Is Swiss smart meter company Landis+Gyr about to be put up for sale?

February 22, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Reuters are reporting that – Swiss smart meter company Landis+Gyr has hired Credit Suisse and Lazard Ltd to advise on a sale of the company. They quote “people familiar with the matter”.

“Landis+Gyr, which could be worth well over $1 billion, is expected to draw interest from multi-industry conglomerates such as General Electric Co, Danaher Corp, Johnson Controls Inc and Honeywell International Inc, as well as industrial groups based in Europe and Japan”, Reuters sources said. Private equity firms and technology companies are also likely to be interested.

Landis+Gyr is a provider of integrated energy management solutions. The Company offer a broad portfolio of products and services in the electricity metering industry. Founded in 1896, Landis+Gyr has annualised sales of more than US$1.25 billion, operates in 30 countries across five continents, and employs almost 5,000 people.

Through the late 90s the company saw a series of different investors and owners, including Elektrowatt, KKR and Siemens. In 2004 Bayard Capital of Australia purchased the company. Since Bayard’s acquisition other companies have been added to the Group.

Switzerland, Zug

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Investments in green companies and technologies globally now total more than $2 trillion

February 22, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

A new report from Ethical Markets Media which tracks private investments since 2007 in green companies and technologies globally, says investments now total more than $2 trillion.

The Green Transition Scoreboard® (GTS) represents time-based, global research of non-government investments and commitments for all facets of green markets. This update of the GTS totals  $2,005,048,785,088 from 2007 to the end of 2010. This is significant because many studies indicate that investing $1 trillion annually until 2020 will accelerate the Green Transition worldwide.  The updated 2010 finding puts global investors and countries on track to reach the $10 trillion in investments goal by 2020.

Hazel Henderson, D.Sc.Hon., FRSA, former US government technology advisor and president of Ethical Markets Media said, “this new total is remarkable in spite of economic uncertainty.  It indicates that the global transition away from the 300-year fossil-fueled Industrial Era is accelerating toward the cleaner, greener, information-rich economies of the 21st century.”

Timothy Nash, M.Sc., Senior Advisor to Ethical Markets Media, adds, “This over $2 trillion total does not include nuclear, ‘clean’ coal or CCS, nor biofuels from food or agricultural sources, which we consider unsustainable.”

Rosalinda Sanquiche, Ethical Markets Media’s Executive Director and editor of the Green Transition Scoreboard® report, points out, “this startling amount does not include thousands of deals under $100 million, which we hope to include in future reports.  We have added and will continue to track our exclusive Corporate R&D sub-report and invite companies to alert us to any investments we may have missed.”

The full report is available at www.greentransitionscoreboard.com.

USA: St. Augustine, FL

Posted in B2B Services, Energy & Environmental Services, Research Reports, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America, ~Oceana. Leave a Comment »

United Media Holding (UMH) to acquire Sports.ru

February 22, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

According to Quintura blog and newspaper RBC Daily, the Ukrainian publisher of sports daily Komanda and football bi-weekly Futbol, Ukrainian Media Holding, is to acquire a majority stake in Russian online sports website Sports.ru.

The deal is valued at between $1.5 million and $2.5 million, according to the RBC Daily.

Russia & Ukraine

Sources:

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Yandex plans $1 billion IPO on NASDAQ in June/July 2011

February 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

We reported in November last year that Russia’s largest internet firm Yandex was considering a £1bn listing in London. According to Quintura blog and newspaper Vedomosti the IPO will go on NASDAQ in June – July 2011. The company has hired investment banks Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley to manage the IPO. The shares to be sold will come mostly from existing shareholders of Yandex. The private equity funds managed by Baring Vostok Capital Partners (BVCP), Tiger Global, Runet II, Almaz Capital and UFG own about 60% shares in Yandex.

Ru-Net Holdings, consortium of investors led by BVCP and UFG, invested $5.3 million for 35.7% shares in Yandex in April 2000.

Sources

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News Corporation to acquire Shine Group

February 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

News Corporation is to acquire 100 percent of Shine Group, the international television production group, for an enterprise value of £415 million. Shine Group will report to Chase Carey, News Corporation Deputy Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer.

