Publicis Groupe acquires a majority stake in DPZ

July 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has acquired a majority stake in DPZ, one of Brazil’sleading advertising agencies. According to the terms of the agreement, Publicis Groupe immediately acquires 70% of the new agency, and has the possibility of increasing its participation to 100% over the next two or three years. DPZ will retain its name and will operate within Publicis Groupe on a stand-alone basis.  The agency remains under the leadership of its three foundersRoberto Duailibi, Francesc Petit and José Zaragoza, and the management of current CEO Flavio Conti.

Founded in 1968, DPZ is one of the largest independent advertising agencies in Brazil with approximately 230 employees. The agency is headquartered in São Paulo, with offices in Rio, Brasilia and Vitoria. DPZ’s key clients include prominent international and local brands such as Azul Linhas aéreas (airline), Bombril (cleaning products), Campari, Coca-Cola, Itaú (banking), Sadia (food and beverage), Vivo (telecommunications). The agency has seen double-digit organic growth over the past three years, and DPZ’s 2011 revenue is expected to reach €40 M, with margins above those of Publicis Groupe’s average.

DPZ has received a long list of industry accolades, making it one of the most-awarded agencies in Brazil. Known for its innovative and irreverent style, the agency won its first Cannes Lion in 1972, and Brazil’s first gold Cannes Lion in 1975.  DPZ has also been repeatedly recognized at the Brazilian “Colunistas” award, the most important award within the Brazilian ad industry, as well as the “Cabore” awards (another very important national award). The agency’s well-established reputation illustrates its strong and lively creativity.

The history of DPZ is intertwined with the history of Brazilian advertising. DPZ has not only become an icon for the advertising industry in Brazil, but also a reference in Brazilian advertising for the rest of the world. During its 43 years of history, DPZ has participated in creating prestigious brands and some of the most memorable campaigns and characters of Brazilian advertising. DPZ has also served as a university for Brazil’s marketing community, as many of the country’s leading ad men and women initially trained at DPZ.

The acquisition of DPZ illustrates Publicis Groupe’s strategic commitment to expanding its operations in the dynamic Brazilian market and across Latin America. Today’s announcement is the fourth transaction for Publicis Groupe this year in Brazil, following the acquisitions of Tailor Made and GP7, as well as the increased participation (60%) in Talent Group.

According to the most recent ZenithOptimedia forecasts (April 2011), Brazil will have a 9.5% increase over the course of 2011, followed by 7.0% and 7.2% growth in 2012 and 2013 respectively. Brazil is growing fast and is expected to become the sixth ad market in the world in 2011. Brazil is already Publicis Groupe’s sixth largest market with nearly 1,500 permanent employees throughout the country.

Maurice Lévy, Chairman & CEO of Publicis Groupe declared, “Our strategy is to strengthen our two pillars of growth: digital and fast-growing markets. Brazilalong with China are of utmost importance to Publicis Groupe. This acquisition is a key step of our expansion into this promising market. DPZ‘s exceptional creativity and iconic status put Publicis Groupe in a stronger position to provide the very best to our clients and to attract talent and grow organically. We are proud that DPZ – after a thorough process –chose to join Publicis Groupe, and we are pleased to welcome the agency‘s management and teams on board.  We are committed to Brazil not only because of the exceptional growth of this important market, but also because it is a formidable reservoir of talent and a country of entrepreneurs with great brands and ambitious companies.“

The founders of DPZ, José Zaragoza, Francesc Petit and Roberto Duailibi added, “We are very happy about joining Publicis Groupe and adding to its global reach and considerable resources. DPZ sees this association as a wonderful opportunity for both our teams and our clients, especially given the powerful resonance of the Publicis Groupe brand all over the world.”

France Paris & Brazil, São Paulo

Related articles:


Posted in Marketing/Advertising, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean. Leave a Comment »

Yell to acquire multi-store ecommerce business Znode

July 18, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Yell Group plc has agreed to acquire privately-owned multi-store ecommerce business Znode.

Znode’s technology will serve as Yell’s ecommerce platform, an important element of Yell’s new strategy to connect small businesses with consumers on a local level.  Znode will be incorporated into Yell Group as part of its new consumer division, Yell Connect.

Znode was founded in 2007 in Columbus, Ohio, and will continue operations there, serving as the development base for Yell’s ecommerce capabilities. Znode founders Vish Vishwanathan and David Chu will serve as Executive Vice President & General Manager – Yell Connect, and Senior Vice President of Technology – Yell Connect.

Mike Pocock, Chief Executive Officer of Yell Group said: “The Znode team and their innovative technology provide Yell with a platform for our digital business and enable us to provide ecommerce solutions to small businesses, connecting them more efficiently with their local consumers.  Their talented workforce and technological capabilities are a great addition to Yell as we move forward into new digital marketplace opportunities.”

