DMGT back on the acquisition trail?

November 25, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Guardian reports that Daily Mail & General Trust’s strong balance sheet could see it back on the acquisition trail – but not in regional newspapers. DMGT’s debt position has reduced from £1bn down to £862m in the year to 3 October.

Martin Morgan, the chief executive of Daily Mail & General Trust says that the first priority is extra investment in its existing operations, followed by “bolt-on acquisitions to good existing businesses”.

He is not looking to make a major acquisition in new sectors, nor is looking to buy a rival

Read the full story here

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Tony Elliott sells 50% of time Out to Oakley Capital

November 25, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Time Out has sold a 50 percent stake to Oakley Capital Investments, a Bermudan based company listed on AIM, for £10 million.

Time Out founder and chairman Tony Elliott said: “I have considered many potential investors over the last seven years to help the brand with the next phase of development and I believe that Oakley Capital, with its entrepreneurial operational focus, will help us with this. I genuinely believe that I have found a real partner for what I expect to be a hugely successful worldwide digital journey.”

Peter Dubens, director of Oakley Capital Investments, said: “It is very rare to be able to help with such a renowned, iconic brand as Time Out, which over the last 42 years has provided first class editorial on culture and entertainment to over 50 cities around the world.  We believe that we will help this brand both in its traditional media and the continued transition to digital over the coming years.”

Time out was launched by Tony Elliot 42 years ago. It now has 36 city magazines published independently in 24 countries, 22 travel magazines in 19 countries, guide books, events and an online presence. Time Out is to be the official book publisher of travel guides and photographic books for London 2012 Olympic and paralympic games. Online-only advertiser-funded magazines are to be launched around the world. Berlin, Barcelona and Paris are tipped to be the first cities to benefit from the development.

UK, London

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News Corp acquires Wireless Generation

November 23, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

News Corp. has acquired 90% of Wireless Generation, a privately-held Brooklyn-based education technology company for about $360 million in cash. Upon completion of transaction, Wireless Generation will become a subsidiary of News Corp.

Wireless Generation will be managed by founder and CEO Larry Berger, President and COO Josh Reibel, and Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer Laurence Holt, who will collectively retain a 10% interest.

USA, Brooklyn, NY

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August Equity LLP exits its investment in Imagine Publishing

November 23, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Private Equity firm August Equity has completed the exit of its investment in Imagine Publishing via a refinancing and buy back.  The buy back generates a 2 times money multiple return for August Equity managed funds.

Imagine is one of the UK’s fastest-growing specialist consumer magazine publishers, with over 20 print magazines, 18 iPhone/iPad digital editions, and 27 websites published worldwide within the entertainment, computing, digital photography and videogames markets.

August Equity managed funds initially invested in Imagine in January 2006 when they provided £7 million expansion capital, enabling the management team to acquire a portfolio of magazine titles from Highbury Entertainment Limited.  Since then the group has acquired a number of magazines, launched a host of their own titles and produced a bookazine range which has significantly contributed to the growth of the business.

Damian Butt, managing director of Imagine, commented: “The August Equity team has been very supportive throughout the investment period and contributed significantly to the growth of the business.  However, we are excited to have bought back the August Equity stake and will continue to develop our magazine, bookazine and website portfolio.”

Richard Green, August Equity chairman, said: “We are delighted with the exit of Imagine.  The business has continued to grow strongly in a difficult market and has provided a healthy return for our investors.  The team is highly focussed and creative and will continue to drive growth in the business.

UK, London and Bournemouth, Dorset

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Axel Springer has been on a digital buying spree

November 20, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

An interesting article on paidContent earlier this week describes how Axel Springer has been on a digital buying spree, taking stakes in CarWale: (giving springer 52.1%), BagItToday.com (19.1%), Sohomint.com (72.6%) and Buy.at. Also had an offer rejected for eLoger.com.

Read the full story on paidContent here.

Axel Springers announcements are below.

Germany, Berlin

Announcements

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IPC Media sells Wedding and Wedding Flowers magazines to Hubert Burda Media UK

November 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

As part of the review of IPC Media’s niche and specialist titles, IPC Media has sold Wedding and Wedding Flowers to Hubert Burda Media UK.

Wedding is an inspirational glossy for brides-to-be, offering a myriad of ideas for the most glamorous event of its readers’ lives. Wedding Flowers is the UK’s only consumer magazine devoted to big day blooms, providing beautiful ideas alongside practical and expert advice.

The deal sees Burda acquire the brands – currently published within the IPC Southbank portfolio – with immediate effect. There will be no interruption to the publishing schedule of the titles.

