A Fusion Deal: Kingsman SA, the Switzerland-based provider of price information and analytics for the global sugar and biofuels markets, to be acquired by Platts

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our latest deal. Platts, a McGraw-Hill division and leading global provider of energy, petrochemicals and metals information, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Kingsman SA, a privately-held, Switzerland-based provider of price information and analytics for the global sugar and biofuels markets. Paul Slight, Director at Fusion acted exclusively for the vendors.

The acquisition, whose purchase price was not disclosed, is expected to close on November 1, subject to customary closing conditions.

“McGraw-Hill is pleased to add Kingsman to our wonderful stable of world-class businesses,” said Harold McGraw III, chairman, president and chief executive officer for The McGraw-Hill Companies. “As we move to separate our education company from our financial and commodities intelligence businesses at the end of the year, this acquisition strengthens our leading position as providers of essential intelligence in the capital and commodity markets.”

“Kingsman is widely recognized as the leading global brand for sugar market data and analytics,” said Larry Neal, president of Platts. “Our acquisition of Kingsman deepens Platts’ capabilities in biofuels and gives us a springboard for growth in the global agricultural markets. It also reinforces our commitment to becoming a leader in market analytics as well as news and price information.”

Neal noted that agriculture is a large, complex global commodity market similar to other markets that Platts serves. “It requires the level of pricing expertise that Platts can uniquely offer,” he said, “and, with its broad range of sub-sectors, it presents multiple opportunities for Platts to develop benchmarks that support market evolution and enhance price transparency.”

Founded in 1990 and based in Lausanne, Kingsman employs analysts, researchers and report writers in key markets including London, Montreal, New Delhi and Sao Paulo. It serves a global clientele of producers, traders, refiners, financial institutions and end-users, offering a variety of subscription publications covering sugar, ethanol and biodiesel.

With its prime focus on market analysis, supply and demand fundamentals and trade flows, Kingsman complements Platts’ long-standing expertise in reporting news, assessing prices and explaining the factors driving those prices.

“This is a great move for Kingsman. We will benefit from the strong market position Platts enjoys across a wide range of commodities, the broad operational footprint it has around the world, and its cohesive global sales force. These strengths will enable Kingsman to better serve customers and more quickly expand its business globally,” said Jonathan Kingsman, the company’s founder.

“Most notably,” he added, “Platts’ technology capabilities will enable Kingsman to provide new market data services and expanded web offerings.”

Platts and Kingsman provide complementary biofuels services covering Asia, Europe and the Americas. Platts has covered the biofuels market for many years with news and prices featured in its oil and petrochemicals information services.

Recently, Platts launched a portfolio of dedicated biofuels information products, including a newsletter, a real-time alert and market data package.

Kingsman, whose business originally focused on the sugar markets, moved into the adjacent ethanol and biodiesel sectors as alternative green fuels were developed in the early 2000s. It currently offers a range of daily, weekly and monthly reports covering ethanol and biodiesel as well as sugar.

USA, New York, NY & Switzerland, Lusanne

Related articles:

OTHER FUSION DEALS:

Media and Information

Business Services
Events, Broadcast and Other deals

A Fusion Deal: Econsultancy sold to Centaur

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our latest deal, the sale of Econsultancy.com Limited to business information and events group Centaur Media plc.

Econsultancy is a leading digital and events-led information provider to the global digital marketing and e-commerce community in the UK, with a growing presence in the USA, Middle East, Asia and Australia. Econsultancy’s revenues stem from subscriptions, events, training, professional qualifications and media. The company has approximately 110,000 registered users and approximately 5,000 subscribers.

Centaur are paying an initial consideration of £12m in cash, with deferred consideration of up to £38m due in 2016, based on EBITDA performance for the year ending December 2015.

Econsultancy was founded in 1999. In the financial year to 31 December 2011, Econsultancy reported revenues of £6.6m (representing an increase of 50 per cent. on the prior period) and adjusted EBITDA of £1.1m. Econsultancy’s CEO and key executives will remain with the business following the acquisition

The acquisition is a key part of the strategy to transform the Centaur Group into a predominantly digital and events-led business. The deal complements Centaur’s market-leading publications, events and digital services in the marketing, design and creative sectors.