Znode’s platform enables businesses to significantly expand their online footprint using innovative multi-store and online franchising strategies. Znode supports customers across a broad range of industries from technology hardware manufacturing to online payment processing.

Yell will offer these digital services to its current base of 1.3 million small and medium enterprise customers globally, using its 6,400 strong sales force, as well as to new customers looking for scalable cloud-based online stores.

UK, Reading, Berkshire & USA, Columbus, Ohio

Related Fusion DigiNet articles


Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Internet Media, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Berkery Noyes releases its Half Year M&A Trends Report for the Online & Mobile Industry

July 18, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet
Berkery Noyes has released its Half Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trends Report for the Online & Mobile Industry.

The report analyses merger and acquisition activity in the segment across 1st Half 2011 and compares it with activity for the four previous sixth-month periods from 2009-2010.

According to Berkery Noyes research, the Online & Mobile Industry’s robust growth over the past two and a half years continued across the last six months. Total volume in 1st Half 2011 increased by 23 percent over the previous six-month period, from 643 transactions to 788. Total transaction value increased even more significantly, climbing from $28.5 billion in 2nd Half 2010 to$43.3 billion in 1st Half 2011, a 52 percent jump.

Price multiples rose in step with this increasing activity, with 1st Half 2011 Online & Mobile transactions commanding a median EBITDA multiple of 15.3 and a revenue multiple of 2.1. Both of these numbers represent 30-month highs for the segment.

Google, Inc. remained acquisitive in the sector, purchasing 11 companies over the first half of the year, bringing its two-and-a-half year total to 39. The firm’s most recent purchases represented a wide range of companies and technologies in the Online & Mobile sector, including social network analytics, search engines, and messaging services.

The largest transaction during 1st Half 2011 was Microsoft Corporation’s announced acquisition of Skype Technologies SA from an investor group led by Silver Lake Partners for $9.08 billion.

A copy of the First Half 2011 Online & Mobile Services Industry M&A Report is available at the Berkery Noyes website.

USA, New York

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Mobile Apps, Research Reports, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America, ~Oceana. Leave a Comment »

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

Related articles:

Posted in Company Results, Conference/Exhibitions/Events, Content Media, Publishers, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

Diversified Global Holdings Group acquires a majority stake in online marketing Firm Miralab

July 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Diversified Global Holdings Group has completed the acquisition of a 51% majority ownership stake in internet marketing business Miralab.

Miralab was founded in 2008 under the name Promium.ru and is headquartered in Moscow. Miralab provides SEO, SEM and web analytics.

Under the terms of the agreement DGHG will be partnered with RBS Corporation who purchased a 30% stake in Miralab in the second quarter of 2011. RBS was founded in 2004 and is an internet marketing company with over 8 million users, approximately $200 million in annual revenues and 370 employees. Prior management of Miralab retained 19% ownership.

“This acquisition brings long term value to DGHG as an accretive acquisition but we also expect to see an immediate effect on our business consulting services segment as we can now provide companies with greater access to the Russian markets,” said Richard Lloyd, CEO of Diversified Global Holdings Group.

DGHG and RBS intend to quickly expand into the Social Media Marketing sector. The group also projects that Miralab’s revenues will increase approximately 68% in 2012 due to the execution of several new contracts including one recently signed with Panasonic. Miralab currently serves 50 customers.

USA, Orlando, FL & Russia, Moscow

 

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Marketing/Advertising, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

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

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

Publicis Groupe takes a majority stake in longterm affiliate Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett

July 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has taken a majority stake in its longterm affiliate Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett, one of the biggest advertising agencies in Switzerland. Until now, Publicis Groupe has had a minority (40%) stake in the agency, and this transaction increases the Groupe’s participation to 100%. Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett will continue to align under the Leo Burnett global network.

Andy Stäheli, previously the agency’s Managing Director, will take over the company leadership from Peter Felser, and Peter Brönnimann succeeds Martin Spillmann as Creative Director. Spillmann and Felser will withdraw from day-to-day business operations, and will remain members of the Executive Board. Andy Stäheli will now report to Giorgio Brenna, CEO of Leo Burnett’s continental Western Europe region.

Founded in 2002, Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett is a full-service advertising agency based in Zurich, Switzerland. The agency employs nearly 80 communications professionals and provides the full range of advertising and communication services, including below-the-line and digital services. Key clients include ABB, Emmentaler Cheese, Fleurop, Lindt Chocolate, Postshop, Switzerland Tourism, Switzerland’s Cantonal Banks, Swiss Life (insurance) and Volvo.

Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett is the only Swiss agency to appear in the Top 3 on a national level for creative performance, earnings, as well as efficiency and reputation rankings. The agency is known for cross-media-campaigns and some of its popular campaigns include work carried out for Switzerland Tourism (“Mountain Cleaners”, “Holidays without Facebook”), Mammut (“Mary Woodbridge”) or the “SMS dialogues” for Swiss Telecom provider Sunrise (“Campaign of the year 2010”awarded by trade magazine “Werbewoche”). The agency has won 7 Cannes Lions for campaigns for Switzerland Tourism, Sunrise, Migros Fashion (“Real singles in underwear”), the left weekly WOZ (“WOZ buys UBS”), Cabaret Voltaire, Helvepharm (“The modest pharmaceutial company”).

Giorgio Brenna, Leo Burnett’s CEO Continental Western Europe Region, “Since its foundation in 2002 Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett has repeatedly impressed us with its creative power and how quickly it became the third largest agency in the country. The agency is one of our “Centers of Excellence” and underlines both our reputation as a creative network in Europe as well as the importance of great brand ideas for our clients.”

Andy Stäheli, CEO of Spillmann/Felser/Leo Burnett: “The Leo Burnett philosophy 100% matches our perspective on success-based communication. No other agency group devotes so much attention to the creative product. We are very much looking forward to sharing our ideas with like-minded people within the network as well as further profiting from their tools and experience.”

France, Paris & Switzerland, Zürich

Related articles:

Posted in Marketing/Advertising, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

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

Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, Internet Media, Marketing/Advertising, Publishers, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

Platts to acquire Steel Business Briefing Group

June 30, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Platts, a division of McGraw-Hill and a global provider of energy, petrochemicals and metals information, is to acquire the Steel Business Briefing Group (the SBB Group), a privately held U.K. company and provider of news, pricing and analytics to the global steel market.  The SBB Group provides subscription-based, electronic products to the steel industry and its participants through two principal businesses, Steel Business Briefing (SBB) and The Steel Index (TSI).  Financial terms were not disclosed.  The transaction is expected to close on July 1.

“This acquisition reflects our strategic focus on high-growth global brands and businesses,” said Harold McGraw III, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of McGraw-Hill.  “Platts, which derives almost two-thirds of its revenue outside the U.S., is McGraw-Hill’s most global business and is relied upon worldwide for its news, pricing and analytical services for billions of dollars of commodities transactions annually.  With world steel consumption projected to increase approximately 60 percent during the next decade, the acquisition of the SBB Group will create new opportunities for Platts, which already generates strong revenue growth and excellent margins. Earlier this year, Platts expanded its platform in market-critical natural gas analytics capabilities by acquiring Bentek Energy.”

“The acquisition of the SBB Group supports Platts’ strategy of expanding its presence in dynamic global commodity markets and immediately boosts our capabilities and the value we can provide to customers,” said Larry Neal, president of Platts.  “We intend to build upon the success of the SBB Group’s talented leadership team and its highly respected businesses, SBB and TSI.  By joining forces, we can offer a more expansive product mix that better serves the growing global demand for timely, objective information on the steel industry.”  Neal further noted that the SBB business will be integrated into Platts and that TSI will continue to operate separately.

“We are delighted to team up with Platts,” said Patrick Flockhart, the SBB Group’s chief executive officer.  “We share a common commitment to providing top-quality news, prices, analysis and events that serve the global steel supply chain and we look forward to working together to enhance the value of our offerings and the benefits we bring to our customers and the market world-wide.”

Founded in 2001, the SBB Group is headquartered in London with seven global offices and a staff of more than 180.  The Group’s original business, Steel Business Briefing, is primarily a subscription business comprising a mix of daily news, weekly reports, prices and analytical publications delivered electronically.  The Steel Index, launched in 2006, is a specialist price information business focused on compiling indices through the collection of transaction price data from industry participants.

UK, London & USA, New York, NY

Related articles:

 

Posted in Conference/Exhibitions/Events, Content Media, Market Data & Information, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Centaur Media plc to be restructured and to sell off some titles

June 30, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Centaur Media plc, the business information and events group, has announced today that the Group is being restructured into three main operating divisions: Business Publishing, Business Information and Exhibitions.

As part of the process New Media Age and Design Week will become digital only publications: The Ascent B2B portfolio is being sold to Ascent director Derek Rogers: The Logistics and Supply Chain and Recruiter portfolios are to be sold as are the two monthly engineering titles, MWP and Process Engineering.

Read the announcement here

paidContent have published CEO Geoff Wilmott’s memo to staff – here

The Group will publish a year end trading update on 14 July 2011.

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, News, Publishers, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »