Better Capital backs management buy-out to acquire Reader’s Digest UK

April 12, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

According to News Agency AFP, Better Capital Limited’s BECAP fund has backed a management buy-out to acquire Reader’s Digest UK. The UK business had gone into administration on February 17, six months after its US parent group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Managing director Chris Spratling will continue to run the company.

Aprox. Value:  £13,000,000
 
Acquirer:  Better Capital
ACQ Web:  http://www.bettercapital.co.uk/ 
Location:  UK, London
Region:  Europe 
Category:  Investment Company
Contact 1:  Jon Moulton, Chairman
Contact 2:  Mark Aldridge, CEO

Administrators:  On 17 February 2010, Phillip Sykes, Jeremy Willmont and Bill Beach of Moore Stephens were appointed joint administrators to The Reader’s Digest Association Limited, a UK subsidiary of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.  

Description:  The Reader’s Digest magazine was founded in 1922 by Lila Bell Wallace and DeWitt Wallace, and based in Chappaqua, New York, United States. The UK version  was launched in 1938. It employs 117 people and has a circulation of around 465,000.”
 
Link: AFP news story
 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-383
 
Contact us at pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit the Fusion Corporate Partners website

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FUND RAISING ROUND-UP

April 12, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

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1.       Gadget review site gdgt has raised $3.165

2.       Quora closes a Series A round

  • Details: Quora, a startup building a continually improving collection of questions and answers, has closed a Series A round of financing. Matt Cohler, general partner at Benchmark, will join the company’s board. TechCrunch reports that it was an $11 million round that valued the company at $86 million.
  • Investors: Benchmark Capital
  • Contacts: Adam D’Angelo, CEO: Matt Cohler, general partner at Benchmark
  • Location: USA, Palo Alto, CA
  • Categories: Consumer website
  • Link: Press Release

3.       Stitcher raises $6 million

  • Details: Stitcher, a service that allows users to customize talk radio programming on their mobile devices, has raised $6 million in a Series B round of financing. The funding will be used to further Stitcher’s product and platform development. Bob Kagleof Benchmark Capital will join Stitcher’s board of directors.
  • Investors: Led by Benchmark Capital, with participation from previous investor New Atlantic Ventures and tech veterans including Ed Scott and Ron Conway
  • Contacts: Noah Shanok, CEO of Stitcher: Bob Kagle, general partner at Benchmark Capital
  • Location: USA, San Francisco, CA
  • Categories: Radio

4.       Tencent Invests $300m in Digital Sky Technologies

  • Details: Tencent Holdings Limited, a leading provider of Internet and mobile & telecommunications value-added services in China, is to invest approximately US$300 million in Russian investment group Digital Sky Technologies (DST). DST’s hold stakes in Facebook and Zynga. The aggregate consideration of approximately US$300 million, which will be paid in cash, gives Tencent approximately a 10.26% economic interest in DST upon completion of the transaction. Tencent will hold approximately 0.51% of the total voting power of DST and have the right to nominate one observer to the DST Board.
  • Contact: Chief Executive Officer of DST, Mr. Yuri Milner, President of Tencent, Mr. Martin Lau
  • Location: Hong Kong and Moscow
  • Categories: Investment Group
  • Link: Press Release

5.       UMJ Russia Fund invests $3 million in Game Network

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Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, Games, Internet Media, Publishers, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Blackstone Group invests in the most widely read newspaper in the world

April 8, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) will be investing INR 2250 million in Jagran Media Network Private Limited, which will hold majority share of Jagran Prakashan Limited.  Jagran Prakashan Limited (NSE: JAGRAN.NS, BSE: JAGRAN.BO) is India’s leading media and communications group, with the group’s flagship brand, Dainik Jagran, being the most widely read newspaper in the world with a total readership of 54.6 million. Jagran Media Network Private Limited will file for necessary approvals for the investment with the Foreign Investment Provision Board (FIPB) today.
Aprox. Value:  INR2,250 million
 