“This is a unique and exciting opportunity for us. Shine is a leader in the global television production business with a proven track record of developing hit shows and new formats worldwide,” said Carey. “We have every confidence that Shine will be an important part of the expansion strategy for our worldwide TV operations.”

Elisabeth Murdoch, Chairman and CEO Shine Group said: “In a rapidly consolidating global TV industry, this alliance uniquely provides the conditions in which Shine Group can continue to lead and prosper. News Corporation is the partner that enables us to maintain our aspiration to be best in class across all our sectors, and prepares and equips us for future growth. Shine shares News Corporation’s long-standing belief in creative excellence and ambitious expansion. I could not be happier or more proud that from such modest beginnings Shine will join such an extraordinary group of companies.”

Rupert Murdoch, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of News Corporation commented: “Shine has an outstanding creative team that has built a significant independent production company in major markets in very few years, and I look forward to them becoming an important part of our varied and large content creation activities. I expect Liz Murdoch to join the board of News Corporation on completion of this transaction.”

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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Publicis Groupe acquires digital content and social media agency Holler for Leo Burnett

February 17, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Yet another Publicis Groupe acquisition!

Publicis Groupe has acquired Holler, London-based digital content and social media agency Holler. The Holler brand will become part of the Leo Burnett Group in the UK.

Founded in 2001, Holler is specialised in branded entertainment strategy, content creation and social media. The agency’s clients include Channel 4 (E4, More4), Global Radio (Capital, Heart, Galaxy, Classic, XFM), Red Bull and Logica. Holler has won several industry awards including 3 Gold IPA Effectiveness awards including ‘Best Innovation’ for work on E4’s Skins, plus a Guardian MEGA Award and IMA Grand Prix. The agency’s team of 35 digital specialists strengthen Leo Burnett’s rapidly-expanding digital capabilities, bringing the number of digital specialists in the UK Leo Burnett Group to more than 70.

The agency will continue to be managed by founding partners, James Kirkham, Managing Partner, and Will Pyne, Executive Creative Director, together with Simon Hankin, Joint Managing Partner.

The acquisition of Holler is in line with Publicis Groupe’s policy of continuing to expand its digital business throughout all of its networks. Digital is one of the two growth drivers at the heart of Publicis Groupe’s targeted acquisition strategy and today accounts for 28% of the Groupe’s revenue. Over the next three years, Publicis Groupe aims to increase the percentage of revenue derived from digital to 35%.
Andrew Edwards, Group Chairman and CEO Leo Burnett (UK) said: “Our mission is to ingrain digital thinking into every aspect of Leo Burnett’s work and culture. The acquisition of Holler, with its outstanding track record in social and branded content, will provide us with greater depth and specialization in these important and fast-growing areas. We want to provide our clients with the best advice on these decisive trends and to continue to create great brand thinking, throughout all platforms.”

France, Paris & UK, London

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Wm Morrison Supermarkets acquires multi channel online retailer Kiddicare

February 17, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is acquiring Kiddicare, the multi channel online retailer, together with the rights to its technology platform, for a total consideration of £70 million.   The acquisition is the first step in developing Morrisons online business. The company will continue to trade separately as kiddicare.com, led by Scott and Elaine Weavers-Wright.

Kiddicare, founded in 1974 by Neville and Marilyn Wright, is a UK specialist online retailer of baby products.  Turnover in the last full financial year (2010) was £37.5 million and has grown by 75% in the past three years using leading web technology and picking software.  Over 80% of sales are now through the online channel.

The company owns a new state of the art freehold distribution facility and operates the largest baby nursery equipment retail store in Europe based in Peterborough, comprising 160,000 square feet of warehouse, retail and office space.

Morrisons intends to build its online non-food business, developing the kiddicare.com platform and management team, launching its first products in 2012.

Dalton Philips, Chief Executive of Morrisons, said, “This acquisition brings not only a respected, successful and fast growing specialist retailer into the Morrisons group but also a robust, scalable and highly advanced technology platform around which we can begin to build our e-commerce offer. We are delighted to welcome Scott and Elaine Weavers-Wright to Morrisons, along with their team.  They are two of the most talented and respected operators of online retail today and their experience and track record with Kiddicare.com has been outstanding.   Their knowledge and expertise will be invaluable as Morrisons builds its online business.”

Scott Weavers-Wright, Chief Executive of kiddicare.com, said, “Elaine and I are extremely excited about partnering with Morrisons to accelerate the pace of future growth at kiddicare.com and look forward to working with the Morrisons team to develop their on-line offer. There are fantastic synergies between the two businesses and our platform will allow both brands to enjoy future success and to continue to deliver an unrivalled customer experience.”

The acquisition is subject to certain conditions which, if not satisfied by 23 March 2011, would allow Morrisons to terminate the agreement.

UK, Bradford, West Yorkshire

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UberMedia close to acquiring TweetDeck

February 14, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

According to the Financial Times, who quote people “people familiar with the negotiations.”, UberMedia is close to completing the acquisition of London based TweetDeck.

TweetDeck was first launched in 2008 by Iain Dodsworth, it is personal browser for connecting across Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and more. Investors include the Accelerator Group, Betaworks and ProFounders Capital.

TweetDeck has raised $3.5m but as yet has not generated significant revenues. The transaction would value the company at $25m-$30m.
UberMedia has also acquired UberTwitter, Echofon, and Twidroyd. UberMedia is headquartered at Idealab (www.idealab.com) in Pasadena, CA.

USA, Pasadena, CA & UK, London

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Teleca acquires SurfKitchen

February 9, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Mobile services provider Teleca has acquired UK based SurfKitchen. The company, which has approximately 55 employees, helps mobile operators and their partners overcome the discoverability, usability and fulfillment challenges associated with the delivery of mobile applications and services.

The acquisition strengthens Teleca’s ability to offer its products and solutions to the operator market, while SurfKitchen gains access to Teleca&’s global reach, customer portfolio, cost effective services and scale.

SurfKitchen will stay as an independent business unit within the Teleca organisation. The company will focus globally on the operator segment, concentrating on business development, sales & product R&D. SurfKitchen will leverage Teleca’s extensive global services for its customer deployment.

The acquisition fits well into Teleca’s strategy of expanding its mobile software outsourcing services to all relevant industries. In 2009, Teleca created a unit to deliver mobile apps, which has already achieved significant customer wins in the media and entertainment industry. Now through SurfKitchen, Teleca can offer the operator segment significant advantages, including complete end-to-end apps solutions, full content and subscriber management services, more than 80% market coverage, a first-rate partner network and increased competitiveness.

“This acquisition brings together two companies with very complementary skill sets”, says Michel Quazza, Chairman and CEO of SurfKitchen. “We get access to Teleca’s strong presence in the connected devices industry and its extensive partner network, while Teleca can offer its deep knowledge of embedded systems to our operator customers. The result is true end-to-end services that benefit the whole industry and will provide unique differentiation”.

Sweden, Malmö & UK, Berkshire

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HTC makes strategic investment in mobile content delivery services business Saffron Digital

February 9, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Mobile telecoms firm company HTC is making a strategic investment in London-based mobile content delivery services business Saffron Digital.

Saffron Digital has experienced a successful year with its innovative technology integrated into products and services in Europe by HTC, LG, Paramount Digital Entertainment, Sony Ericsson, T-Mobile and Nokia, among others, and in the US by Samsung. It has entered into partnerships with industry-leading companies such as Microsoft, and Widevine, to ensure that customers are given the best possible video experience across a range of devices.

“HTC’s investment increases our global expansion capabilities and provides us with an opportunity to expand into new markets like Asia and new sectors like games and music delivery,” says Shashi Fernando, CEO of Saffron Digital. “We have grown Saffron Digital into one of the best and most exciting digital service providers in the world and this enables us to take digital content delivery to a new level for our customers around the world.”

Saffron Digital will continue to provide its media and content services to its third party partners, which include device manufacturers, network operators and content providers in 26 countries. The company’s headquarters will remain in London and Los Angeles while its management team will continue unchanged.

Taiwan, Taoyuan & UK, London

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