JWT to acquire creative digital agency Lemon Sky in Poland

February 25, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP‘s wholly owned operating company JWT, the  marketing communications agency, has agreed to acquire Lemon Sky, a creative digital marketing company in Poland.

Founded in 2000 and employing around 70 people in Warsaw and Wroclaw, the agency specialises in producing a broad range of digital advertising and campaign services.  Clients include Nestle, Orange, Tesco and Leroy Merlin.

Lemon Sky’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2013 were EUR 2.7 million with gross assets of approximately EUR 2.4 million as at the same date.  Following the deal, Lemon Sky will join JWT Warsaw to create one truly integrated communications agency for Poland.

UK, London & Poland, Warsaw and Wroclaw

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Interbrand acquires HMKM.

February 24, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

INTERBRANDBrand consultancy Interbrand has acquired retail design consultancy HMKM. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

HMKM specialises in creating high-end, multidimensional retail environments for clients such as Selfridges, Galeries Lafayette, Nike, Breuninger and Bloomingdale’s.

“Retail brand experiences continue to evolve at a rapid pace,” said Jez Frampton, Global Chief hmkmExecutive Officer of Interbrand. “While physical stores will remain an essential point of access for the brand, those retailers that strategically integrate digital touchpoints will have the potential to revolutionize the brand experience. HMKM’s expertise in delivering holistic retail concepts, combined with Interbrand’s creative and strategic thinking, will bring tremendous value to our clients, creating richer and more engaging experiences seamlessly across channels and environments.”

UK, London

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Informa plc – 2013 Full Year Results

February 24, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet
Informa plc has announced full year results for the year ended 31 December 2013.

HIGHLIGHTS

Financial

  • Group organic revenue growth (continuing) of 1.5% to £1,132.4m (2012: £1,110.6m)
  • Adjusted operating profit (continuing) up 1.5% to £335.5m (2012: £330.5m)
  • Adjusted diluted EPS growth (continuing) of 5.0% to 40.1p (2012: 38.2p)
  • Statutory loss of £6.4m (2012: £90.7m profit), reflecting loss from discontinued operations of £109.5m
  • Strong cash flow – cash conversion (continuing) increased to 99% (2012: 94%)
  • Net debt/EBITDA ratio of 2.2 times (2012: 2.1 times)
  • Deferred income growth of 8% at constant currency
  • Final dividend maintained at 12.50p; total dividend up 2.2% to 18.90p (2012: 18.50p)

Operational

Stephen-Carter-HeadStephen Carter, Group Chief Executive, said: “I was delighted to take over as Group Chief Executive of Informa at the start of this year. As the reported figures highlight, the Group delivered a solid earnings and cash performance last year. This has led the Board to pay a total dividend for the year of 18.90p.

Succeeding such a long-standing Chief Executive is a privilege and comes with attendant responsibilities. The privilege lies in being given the opportunity to work with the people and the businesses that make Informa so unique, all of which operate in the Knowledge and Information Economy. The responsibilities are to transition the business, the culture and the operating model post such long-term leadership.”

He added, “For Informa, 2014 will be a year of measured change, operational focus and building a platform for the future growth of the Group.”

Divisional Highlights – continuing operations

2013 2012 Actual Organic
£m £m % %
Academic Publishing*
Revenue 367.1 340.3 7.9 5.3
Adjusted Operating Profit 130.9 126.1 3.8 3.1
Adjusted Operating Margin (%) 35.7 37.1
Business Intelligence*
Revenue 350.6 356.6 (1.7) (3.9)
Adjusted Operating Profit 109.1 120.7 (9.6) (12.8)
Adjusted Operating Margin (%) 31.1 33.8
Global Events*
Revenue 414.7 413.7 0.2 3.0
Adjusted Operating Profit 95.5 83.7 14.1 12.6
Adjusted Operating Margin (%) 23.0 20.2

* Following the disposal of the Corporate Training businesses, the three divisions have been renamed: Academic Information has been renamed Academic Publishing; Professional and Commercial Information has been renamed Business Intelligence; Events and Training has been renamed Global Events. Please note that in 2012 the results for Global Events include a contribution from Robbins Gioia which was sold in May 2012.

UK, London

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Progressive Digital Media Group – preliminary results for 2013

February 24, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

progressiveProgressive Digital Media Group Plc has issued its preliminary results for the year ended 31 December 2013

Highlights

  • Group revenue increased by 6.3% to £57.3m (2012: £53.9m)
  • Business Intelligence revenue increased by 12.1% to £33.8m (2012: £30.1m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA(1) increased by 26.0% to £11.5m (2012: £9.1m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA margin(1) increased to 20.0% (2012: 16.9%)
  • Reported EBITDA(2) increased by 31.1% to £9.7m (2012: £7.4m)
  • Reported profit before tax of £7.1m (2012: £4.3m) inclusive of £0.6m restructuring costs and £1.1m share based
  • payments charge
  • Deferred Revenue increased by 17.9% to £14.3m (2012: £12.1m)
  • Net cash(3) of £8.3m (2012: £6.2m)
  • Acquisition Pyramid Research from UBM 

Simon Pyper, Chief Executive of Progressive Digital Media Group Plc, commented:

“We continue to make good progress towards achieving our strategic objective of building a scalable, premium business information company. This past year we have recorded strong revenue growth, increased revenues from our Business Intelligence products and continued to invest in our content and delivery platforms. We have also completed the integration of Kable and agreed to acquire Pyramid Research; two acquisitions which complement our business model in the Technology market. I believe we have set ourselves the right objectives, are following the correct strategy and have in place the foundations for further growth.”

UK, London

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Incisive Media in talks about a debt-for-equity swap

February 24, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

incisive_logo_newSky News is reporting that Incisive Media has begun talks about a debt-for-equity swap that would enable the business to shed its £100m-plus debt mountain and refocus on growing the business.

Alchemy Partners has been acquiring Incisive Media’s debts from other holders and is expected to continue to do so. Alchemy now owns roughly a quarter of Incisive’s borrowings and would end up as a major shareholder if the restructuring proceeds.

Incisive is a business-to-business information provider, serving a wide range of financial, business technology and professional services markets globally. The business has two offices in London, others in New York and Hong Kong and a representative office in Beijing. Private equity firm Apax paid £208m for the business in 2006, and then bought American Lawyer Media (AML) in 2007 for $600m. Since then the two businesses have separated with Apax retaining AML and surrendering control of Incisive Media.

Lenders to the company, including the Royal Bank of Scotland, would need to give their consent before a debt-for-equity swap could take place.

Read the full story here.

UK, London

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Centaur Media plc publishes its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2013

February 20, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

centaurCentaur Media plc, the business information, events and media group, has published its interim results for the six months ended 31 December 2013. 

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Reported revenue in the six months to 31 December 2013 up 8% to £32.7m (2012: £30.4m) 2
    • Deferred revenues up 16% to £17.5m (31 December 2012: £15.1m)
    • Digital and events revenues account for 71% of revenue (2012: 67%)
    • Paid-for content revenues up 9% to £10.6m (2012: £9.7m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA up 7% to £3.1m (2012: £2.9m)
    • Adjusted EBITDA margins stable during a period of significant change
  • Interim dividend increased by 3% to 0.85p (2012: 0.825p)
  • Successful event launches including The Meetings Show and Festival of Marketing
  • Successful digital product development includes Celebrity Intelligence and Filings Expert
  • Good progress on harnessing combined strengths across the Group to drive revenue generation
  • Andria Vidler appointed as Chief Executive – accelerated focus on audiences and markets

 

  Six months to

31 December 2013

Unaudited

 Six months to

31 December 2012

Unaudited

 Reported Growth Year to 31 December 2013

Unaudited

 Year to 31 December 2012

Unaudited

 Reported Growth
Revenue (£m) 32.7 30.4 8% 74.4 69.4 7%
Adjusted EBITDA (£m) 1 3.1 2.9 7% 13.1 12.9 2%
Adjusted EBITDA margin 1 9% 10%   18% 19%  
Adjusted profit before tax (£m)1 0.9 0.7   8.8 8.8  
Loss before tax (£m) (2.9) (5.0)   (35.3) (0.8)  
Basic LPS (pence) (1.7) (3.1)   (25.7) (1.3)  
Adjusted basic EPS (pence) 1 0.5 0.3 66% 4.7 4.5 4%
Dividend per share (pence) 0.85 0.825 3% 2.425 2.325 4%

Andria Vidler CEO of Centaur, said, “We have a number of strong brands, deep content, a talented team and considerable technical expertise.  We aim to be the first place customers turn for information and insight and to interact with their peers. To deliver this we are refocusing – using our own resources – and placing our audiences at the heart of everything we do.  This will enable us to prioritise market facing and commercial initiatives, and to harness our combined strengths across the business to drive revenue generation and value creation.”

He added, “It is early days but I am increasingly optimistic about the Group’s potential and the energy and enthusiasm of the team across the business to embrace these changes.  We have made good progress in a very short time. At this stage of the 2014 financial year, I am encouraged by the potential across the business and anticipate that trading will be in line with the Board’s expectations.”

See the full announcement here

UK, London

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APN News & Media – 2013 Full year results

February 19, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

APN News & Media Ltd (APN), in which Independent News & Media PLC has a 28.95% shareholding, has released its results for the twelve months ending 31 December 2013. Net profit after tax before exceptional items was $59.5m, up 10% on the prior corresponding period. EBITDA from continuing operations and before exceptional items was up 8% to $162.8m, with revenue from continuing operations down $5.8m to $817.2m.

APN Chief Executive Officer, Michael Miller said: “These are APN’s best results in a number of years with Net profit after tax and EBITDA growth at their highest level since 2007 and 2005 respectively. The results reflect strong earnings growth in our radio businesses as they increased market share, a record result at Adshel, an improved second half performance from our publishing businesses as cost saving benefits start to flow through and the impact of the sale of a number of non-core businesses.”

APN’s ongoing focus on cost reductions and generating cash, as well as the contribution from a number of small asset sales, resulted in $63m in net cash inflows during the period. This cash inflow was considerably ahead of the $40m to $50m target set at the beginning of the year. Overall net debt as at 31 December 2013 was $436.9m.

APN FINANCIAL RESULT 2013

12 months to 31 December (AUD million) 2013 2012**
Revenue from continuing operations 817.2 823.0
EBITDA* 162.8 151.4
EBIT* 129.8 120.7
Net profit after tax* 59.3 49.6
Profit/loss from discontinued operations 0.3 4.7
Net profit after tax before exceptional items 59.5 54.3
Exceptional items (56.9) (561.7)
Statutory net profit/(loss) after tax 2.6 (507.4)
*From continuing operations and before exceptional items    
**2012 exceptional items and statutory net loss restated for error in relation to impairment charge

The company is not paying a final dividend for the 2013 financial year.

APN has made progress in its efforts to streamline operations and position the Company for future growth. The sale of APN Outdoor to Quadrant Private Equity for $69m and the sale of e-commerce business brandsExclusive for $2m in cash and 8% of the equity in buyer Aussie Commerce Group were completed in January and February of this year. The sale of APN’s wholly-owned New Zealand magazine titles to Bauer Media Group has received clearance from the New Zealand Commerce Commission and is expected to complete in March. During the first half of 2013, the Company sold its Wellington, Christchurch and Oamaru newspapers in line with its focus on North Island publications. APN also moved to full ownership of performance marketing business iNC Digital Media in October.

APN also announced the acquisition of the remaining 50% of Australian Radio Network and The Radio Network from its US joint venture partner Clear Channel Communications Inc. This  gives APN greater control of cash flows, which will be used to strengthen the Company’s balance sheet.

The full announcement is available here.

Ireland Dublin & UK, London

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ITV acquires a controlling stake in DiGa Vision

February 19, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

itvITV plc today has acquired a controlling stake in DiGa Vision, the New York based independent producer of reality and scripted programming including Teen Wolf.

ITV will make an upfront cash payment for a 51% stake in DiGa Vision with a put and call option to buy the remainder of the company. The put and call option could be exercised from between 3 and 6 years, with the total amount paid linked to the performance of the company over that period.  The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company said that the multiple paid is similar to the range paid on ITV’s previous acquisitions.