Acquirer:  The Blackstone Group
ACQ Web:  http://www.blackstone.com
Location:  USA, New York, NY
Region:  North America
Description:  Blackstone Group is an investment and advisory firm. Their alternative asset management businesses includes the management of private equity funds, real estate funds, funds of hedge funds, credit-oriented funds, collateralized loan obligation vehicles (CLOs) and closed-end mutual funds. The Blackstone Group  also provides various financial advisory services, including mergers and acquisitions advisory, restructuring and reorganization advisory and fund placement services.
Category:  Private equity
Contact:  Mahendra Mohan Gupta – Chairman and Managing Director
  
Vendor:  Jagran Media Network Private Limited
Vendor Web:  http://www.jplcorp.in 
Location:  India, Kanpur
Region:  Asia
Description:  Jagran Media Network Private Limited will be the promoter holding company of Jagran Prakashan Ltd. (JPL). The group’s flagship brand, Dainik Jagran, was launched during the Quit India movement in 1942 by the revolutionary freedom fighter Late Shri Puran Chandra Gupta, with a vision to “Create a newspaper that would reflect the free voice of the people”. Today, Dainik Jagran has the widest footprints within print media in India, and prints out of 11 states – Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal, Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and West Bengal. JPL’s other interests are across its other newspaper titles – I Next and CityPlus, its outdoor advertising arm below the line solutions, mobile value added services, and its internet foray with Yahoo India, with Jagran.com being the largest portal across all Indian languages.
Category: Newspaper, Media
Contact:  Mahendra Mohan Gupta – Chairman and Managing Director
 
Link: Press Release 
 
 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-382
 
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Internet Ad Revenues reach record quarterly high of $6.3 Billion in Q4 ’09

April 7, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

NEWS

Slight Decline Year-on-Year to $22.7 Billion, Still A Bright Spot in Media Industry

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) today released the IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report for the full year 2009. Though U.S. Internet advertising revenues, at $22.7 billion for the year, showed a 3.4% decline from 2008, there are signs of an emergent recovery in the industry. The fourth quarter of 2009 hit a record quarterly high of $6.3 billion, a 2.6% increase year-over-year and a 14% increase over the third quarter of 2009.

Highlights of the report include:

  • Search and display-related advertising continue to represent the largest percentages of overall interactive advertising spend. Search revenues, comprising 47% of the total, amounted to nearly $10.7 billion for 2009, up slightly from 2008.
  • Display-related advertising—which includes display ads, rich media, digital video and sponsorship—totaled nearly $8 billion in 2009, showing an increase of 4% from 2008.
  • One component of display-related advertising, digital video, continues to experience robust growth, with an almost 39% increase from 2008 to 2009.
  • These latest revenue figures underscore the significant share shift taking place from traditional media to digital. Based on industry data from PwC from 2005 to 2009 in five key U.S. ad-supported media (television, radio, newspapers, consumers magazines and Internet), the Internet’s share of combined ad revenue grew from 8% to 17%.

Full Press Release

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Burst Media acquires On The Phone Media Limited

April 7, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Burst Media, a leading provider of advertising representation, services and technology to independent Web Publishers, today announced it has completed the acquisition of On The Phone Media Limited – which conducts business as OTP Media (OTP). The strategic acquisition reinforces Burst Media’s position as the primary enabler of vertical content online and its 15-year commitment to providing complete advertising solutions to web publishers and advertisers.

Burst Media was the 16th largest ad network in the U.K. in February 2010, reaching nearly 12.3 million unique viewers. OTP will further enhance Burst’s presence in the U.K. market while providing a platform to expand the services it provides web publishers and advertisers. Advertisers will now have broader solutions to reach their target audiences, and OTP will gain access to Burst’s proven resources, processes, systems and technology.

Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  Burst Media
ACQ Web:  http://www.BurstMedia.com
Location:  USA, Burlington, MA
Region:  North America
Description:  An online media and technology company founded in 1995, Burst Media is a leading provider of advertising representation, services and technology to independent Web Publishers. Burst Media enables advertisers to reach finely segmented, engaged consumers as they visit Burst’s extensive number of interest-based sub-channels. Through its Burst Network and Burst Direct units, the company represents one of the broadest and deepest offerings of interest-based websites online. Burst also markets its ad management platform, adConductor™, which empowers content websites, online ad networks, and web portals to manage the complete process of ad sales and service. Burst Media is headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, with offices throughout the United States and in London.
Category:  Advertising, Technology
Contact 1:  Jarvis Coffin, CEO  
 