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

IPC Southbank managing director Jackie Newcombe says:

“It has been a pleasure to work with Catherine Westwood and her team over the past few years; they are hugely talented and have produced two magazines of real quality for IPC Southbank. I know that I speak for all my colleagues in wishing them well in their new home and I would like to thank them personally for their contribution to our 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.

UK, London

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Newsweek and The Daily Beast combine

November 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Newsweek magazine and The Daily Beast, an operating company of IAC, have agreed to merge their operations in a joint venture to be owned equally by Sidney Harman and IAC.

The new entity will be called The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. The directors of the joint venture will include Dr. Harman as Executive Chairman, IAC Chairman Barry Diller, and one director each to be appointed from either side.

Dr. Harman, who acquired Newsweek magazine from the Washington Post Co. over the summer, said: “In an admittedly challenging time, this merger provides the ideal combination of established journalism authority and bright, bristling website savvy. I like partnering with Barry Diller and I look forward to building our company with Tina Brown and Stephen Colvin.”

Sidney Harman is Founder and Chairman Emeritus of Harman International, the worldwide audio manufacturer. He served as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, founded the Program on Technology, Public Policy and Human Development at Harvard University and holds a Presidential Chair at the University of Southern California where he is Professor of Polymathy. He is a trustee of the California Institute of Technology. He is the founder of the Harman Center for the Arts and of Sidney Harman Hall in Washington, D.C.

Tina Brown, a founding partner and Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Beast, will be Editor-in-Chief of both Newsweek magazine and The Daily Beast. The President of The Daily Beast, Stephen Colvin, will serve as CEO of the combined venture.

“I see Newsweek and the Beast as a marriage between Newsweek’s journalistic depth and the vibrant versatility The Daily Beast has realized on the web,” said Ms. Brown. “The metabolism of The Daily Beast will help power the resurgence of Newsweek and Newsweek amplifies the range of talent and audience The Daily Beast can reach. The two entities together offer writers, photographers and marketers a powerful dual platform.”

“I am really excited we were able to (finally) put this together,” said Mr. Diller. “In The Daily Beast, Tina and her truly great team have in Internet-time created an hourly, daily newsmagazine and now will have the ability to revive the weekly venerable Newsweek with all the tools and sensibility they’ve perfected in the Beast. I’m so pleased to join with Dr. Harman in our new Company. He’s such a compelling force and I’m sure he will stimulate this undertaking every day.”

Created by Tina Brown and IAC in October of 2008, The Daily Beast is a website dedicated to news and commentary, culture and entertainment that has quickly become one of the most recognized national news brands. The two-year old business has swiftly reached an audience of nearly 5 million monthly unique visitors and has just been rated by TIME magazine this year as one of the five best news sites in the country. Prior to launching The Daily Beast, Ms. Brown made a career rejuvenating storied magazines including Tatler in the UK, Vanity Fair and the New Yorker.

Newsweek Magazine is an award-winning, weekly news magazine that provides comprehensive coverage of national and international affairs, business, science and technology and arts and entertainment. It has three English-language editions overseas and six weekly local-language editions.

Since his appointment in 2009 as President of the Daily Beast, Mr. Colvin has had a significant impact in all areas of the business, including securing numerous 2010 marketing partnerships that have translated into more than 60 advertising campaigns on The Daily Beast. Previously Mr. Colvin was CEO of Dennis Publishing US where he oversaw the launch of many media properties including The Week magazine and Maxim. Before joining The Daily Beast he was Executive Vice President of CBS Interactive.

“Consumers and advertisers value media distributed across multiple platforms,” said Mr. Colvin. “The merger of The Daily Beast and Newsweek audiences creates a powerful global media property for the digital age.”

Guggenheim Securities, LLC advised Dr. Harman on the transaction. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as lead counsel for IAC, and Williams & Connolly LLP represented Dr. Harman.

USA, New York, NY

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Thomson Reuters Acquires Pangea3

November 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Thomson Reuters has acquired Pangea3, a fast-growing legal process outsourcing (LPO) provider serving corporate legal departments and law firms worldwide. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition extends the Thomson Reuters strategy to develop world-class information, software and workflow solutions for legal professionals around the world. Pangea3 is headquartered in New York and Mumbai, India, and has 650 employees at its major delivery centers in Mumbai and New Delhi. Pangea3’s client base includes Am Law 250 law firms and some of the world’s largest financial services, pharmaceutical, healthcare, food and beverage, technology and consumer goods companies. The firm offers a variety of services organized into four distinct lines of business including legal document review; corporate transactions; intellectual property; and risk management and compliance.