The acquisition follows ITV’s acquisition in the last 18 months of Gurney Productions, High Noon Entertainment and Thinkfactory Media in the US as well as UK producers The Garden and Big Talk.

UK, London &USA, New York

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Keywords Studios acquires Babel Media

February 18, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

Keywords Studios, the  technical services provider to the video games industry, has acquired Babel Media Ltd, a  provider of outsourced video games services with operations in the UK, Canada and India, from Quatrro Global Services Pvt. Ltd. and The D. E. Shaw Group.

Keywords Studios is paying the sellers and settling the financing obligations of Babel to a total of £5.369 million. £2,215 million is payable through  the issue of 1,516,944 new shares in Keywords Studios at a price of 145.994 pence per share and £3,154 million in cash to settle debts.

The unaudited management accounts for the 10 months to 31 January 2014 show Babel has achieved revenues of £6.4m and EBITDA of £0.4m; it has net assets of £1.44m after adjusting for the loans being repaid. Babel was founded in 1999.

Andrew Day, Chief Executive of Keywords Studios, commented, “The acquisition of Babel brings together two of the leading video games testing and localisation providers, firmly establishing Keywords as the market leader in its field, with operations across Dublin, Rome, Montreal, Seattle, Tokyo and now in New Delhi.”

UK, London & Ireland, Dublin & New Delhi, India & Montreal, Canada.

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Tarsus Group acquires HealthScienceMedia in the US and 60% of SADA Uzmanlik Fuarlari in Turkey

February 12, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

TarsusTarsus Group, the business-to-business media group, has acquired 100% of the assets of HealthScienceMedia in the US for approximately £8.5 million and 60% of SADA Uzmanlik Fuarlari A.S. in Turkey for up to £5.6 million.

HealthScienceMedia (HSM)cmhc_logo

The principal asset being acquired from HSM is the Cardiometabolic Health Congress, the largest US event focused on the cardiometabolic field. It is an annual congress which began in 2006 and is held over three days each October in Boston. CMHC’s 2012 delegates comprised approximately 1,500 practising clinicians.

The unaudited profits attributable to the assets being acquired in the twelve months to 31 December 2012 were $2 million on revenues of $3.5 million and the gross assets being acquired amount to approximately $0.5 million. HSM is owned by Alex Teperman, who will remain with the business on a consultancy basis.

Tarsus is acquiring the assets of HSM for $14 million of which $10 million is payable in cash on completion with the balance payable in two equal cash payments after the 2014 and 2015 Cardio events respectively.

SADA Uzmanlik Fuarlari A.S. (SADA)komatetec

Established in 1967 and based in Ankara, SADA organises a single event – Komatek – which was first held in 1991. This biennial (odd years) show is Turkey’s largest trade exhibition for construction equipment and related products. The last edition was held in May 2013 at the Ataturk Centre in Ankara with combined indoor and outdoor net space of 53,200m2. Over 400 exhibitor companies were present and visitor numbers, at approximately 35,000, were 9% higher than the 2011 event.

Komatek is the largest construction equipment exhibition in Turkey and one of the largest events in Europe. With $1 trillion worth of major construction and investment projects expected to be completed in Turkey between now and 2023, the Group expects strong growth in Turkey’s construction market over that timeframe.

Unaudited revenues at Komatek in 2013 were TL3.3 million (approximately £0.9 million). Tarsus will pay an initial TL5.0 million (approximately £1.4 million) on completion and two additional payments contingent on the profit performance of the 2015 and 2017 events. The total consideration for 60% of SADA is capped at TL20 million (approximately £5.6m). SADA’s management team will continue to run the business post-acquisition.

Douglas Emslie, Tarsus Group Managing Director, said, “The two acquisitions are further steps in the execution of our “Quickening the Pace” strategy. Both are exciting events in markets where we have established a strong presence and which we believe are likely to show further growth. Our focus will be on the effective integration of both businesses as cornerstones of our future organic growth. Cardio will bring greater access to the important US market for our wider medical division and Komatek delivers critical mass to our construction events in Turkey and Indonesia.”

UK, London & USA, Boston & Turkey, Ankara

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