Vendor:  OTP Media
Vendor Web:  http://www.otpmedia.com 
Location:  UK, London
Region:  Europe
Description:  OTP Media was established in 2002 and works with premium publishers and brand advertisers to deliver innovative, bespoke, targeted marketing solutions which increase publisher revenues and deliver superior brand targeting, whilst maintaining the integrity of both the site and the brand. OTP Media exclusively represents sites such as www.streetmap.co.uk, www.carpages.co.uk, www.deliaonline.com, www.192.com, and www.Robbiewilliams.com.
Category: Advertising
Contact:  Ian Woolley, Managing Director of OTP Media  
 
Link: Press Release 
 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-380

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Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Wigix acquires magazine subscription business Mag2U

April 7, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Wigix, Inc. has acquired a Shanghai-based Mag2U, to enhance DDKU’s growing internet presence as well as provide a multi-channel marketing network to acquire, retain and service customers in China. DDKU, a web-based community driven marketplace and wholly owned subsidiary of Wigix, will merge operations with Mag2U.

Mag2U, a privately held company, is the largest magazine subscription processor in China currently with operations in Shanghai and Hangzhou.

Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  Wigix
ACQ Web:  http://www.wigix.com
Location:  Oakland, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  A catalog of all products, a listing of who owns them and what they are worth by leveraging an innovative, open, and highly scalable community-driven process. Wigix’s catalog has over three million unique items and is structured to allow buyers and sellers to easily find specific products and avoid the common problem of multiple listings that exist on other sites. Wigax  is funded by venture capital firm, Draper Fisher Jurvetson.
Category:  
Contact 1:  James Chong, CEO, President and Chairman 
Contact 2:  Bob Lee, Founder, CTO & Vice President of Engineering
Contact 3:  Albert Loh, Founder, CFO & Vice President of Operations
Contact 4:  Tim Draper, Founder and Managing Director, Draper Fisher Jurvetson
 
Vendor:  Mag2U 
Location:  China, Shanghai
Region:  Asia
Description:  Process outsourcing company, and the largest magazine subscription processor in China currently with operations in Shanghai and Hangzhou.
Category: Outsourcing, Publishing Service Provider
 
Link: Press Release

FDN Database Reference:  F231109-378

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FUND RAISING ROUND-UP

April 6, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 

 

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1.       BlogTalkRadio has raised $1.9 million

2.       Brightcove closes a $12 million Series D round

  • Details: Online-video management company Brightcove has closed a $12 million Series D round of financing. Proceeds from the financing will be used to expand the company’s cash balance sheet and increase investments in key growth initiatives, including expansion in Asia and Europe, the rollout of new product lines like Brightcove Express on a worldwide basis, R&D innovation, and possible M&A activity. The company has now raised almost $100 million.
  • Investors: Led by Accel Partners and General Catalyst. Other existing investors, including AOL, Hearst, AllianceBernstein, Maverick, and Brookside Capital, also participated in the Series D.
  • Contact: Jeremy Allaire
  • Location:  USA, Cambridge, MA
  • Category: Video
  • Link: Company Announcement

3.       Learnvest raises $4.5 million in Series A funding

  • Details: Learnvest, an operator of a personal finance website for women, has raised $4.5 million in Series A funding. Learnvest plans to use the funding to meet the strong demand for its current information and tools, expand on its offerings, and build on the company’s recent success.
  • Investors: Accel Partners led the round, and was joined by seed backers Richmond Management, Rose Tech Ventures and members of Circle Financial Group.
  • Contacts: Alexa von Tobel, CEO/Founder, John Gardner, COO
  • Location:  USA, New York, NY
  • Category: Finance
  • Link: Press Release

4.       NearVerse raises $1 million in seed funding

  • Details: Mobile networking company NearVerse has announced that they secured $1 million in seed funding in Q4 2009. NearVerse has been using the funding to further develop its software-based networking platform to accelerate mobile Internet beyond the capabilities of existing 3G or 4G carrier networks. NearVerse launched their first app, LoKast for iPhone and iPod touch, at SXSW. Joining the company’s board are Glen Meakem and Alan Veeck of Meakem Becker Venture Capital.
  • Investors:  Meakem Becker Venture Capital
  • Contact: Boris Bogatin, CEO
  • Location:  USA, Philadelphia, PA
  • Category: Mobile, Apps
  • Link: Press Release