Geoff Wilmot, Centaur Chief Executive, said, “The earnings enhancing acquisition of Econsultancy provides us with an exciting opportunity to acquire a leading information brand in a high growth sector with global potential which fits well with Centaur products including Marketing Week and New Media Age. Econsultancy is highly complementary with Centaur and gives us a prominent position in the rapidly growing digital marketing sector with the opportunity to scale internationally. We see considerable potential for collaborative growth through leveraging our existing position in marketing and the development of high value, paid-for information services.”

Paul Slight, Director at Fusion, said, “We were delighted to work with the team at Econsultancy. The company has become the leading source of independent advice and insight on digital marketing and ecommerce. It will be an excellent fit with Centaur products.”

UK, London

Related articles:

OTHER FUSION DEALS:

Media and Information

Business Services
Events, Broadcast and Other deals

A Fusion Deal: International grain trading conferences, Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia, sold to Euromoney Institutional Investor

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our third deal of 2012. The sale of international grain trading conferences, Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia  to Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.

Global Grain Geneva is the world’s leading event for international grain traders. It has been held every November since 2003 in Geneva, the main European location for the trading of grain, oilseeds and soft commodities. The event has grown every year since its launch and in 2011 attracted nearly 1,000 delegates from over 50 countries. Euromoney is acquiring all the issued share capital of Global Commodities Group Sàrl whose sole asset is Global Grain Geneva.

Global Grain Asia is a new event for grain and oilseed trade and industry professionals operating in Asia-Pacific. It launches in March in Singapore. Euromoney is acquiring 50% of the issued share capital of GGA Pte. Ltd whose sole asset is Global Grain Asia. Euromoney has an option to acquire the remaining 50% of GGA Pte. Ltd in 2014.

The prospects for grain trading are good. Agricultural prices move over long cycles and prices today are under-pinned by a rising global population, greater affluence especially in Asia where meat consumption is growing rapidly (for instance, every pound of beef requires seven pounds of grain to produce), and less farmland: by the year 2020, the farmland available per person is forecast by the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to be less than half that of 1950.

Global Grain Geneva has been organized by James Dunsterville, a commodity trader in Geneva who also publishes the respected grain price newsletter AgriNews (www.agrinews.ch) and by Andrew Osborne, an event and conference specialist. Global Grain Asia was recently set up by G Seelan, Managing Director, and Ms Sarasija Raman, Executive Director, of the Centre for Management Technology (CMT) in Singapore, and Messrs. Dunsterville and Osborne. All four of them expect to remain involved in the business until at least 2014.

“We are delighted to acquire Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia,” said Padraic Fallon, Chairman of Euromoney. “Euromoney has a successful record of acquiring conferences and developing them into fast-growing global event businesses. Coaltrans Conferences and Metal Bulletin Events are two striking examples and we look forward to doing the same with the Global Grain conferences.”

James Dunsterville and Andrew Osborne of Global Commodities Group said: “Having successfully built Global Grain Geneva into a must-attend conference for the grain trade market, and more recently launched Global Grain Asia with CMT, we believe that Euromoney is ideally positioned to develop further the conferences worldwide. We are confident that their successful track record in acquiring and developing commodity conferences will add tremendous value to the international grain trade community. We look forward to using our know-how and experience to help them achieve this vision.”

Paul Slight, Director at Fusion, said, “We were delighted to work with James, Andrew, Seelan and Sarasija. These are two great trading events and will be an excellent fit with Euromoney’s commodities events businesses. It is the third Fusion transaction in the commodities area and we expect to continue to be active in the sector for some time to come.”

UK, London & Switzerland, Geneva & Singapore

Related articles:

1. Media and Information Deals

3. Events, Broadcast and Other deals

A Fusion Deal: Fertilizer market information and analysis business Fertecon sold to Informa Group

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our second deal of 2012. The sale of fertilizer market information and analysis business Fertecon Limited to Informa Group.