Peter Warwick, president and chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters, Legal, said legal process outsourcing adds a vital strategic complement to the Thomson Reuters portfolio of specialized information and workflow solutions, and will be key to helping law firms and corporate legal departments be more responsive and cost-effective. “Pangea3 is true to our mission to help the legal system perform better, every day, worldwide; we will now bring to the legal marketplace a responsive, high-quality, transformative resource for a broad range of legal support work. This is particularly important as law firms and general counsel adjust to the realities of the ‘new normal,’ where efficiency, quality and responsiveness are paramount,” he noted.

Pangea3 is seen as the world standard in the LPO marketplace, which is growing at more than 20 percent annually and projected to exceed U.S. $1 billion this year.

“The addition of Pangea3 to the Thomson Reuters family creates a solid foundation in the global solutions suite that is a perfect fit in our long-term growth strategy,” said Tony Abena, president and general manager, Global Legal Solutions. “With overlays in key  segments including our Corporate General Counsel, IP Solutions, Governance, Risk and Compliance and Law Firm businesses, we’re aligning ourselves more closely into general counsel and law firm workflows. Pangea3 brings to Thomson Reuters a broad and rapidly growing client base, and a reputation that is unmatched in the LPO marketplace. I’m very pleased to welcome the Pangea3 team to Thomson Reuters.”

“Joining forces with Thomson Reuters will further accelerate and expand our ability to provide impactful and transformative solutions to our corporate and law firm clients,” said David Perla and Sanjay Kamlani, co-CEOs of Pangea3. “Thomson Reuters is the perfect partner for Pangea3’s clients and team-members to continue to grow and solve the increasingly complex and expensive challenges facing legal professionals around the globe.”

“Pangea3 has been a valued provider for me, and is an attractive alternative for my clients,” said Jeff Jaeckel, a partner at Morrison & Foerster and head of Morrison & Foerster’s Washington, D.C. and Virginia Litigation Department. “We look forward to even bigger and better solutions as Pangea3 joins forces with Thomson Reuters.”

Founded in 2004 by Perla, formerly Monster.com vice president, Business & Legal Affairs, and Kamlani, who was OfficeTiger CFO and general counsel, Pangea3’s team of top-tier legal talent uses rigorous Six Sigma methodologies to ensure high-quality legal services. Perla and Kamlani will continue in their current roles, and all 650 Pangea3 employees will join Thomson Reuters, remaining based in their New York, Mumbai and New Delhi offices.
India, Mumbai & USA, New York, NY

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Federated Media acquires Foodbuzz

November 18, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Federated Media has acquired Foodbuzz, an online food community that, according to Federated Media, is the fastest growing in its space.

Foodbuzz has more than 4,400 independent food bloggers reaching more than 14 million unique users per month. Combined with Federated Media’s premier food sites, including Serious Eats and Bakerella, the new offering will give marketers increased opportunities to engage with audiences sharing recipes and recommendations.

Federated Media’s purchase of Foodbuzz comes on the heels of three other significant transactions: the acquisition of BigTent, the leading community platform for local groups, especially groups of parents; the acquisition of semantic-search technology from TextDigger; and a partnership with the Clever Girls Collective to reach audiences on more than 1,000 top-quality lifestyle blogs.

USA, San Francisco, CA

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UBM acquires Publishing Expo tradeshow for £320,000

November 11, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

United Business Media has acquired Publishing Expo, a tradeshow serving the UK publishing industry. UBM is acquiring the event on behalf of UBM Live from Legend Exhibitions Ltd for a total cash consideration of £320,000.

First staged in 2006, Publishing Expo () is the only major exhibition in the UK dedicated to the full range of digital and print publishing solutions. It comprises a two day exhibition and a free seminar programme addressing key issues in the publishing industries, as well as providing an opportunity to meet suppliers from all segments of digital and traditional media. The event attracts key decision-makers including senior production, circulation and distribution, marketing, design, editorial and sales staff from all types of publishing businesses, and increasingly those which are expanding into online and other digital publishing environments.

The 2011 edition of Publishing Expo will take place at Earls Court in London on 1-2 March and will be co-located with UBM Live’s existing complementary tradeshows Technology For Marketing & Advertising (www.t-f-m.co.uk) and the Online Advertising & Affiliate Expo. Publishing Expo will form part of UBM Live’s Marketing Technology and E Commerce Portfolio, which also includes Internet World and E Commerce Expo.

The acquisition is anticipated to exceed UBM’s cost of capital criterion in its first full year of ownership.

Simon Foster, Chief Executive of UBM Live said:

“The acquisition of Publishing Expo adds a further industry-leading event that complements our Technology For Marketing & Advertising and Online Advertising and Affiliate Expo events. Co-locating these events at a single venue at Earls Court in 2011 will enable us to provide the UK’s first comprehensive live event solution for marketing, advertising and media professionals and businesses.”

UK, London

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