5.       Payvment has raised $1.15 million

  • Details: According to an SEC filing, Payvment has raised $1.15 million of a $1.7 million equity fund raising round. Payvment is a solution provider for social network powered eCommerce, enabling users to build eCommerce websites and add shopping carts on Facebook.
  • Location:  USA, San Francisco
  • Category: Retail, technology
  • Link:  Regulatory Filing

6.       Reply! Inc has raised $1.08 million

  • Details: According to an SEC filing, Reply! Inc (Reply.com) has raised $1.08 million in options and debt financing. Reply.com simplifies online locally-targeted marketing for businesses of all sizes. In February Reply! Inc announced that it had filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.
  • Contacts: Payam Zamani, Founder, Chairman and CEO: Sean Fox, Chief Operating Officer: Sam Veazey, EVP, Chief Financial Officer
  • Location:  USA, San Ramon, CA
  • Category: Advertising
  • Link: Regulatory Filing

7.       Secret Builders raises $2.3 million

8.       Socialcast secures $8 million in Series B funding

 9.       Tiny Speck raises $5 million in Series A funding

  • Details: Massively multiplayer game company Tiny Speck has raised $5 million in Series A funding. Andrew Braccia of Accel Partners will join the board. The company has previously raised $1.5 million from Accel Partners and other angel investors. Tiny Speck has one game available so far – Glitch.
  • Investors: Accel Partners led the round and was joined by Andreessen Horowitz.
  • Contact: Stewart Butterfield, Founder
  • Location:  USA, San Francisco/Canada, Vancouver
  • Category: Online Games
  • Link: First reported by GigaOm 
Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, Games, Internet Media, Publishers, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

RBI-US sells Publishers Weekly to former publisher George Slowik

April 6, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Reed Business Information – US has made yet another divestiture.

Publishers Weekly has been acquired by PWxyz, LLC, a newly formed company headed George Slowik Jr. Slowik was publisher of Publishers Weekly from 1990-1993 (resumé). The acquisition includes the Web site publishersweekly.com and Publishers Weekly Show Daily.

Publishers Weekly website reports, “The new company will retain all of PW’s editorial, art, and advertising employees and the magazine will remain headquartered in New York City. Cevin Bryerman will stay as publisher with Jim Milliot and Michael Coffey serving as co-editors. Slowik ran PW in the late 1980s and early 1990s, leading the publication to record profits despite a poor economy.”

Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed

Previously reported on Fusion DigiNet

Acquirer:  PWxyz, LLC  
Location:  USA, New York, NY
Region:  North America 
Contact:  George W. Slowik, Jr.
Website: http://georgeslowikjr.com
 
Vendor:  Reed Business Information – US
Vendor Web:  http://www.reedbusiness.com/us.html
Business Sold: Publishers Weekly
Business website: http://www.publishersweekly.com
Location:  USA, New York, NY
Region:  North America
Description:  Business-to-business information provider, with more than 80 market-leading publications and Websites, as well as a range of services
Category: Media Owner, Publisher
Contact:  John Poulin, Chief executive Officer 
 
Link: Publishers Weekly Annoucement

Advisers: JEGI represented Reed Business Information-US   JEGI Press Release

FDN Database Reference:  F231109-377

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Morningstar Australasia acquires Aegis Equities Research

April 2, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-375
 
Morningstar Australasia, an Australian subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), has completed its previously announced acquisition of Aegis Equities Research, a leading provider of independent equity research, from Aegis Equities Holdings.
Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  Morningstar Australasia
ACQ Web:  http://www.morningstar.com.au 
Location:  Australia, Sydney
Region:  Oceana
Description:  Morningstar, Inc. is a provider of independent investment research in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. The company offers an extensive line of Internet, software, and print-based products and services for individuals, financial advisors, and institutions. Morningstar provides data on approximately 350,000 investment offerings, including stocks, mutual funds, and similar vehicles, along with real-time global market data on more than 4 million equities, indexes, futures, options, commodities, and precious metals, in addition to foreign exchange and Treasury markets. The company has operations in 20 countries and minority ownership positions in companies based in two other countries.
Categories:  Publisher, Media, Finance, Research
Contact:  Andrew Bird, chief executive officer of Morningstar Australasia
 