FERTECON, founded in 1978, provides on subscription only,  price discovery, current information and analysis services to the global fertilizer industry.  Its data and forecasts are used by virtually all the leading fertilizer companies in the world as well as by many financial institutions.

Barrie Bain, Chairman and one of the founders of FERTECON Limited said, “This is an exciting development. FERTECON is an excellent fit with Informa’s Agra group. Agricultural developments drive the fertilizer market and the combination of FERTECON fertilizer industry knowledge with Agra’s insight into the agrifoodsector will create a unique resource of information and analysis. Informa’s knowledge of the food, freight, and energy sectors will significantly enhance FERTECON’s services to the fertilizer industry. FERTECON has a great team of market analysts and now they will have access to the resources of the Informa Group. ”

Barrie Bain and Vivien Bright, two of the former shareholders and directors of FERTECON Limited, will join Informa to help build FERTECON within the Group. Terry Phillips, the third shareholder and director, will work on a consultancy basis for the FERTECON business.

Paul Slight, Director at Fusion, said, “It was a pleasure to work with Barrie, Vivien and Terry. They have built a great business over the last 30 years and it will be an excellent fit with Informa’s Agra group.”

Fusion acted exclusively for the shareholders of Fertecon Limited. The team responsible for this transaction were Paul Slight (pslight@fusioncorp.co.uk) and Paul Kelly (pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk). Waterfront Solicitors, headed by Matthew Cunningham, provided legal advice to the vendors.

UK, London and Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Related articles:

1. Media and Information Deals

3. Events, Broadcast and Other deals

A Fusion Deal : Energy specialist Utilyx sold to MITIE Group

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our first deal of 2012. The sale of leading energy and carbon management specialist Utilyx Holdings Limited to MITIE Group PLC, the strategic outsourcing and energy services company.

Utilyx provides a number of services relating to its clients’ energy demands including strategic planning, procurement and risk management, all of which are designed to manage the business impact of energy consumption and rising energy costs.

The acquisition of Utilyx will complement and enhance MITIE’s existing CarbonCare energy services capabilities. The energy services market is significant for MITIE, with 35% of the Group’s revenues derived in this area. MITIE is ranked as the second largest energy services company in the UK, providing a full range of integrated services that help its clients manage their energy use and carbon footprint. MITIE’s energy services proposition supports all the key energy issues facing businesses and public sector organisations across the UK. These include business continuity through security of energy supply, value through cost reduction, reduction of carbon emissions and renewable energy.

As a leading consultant on corporate carbon and energy strategy, Utilyx counts a range of major UK energy users among its clients, from the industrial, commercial and public sectors. Utilyx has excellent high-level working relationships with numerous blue-chip companies including Scottish Water, Iceland and McDonald’s. It has excellent strategic relationships across the fast-growing energy services market and also provides specialist services to generators and developers of renewable energy projects.

Established in 2000, Utilyx purchases a significant proportion of the UK corporate energy market on behalf of its clients. The business has a deserved reputation for excellence and innovation, having introduced a number of new products and concepts to the market, including flexible risk managed electricity purchasing, open-book agreements and end-user Power Purchase Agreements.

Utilyx has annualised revenues of over £7m and is well placed to support MITIE’s progress in the growing energy services market in the UK. The total consideration for the acquisition will be up to £16.2m. Initial consideration of £15m was paid in cash on completion and the balance (capped at a maximum additional payment of £1.2m) will be paid in cash, dependent on future business performance. The proforma EBITDA of Utilyx is £1.7m and it is expected the acquisition will be earnings neutral in the first year of ownership.

Ruby McGregor-Smith CBE, Chief Executive, MITIE Group PLC, commenting on the transaction, said: “We are delighted to have acquired Utilyx. There is no doubt that the need for all organisations to use fewer natural resources is changing our marketplace. Energy management is integral to what we do and this acquisition forms part of our considerable investment to further develop MITIE’s energy services capability.

Chris Bowden, Chief Executive Officer of Utilyx added: “We are excited by the opportunity this presents for us and our clients. The energy sector is fast-moving and by bringing together our expertise and experience, we will be in an even stronger position to help our clients meet the challenges and opportunities that the new low-carbon economy .

Paul Kelly, Director at Fusion, said “We were delighted to work with Chris and his team at Utilyx. They have built a great business and the fit with MITIE is excellent. The energy services sector has become an important part of the Fusion business. This our sixth energy services deal. Besides private equity interest, we are seeing an increase in acquisition interest from large energy management, FM, environmental services and building services companies. We expect to continue to be active in the sector for some time to come.”

Previous Fusion energy services deals:

UK, London & Bristol

Related articles:

Other Fusion Deals:

Media and Information

Events, Broadcast and Other deals

A Fusion Deal: Carson Systems sold to Wellesley Information Services

carsonifiedFusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our latest deal: the sale of Carson Systems Ltd a UK-based producer of industry-leading events for Web developers, designers, and entrepreneurs, to US-based Wellesley Information Services (WIS). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Carson Systems produces events for web professionals and entrepreneurs. The company’s Future of Web Applications (FOWA), Future of Web Design (FOWD), and Future of Mobileity (FOM) series of events are annual gatherings of thought leaders, technologists, and investors. They have featured renowned speakers including Zappos.com CEO Tony Hsieh, O’Reilly Media founder Tim O’Reilly, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and Digg founder Kevin Rose.

Carson Systems has been particularly effective using social networks and other information delivery mechanisms to build a community of developers, designers, and futurists who are passionate about technology and leveraging it to make a significant impact on business and society.

“Both WIS and Carson Systems have unique competencies within their respective core market spaces. We are confident that, through this acquisition, each organization can learn from the other’s expertise — and together we will be much better positioned to offer unmatched value and exciting new products for our customers,” said Benny DiCecca, CEO of WIS.

WIS is a portfolio company of UCG and a provider of SAP and IBM training and education. WIS serves more than 250,000 customers in over 100 countries, and offers a diverse set of resources including print journals, magazines, electronic knowledge bases, online communities, conferences, seminars, and books. This is WIS’s first acquisition in the UK and will position WIS to serve a brand new market space.

“Web and mobile application development represents technology’s future. Carson Systems has consistently been at the epicenter of this technological revolution, offering education and training to an exciting breed of entrepreneurial web developers and designers. The opportunities in this market are immense, and we are excited to bring WIS’s deep knowledge of the conference, publication, online education, and custom training business to help capitalize on them,” said DiCecca.

Mark Eisenstadt Partner at Fusion said, “Ryan Carson is passionate about bringing the latest and best practice to the web community. We were delighted to have the opportunity to work with Ryan and his team. Carson Systems is a high quality business and tailor-made for WIS. I am sure that WIS’s expertise as a leading provider of technology education combined with Carson’s ability to attract leading edge players in the technology market will ensure the business accelerates it’s growth to cater for this expanding marketplace’’

Fusion acted exclusively for the shareholders of Carson Systems Ltd. Mark Eisenstadt (meisenstadt@fusioncorp.co.uk) led the Fusion team and was supported by Paul Kelly (pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk). Mogers Solicitors, headed by Tom Webb, provided legal advice to the vendors.

UK, Bath & USA, Dedham, MA

Other Fusion Deals:

Media and Information

Energy Services
Events, Broadcast and Other deals

A Fusion Deal: FMB Consultants sold to Argus Media

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our latest deal, the sale of FMB Consultants Ltd (FMB) to leading energy price reporting agency Argus Media. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

FMB is a leader in the provision of timely and accurate intelligence on the world fertilizer market. FMB reports monitor global trade and pricing for nitrogen, phosphate, sulphur, potash and ammonia. Founded in 1982, FMB publishes 100 price references, which are widely used for benchmark pricing and settlement of derivatives. FMB Conferences and Exhibitions are currently run on four continents, providing major networking opportunities for senior industry executives.

Argus chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said “FMB is a natural fit with Argus’ strategy of expanding its commodity market reporting capabilities beyond energy.  Like Argus, FMB has developed an excellent reputation for bringing transparency to opaque markets.  We look forward to working with FMB staff to combine their deep expertise with Argus’ global reach and scale”.

