to an average of 10 over the previous four quarters.

Whilst trade dominated the buyer pool throughout 2009 and 2010, the first quarter of 2011 has seen this trend reverse, with the majority of exits (73%) being provided by eight secondary buyouts.

With just four exits through trade buyers, Q1 2011 has seen the lowest level of trade activity registered since Q4 2009.

The reports authors suggest that this trend reflects an increasing number of sponsors returning to market following the downturn looking to quickly deploy capital in mature private-equity backed assets.

Commentary

Commenting on the report, Andrew Aylwin, Partner at Lyceum Capital, said: “Optimism or pressure to invest? Whatever the reason, activity was up again in Q1. If this trend continues, we may see a hundred new deals this year, up from 68 last year and just 35 in 2009.

“But with prices on the rise, managers in the lower mid-market are working hard to understand investment risk, with deal processes drawn-out as a consequence.

“It’s too early to tell whether 2011 will yield a good vintage, but the market is clearly testing investment selection today with value-adding skills in the spotlight next.”

Scot Moeller, Professor in the Practice of Finance at Cass Business School, said: “It is notable that the first quarter’s activity in this lower middle market has been broader based than last year in terms of both industry sectors and size of deal.

“When combined with the consistently higher deal flow since early 2009, this should be a good indicator of continued strong deal flow in the next several quarters although the market is clearly still at a point where participants expect surprises.

“Particular strengths are currently in the technology sector, including software, as businesses gear up with the continuing improved outlook for the economy; these two sectors should continue to see increasing activity in 2011.”

For more information go to the The Cass/Lyceum Capital UK Growth Buyout Dashboard

*All figures for aggregate enterprise value of private equity investments are based on confirmed values from Experian’s CorpFin database and additional estimations by Lyceum Capital and Cass Business School where undisclosed.

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More trades exit the race to buy the magazine division of BBC Worldwide

April 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

The Daily Telegraph is reporting that more trade bidders have exited the race to acquire the magazine division of BBC Worldwide after it emerged that Top Gear magazine and other leading BBC titles were not part of the sale.They quote a source close to a trade bidder as saying that while indicative offers came in at around £160m, some first round bids were lowered to about £110m and second round offers to between £70m and £100m.

Other sources, “familiar with the process” have insisted that there was still interest in the titles, with private equity groups among them.

Read the full story

UK, London

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Centaur Media acquires The Forum for Expatriate Management for up to £6.75M

April 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Centaur Media has acquired expatriate information and events business, The Forum for Expatriate Management (FEM).

Centaur are paying £2.5 million in cash on completion and a further payment in cash subject to FEM’s profits in the 12 months ending June 2013.  The total purchase price will be capped at £6.75 million.

In its last financial year, to 31 December 2010, FEM generated revenues of £1.0m and ebit of £0.4m.  The value of gross assets of FEM at completion amounted to approximately £1.0 million, including £0.6 million of cash

FEM, which is based predominantly in the UK, has built the leading web-based community of HR professionals responsible for the management of expatriates within international corporates, known as Global Mobility professionals.  FEM organises exhibitions and networking events and provides an aggregated web-based information service for this community, which is growing rapidly as the globalisation of markets continues.  FEM was established two years ago and has built an international membership of approximately 5500 global mobility professionals and suppliers, organised through regional chapters, which are now operating in twenty locations in the USA, Europe and Asia.

FEM’s revenues are currently generated principally through sponsorship of its events and also through supplier-member subscriptions.  The business presently runs two major events in the UK and two in the USA, in addition to many smaller regional events run through local chapters.  Further major regional events are planned as the membership grows.  The two vendors, Brian Friedman and Nigel Ayres, will remain with the business following the acquisition.  All staff of FEM will relocate to Centaur offices in London.

Geoff Wilmot, CEO of Centaur said:  “FEM is an excellent fit with Centaur and I am delighted to welcome Brian Friedman (Founder and CEO of FEM) and his team to the Group.  FEM serves a community which is closely linked to that of compensation and benefits professionals, which is a core market for Centaur, served by our leading brand Employee Benefits.  There are also further synergies with our portfolio of Business Travel shows.  The importance of both short and long term international management assignments is growing rapidly and FEM is well placed to take advantage of the opportunities this presents.  Brian, who was formerly head of Human Capital at Ernst & Young, has done an outstanding job of establishing FEM as the leading international brand in this market and we look forward to working with him to grow FEM and to exploit fully the international growth opportunities of our Employee Benefits portfolio.”

Brian Friedman, CEO of FEM said:  “The FEM has rapidly established itself as the world’s premier networking community for all Global Mobility professionals.  We are confident that joining Centaur will provide us with the infrastructure to grow our existing activities and the expertise to expand into new areas of operation.  The synergies with Employee Benefits and Business Travel could not be a better fit for our aggressive expansion plans.”

UK, London

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Carson-Dellosa acquires Key Education Publishing Company

April 5, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Carson-Dellosa Publishing, a publisher of educational media, has acquired Key Education Publishing Company, a provider of resources and developmentally appropriate curriculum for young and special needs learners.

“We are thrilled to add Key Education to our brand portfolio, which includes our early childhood division, HighReach Learning,” commented Judy L. Harris, CEO of Carson-Dellosa Publishing.  “This expanded line of early education and special needs products enables Carson-Dellosa to continue to provide teachers and parents with the high-quality resources they need to effectively differentiate instruction to teach every child and build a strong foundation for learning.”

USA, Greensboro, NC

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