Vendor:  Aegis Equities Research
Vendor Web:  http://www.aegis.com.au 
Location:  Australia, Sydney
Region:  Oceana
Description:  Aegis Equities Research was founded in 1999 and currently serves institutional, adviser, and retail clients. It operates a web-based research platform that includes proprietary equities research and market commentary on more than 200 Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)-listed companies for brokers, financial advisers, and other institutions. Aegis also operates ShareAnalysis.com, a subscription-based website for individual investors, and publishes the ShareAnalysis weekly e-newsletter, which includes market news, analysis, and investment ideas. The Aegis business also provides model equity portfolios that can be licensed as a sub-advisory service for managed accounts or in “buy lists.”
Categories: Publisher, Media, Finance, Research
Contact:  Peter Leodaritsis, CEO and founder of Aegis Equities Research
 
Advisers: Sparke Helmore acted as legal advisor to Aegis Equities Research, and Clayton Utz acted as legal advisor to Morningstar Australasia.
 
Links

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Ideal Media to merge the assets of its foodservice portfolio into CSP Information Group

April 2, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Fusion Team have completed over 70 digital and media transactions for its private, corporate and private equity clients. For more information contact pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit our website
 
 
ACQUISITION 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-374
 
Ideal Media, a division of Schofield Media Group, is merging the assets of its foodservice portfolio into CSP Information Group. Ideal Media’s Food Group was formed in 2005 to acquire Restaurant Business, FoodService Director, and ID from VNU, now the Nielsen Company. Since then, the group has grown from 10% market share to a 23% market share among 11 publications. CSP magazine is the longtime leader in convenience store publishing market. All members of the former Ideal Media Food Group will transition to the newly formed CSP Food Group.

Restaurant Business and CSP’s relationship began through a partnership in 2008 when Restaurant Business was named the official magazine partner for the Restaurant Leadership Conference, and both FoodService Director and Restaurant Business provided support for the launch of the Foodservice at Retail Expo (FARE). The unsolicited bid is the result of CSP’s strategic vision to marry the leading industry conferences with the top foodservice publisher, and create communications opportunities across the entire industry as it spreads into retail.
 
Acquirer:  CSP Information Group
ACQ Web:  http://www.cspnet.com 
Location:  USA, Oak Brook, IL
Region:  North America
Description:  CSP Information Group, publisher of CSP and Fare magazines, is a business-to-business communication company specializing in the convenience retailing and on-the-go food industries. In addition to its print products, CSP Information Group’s other business units include CSP Daily News daily e-mail newsletter, CSPNetwork CyberConferences, CSPedia, CSPTV, CSP Leadership Conferences and Events including the Restaurant Leadership Conference, Foodservice at Retail Exchange (FARE), 24-7 Connect Virtual Expo and CSP Custom Solutions.
Category:  Publisher, Events
Contact:  Paul Reuter, President and CEO  
 
Vendor:  Ideal Media, a division of Schofield Media Group
Vendor Web:  http://www.IdealMediallc.com and http://www.SchofieldMediaGroup.com
Business Sold: Ideal Media’s foodservice portfolio, which includes Restaurant Business, FoodService Director, and Institutional Distribution (ID), the MenuDirections conference, as well as MonkeyDish.com and FoodServiceDirector.com. 
Location:  USA, Chicago, IL
Region:  North America
Description:  Ideal Media owns and operates Restaurant Business, FoodService Director, Beverage World and iSixSigma magazines, MonkeyDish.com and MyID Access web portal.  Ideal Media LLC is headquartered in Chicago, IL with a satellite office in New York, NY.   

Founded in 1999,Schofield Media Group publishes 26 business-to-business magazines and operates conferences & events in the US and UK. The company is headquartered in London and has regional offices in Chicago, New York, Boston, and Norwich. Divisions include Schofield Publishing UK, Schofield Media Chicago, RedCoat Publishing, Ideal Media and Schofield Healthcare Media. 
Category: Publisher, Events
Contact 1:  Andrew Schofield, Chairman and CEO, Schofield Media Group
Contact 2:  Brian Reshefsky, President, Schofield Media Group 
 
Link: Press Release

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