Kevin Hill, Director at FMB said “We are delighted to be joining Argus and look forward to further developing FMB’s products and services utilising Argus’ global presence, technical resources and commercial team.  FMB and Argus share the same cultural strengths based on close relationships with the industries they serve, and a resolute commitment to high quality reporting, ethics and integrity.”

Paul Slight, Partner at Fusion said, “We have known Kevin and the rest of the team at FMB for many years and were delighted to have the opportunity to work with them. FMB is a great business and tailor-made for Argus. I am sure it will be a great success in its new home.”

Fusion acted exclusively for the shareholders of FMB Consultants. The team responsible for this transaction were Paul Slight (pslight@fusioncorp.co.uk) and Paul Kelly (pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk). Waterfront Solicitors, headed by Matthew Cunningham, provided legal advice to the vendors.

UK, London

Other Fusion Deals:

Media and Information

Business Services
Events, Broadcast and Other deals

Fusion’s fifth deal in the energy services sector: Utility Masters Limited sold to M&C Energy Group

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our latest deal, the sale of procurement and energy management consultancy Utility Masters Limited (UML) to M&C Energy Group, an energy procurement and compliance specialist. M&C Energy Group are a portfolio company of private equity business, Lyceum Capital.

Fusion Corporate Partners acted as exclusive advisers to the shareholders of UML.  Paul Kelly (pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk) led the transaction at Fusion. It is the fifth energy services sector deal completed by Fusion. Previous deals were:

As previously reported on Fusion DigiNet, Lyceum Capital acquired McKinnon and Clark in January 2010 for £22 million.

This is M&C’s fourth acquisition in just 12 months and will see the Fife-headquartered company’s turnover increase to £40million. Already an established global player in cost analysis, carbon management, energy procurement, bill auditing, energy price risk management and carbon optimisation, the acquisition of UML adds further depth and breadth of expertise to the company’s existing services, innovative energy management solutions and carbon compliance. M&C now manages in excess of £6.25billion of energy consumption each year for 3,500 of the world’s largest energy users across 20 offices in 13 countries.

In 2010, M&C also acquired Australian firm Creative Energy Solutions and German consultancy ETT, increasing its international footprint. Earlier that year it acquired Encore International, a leading provider of energy price risk management services, which handles more than £2billion of procurement annually.

Dan Adler, Partner at Lyceum Capital, said: “This acquisition further highlights our commitment to creating one of the world’s leading energy management consultancies in M&C, with a broad range of complementary services and significant geographical reach. With a well-invested operational infrastructure, high calibre management team and financial muscle, M&C is well-placed to continue its expansion as we identify further opportunities for organic and acquisition-led growth.”

Simon Northrop, CEO of M&C, said: “Utility Masters is a well respected energy consultancy with significant expertise in supply management. This company is a natural fit for our business and supports M&C’s aggressive growth strategy. As the energy consultancy business matures, there will be less of an opportunity for smaller players to compete effectively with the services and product range offered by large international consultancies such as M&C. Our aim is to become a major global provider of energy management services and we are working on a number of further acquisitions, both in Europe and globally, to enable us to deliver on this objective.”

Following the acquisition, UML’s founding partners, Jim McGhie, Shaun McClarnon and Kevin Whaites, will join the M&C team.

Jim McGhie, Managing Director, Utility Masters Limited, said: “M&C is unquestionably one of the world’s leading energy consultancies with a strong reputation for excellence in customer services and product innovation. M&C’s global reach will bring significant benefits to our clients, many of whom require an integrated energy service across many sites worldwide. My partners and I are looking forward to working with M&C to drive forward this strong business.”

Paul Kelly, Director at Fusion, said “We were delighted to work with Jim, Kevin and Shaun. They built a fantastic business which meant we were able to run a highly competitive deal process. Even with all the acquisitions that have taken place in the energy services sector in 2010, it is still a fragmented market where even the biggest global players only have a small market share. We expect to see further consolidation in the market. Fusion continue to be active in the space in 2011”.

UK, Dunfermline and Oldham

Related linksClick here for the Energy Services sector news archive

A Fusion Deal: eLitigation business Legal Inc is acquired by Grant Thornton

Legal Inc Ltd has been acquired by Grant Thorton as a key addition to its Forensic Team.   Established in 2005 and based in London, Legal Inc is the leading independent UK specialist in eLitigation, eDisclosure and eCourt services.

Legal Inc is able to handle and decipher huge complicated files for its accounting and legal and government clients.  As the company says: ” Our aim is always to be an ally in the fast-changing world of information management, where our know-how and, experience and market awareness can assist you in you in meeting today’s challenges.  The exponential growth of edata, the impact of disruptive technologies and a changing rulebook make for a ‘shifting sands’ environment. Add in operational pressures that revolve around efficiency, risk, cost control and client satisfaction and you can understand why so many organisations look to leverage Legal Inc to improve legal delivery and enhance business returns.”

 

Paul Slight was the Partner responsible for the transaction.  Fusion acted exclusively for the shareholder vendors.

A Fusion Deal: Encore International sold to McKinnon and Clarke

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our latest deal, the sale of energy price risk management company Encore International for £6.25 million to McKinnon & Clarke, an energy procurement and compliance specialist headquartered in Edinburgh. McKinnon and Clare are a portfolio company of private equity business, Lyceum Capital. The enlarged business will be re-named M&C Energy Group on the 1st of July.

Fusion Corporate Partners acted as exclusive advisers to the shareholders of Encore International.  Paul Kelly (pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk) led the transaction at Fusion. It is the third energy consultancy sector deal completed by Fusion. Previous deals were;

As previously reported on Fusion DigiNet, Lyceum Capital acquired McKinnon and Clark in January this year for £22 million.

Founded in 2001, London-headquartered Encore is an independent advisor with a major operational base in Budapest and sales offices in the Netherlands and Germany. Its services include developing control policies, tendering and negotiating contracts, budget risk analysis, environmental auditing and reporting and live market transaction support and invoice settlement. Encore handles more than €2.4 billion of procurement annually on behalf of over 150 blue chip customers across 16 European countries.

markdickinsonEncore International’s Managing Director, Mark Dickinson, and European Sales Director, Colin Gebhard, will join the management team of M&C Energy Group.

The acquisition increases McKinnon and Clarkes turnover to more than £30 million and creates significant geographical and cross-selling synergies which will open up new commercial opportunities within the client base.

Dan Adler, Partner at Lyceum Capital, said: “The volatility and complexity of the global energy markets require large corporates to manage risks associated with energy procurement with the same rigour as they do in other areas such as interest rates and foreign exchange.

“With its ability to monitor and alter risk positions on a 24/7 basis, Encore International has unparalleled market coverage and is the only business capable of providing clients with round the
clock access to the latest data and advice.

“Encore will now benefit from the investment we’ve made in M&C’s infrastructure and the deal demonstrates our ongoing commitment to consolidating this highly fragmented market around a robust platform business.”

Simon Northrop, CEO of M&C, said: “Like McKinnon and Clarke, Encore has over the years justifiably earned a place as one of the best respected companies working within the industry.

“Now by combining our complementary skills and experience, I am confident that we can deliver additional benefits to current clients of both companies and of course also to future clients across
the globe.

“As environmental legislation rises higher up the business agenda, organisations will need our services to ensure they are operating to maximum efficiency and within the law. M&C is making sure that, through acquisitions and significant investment in infrastructure, we are well placed to offer our clients unrivalled scale and expertise.”

Paul Kelly, Senior Associate at Fusion, said “We were delighted to work with Mark Dickinson and his team at Encore International. They have built a great business and the fit with McKinnon and Clarke is excellent. The energy services sector is a fragmented market where even the biggest players only have a small market share. Fusion expects to see further consolidation in the market. I expect Fusion to continue to be active in the space over the coming years”.

Location: UK, Edinburgh and London

Ref: F231109-508

Related links – Click here for the Energy Services sector news archive