Woozworld raises $3 million

May 11, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Woozworld, a virtual world for tweens (ages 9-14) with over 350,000 members and one million user-generated virtual spaces, has raised $3 million Series A financing round.

With this new funding, Woozworld will be spinning off from virtual world developer Tribal Nova Inc., which incubated and launched Woozworld in December, 2009, to become a standalone entity.

iNovia Capital and ID Capital, a division of Telesystem Group, led the funding. Chris Arsenault of iNovia Capital and Daniel Cyr of ID Capital will be joining its Board of Directors.

Location: Canada, Montreal

Ref: F231109-426

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

Playdom acquires social game developer Merscom

April 26, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Playdom, a leading social gaming company, has acquired Merscom, LLC. Privately held Merscom develops online and social games for third parties with nationally recognized brands. Merscom is currently developing games for Sea World, Purina, National Geographic and NBC Universal.  Playdom plans to leverage Merscom’s expertise in working with IP owners as Playdom moves to develop partnerships with powerful global brands. Playdom also plans to use the acquisition to leverage the talented North Carolina game development community.

Deal Terms: Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  Playdom
ACQ Web:  http://www.playdom.com
USA, Mountain View, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Playdom is a  game developer on Facebook and MySpace with popular titles including Social City, Sorority Life, Mobsters, Tiki Resort and Big City Life. To date, over 100 million Playdom games have been installed on leading platforms including Facebook, MySpace, iPhone and Hi5.
Category:  Online Games
Contact:  John Pleasants, CEO 
 
Vendor:  Merscom
Vendor Web:  http://www.merscom.com 
Location:  USA, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Region:  North America
Description:  Merscom was founded more than 16 years ago to produce games with third party branded content.  Merscom’s core team has produced over 250 games in total and over 30 casual games for such brands as Lifetime Networks, Paramount and Starz Entertainment.  Prior to 2009 Merscom produced games primarily using international engineering resources.  In 2009 Merscom added in-house engineering staff and began building as well as producing social games.  The company’s first internally developed social game “The Crazies” was released in conjunction with the movie of the same name in March 2010.
Category: Online Games
Contact:  Kirk Owen, CEO

Other Playdom articles

 FDN Reference:  F231109-397
 
Contact us at pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit the Fusion Corporate Partners website

Posted in Games, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

News Corp. acquires games developer Irata Labs

April 23, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

According to the LA Times, News Corp. has acquired Irata Labs.

Irata Labs describe themselves as “a small (3 people) group of friendly folks who build social software.”  Their products are Spymaster, iList and Flyvly.

Irata Labs had previously received funding from Dmitry Shapiro was one of the angel investeors in the company and served as Chairman of the Board of Directors.  Other investors included  Alex Bard and Gary Benitt of Assistly, and Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

Deal Terms: Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  News Corporation
ACQ Web:  http://www.newscorp.com
Location:  USA, New York, NY
Region:  North America
Description:  News Corporation is a publicly-traded company listed on the NASDAQ, with secondary listings on the Australian Securities Exchange. News Corporation had total assets as of December 31, 2009 of approximately US$56 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$30 billion. News Corporationis a diversified global media company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; integrated marketing services; newspapers and information services; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporationare conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and Latin America.
Category:  Media Owner
Contact 1:  Jon Mille, chief digital officer
Contact 2:  Rupert Murdoch (Chairman & CEO)
Contact 3:  Chase Carey (COO)
Contact 4: David DeVoe (CFO)
Contact 5:  Lawrence Jacobs (Senior Executive & VP)
Contact 5: James Murdoch (CEO in Europe & Asia)

Vendor:  Irata Labs
Vendor Web:  http://iratalabs.com
Other Web Links: Twitter http://twitter.com/iratalabs 
Location:  USA
Region:  North America
Description:  “Irata Labs own description, “”We’re a small group of friendly folks who build social software. We’re currently working on a mobile, location-aware platform for social gaming.”
Category: Online Games
Contact 1:  Chris Abad, CEO Twitter
Contact 2:  Ben Myles, Lead Software Architect Twitter
Contact 3:  D. Keith Robinson, Creative Director Twitter 

Related Fusion DigiNet articles:

FDN Reference:  F231109-395
 
Contact us at pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit the Fusion Corporate Partners website

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

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group acquires online gaming studio Turbine, Inc.

April 21, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group has announced the acquisition of Turbine, Inc., the largest privately-held online gaming studio in North America.

“Turbine is a leader in online entertainment and a strong strategic fit for Warner Bros. as we continue to broaden our games portfolio and development capabilities,” said Kevin Tsujihara, president, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group. “Turbine’s renowned online game development and publishing expertise will help us develop additional online product offerings, while also providing us with new and innovative ways to market and communicate with our consumers.”

In 2007, Warner Bros. acquired TT Games, developer of the LEGO-based game franchises, including LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Indiana Jones and LEGO Batman. Early in 2009, Warner Bros. acquired Snowblind Studios to develop its The Lord of the Rings games franchise, with the first title The Lord of the Rings: War in the North expected to be released in 2011. Also in 2009, the Studio purchased the primary assets of Midway Games. Midway published the Mortal Kombat franchise, which has sold over 26 million units worldwide. Most recently, Warner Bros. acquired a majority stake in Rocksteady Studios, a privately held developer of interactive entertainment targeted at teens and adults.

Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed. The Boston Globe reported that “Warner Bros. will pay as much as $160 million, including sums to be paid to Turbine shareholders in future years if the company meets certain financial targets.”  

Acquirer:  Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group
ACQ Web:  http://www.warnerbros.com 
Location:  USA, Burbank, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group (WBHEG) brings together Warner Bros. Entertainment’s home video, digital distribution, interactive entertainment, technical operations and anti-piracy businesses. WBHEG oversees the global distribution of content through packaged goods (Blu-ray Disc and DVD) and digital media in the form of electronic sell-through and video-on-demand via cable, satellite, online and mobile channels, and is a significant developer and publisher for console and online video game titles worldwide. WBHEG distributes its product through third party retail partners and licensees, as well as directly to consumers through WBShop.com.
Category:  Entertainment, Media
Contact:  Kevin Tsujihara, president, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group
 
Vendor:  Turbine, Inc
Vendor Web:  http://www.turbine.com 
Location:  USA, Boston, MA
Region:  North America
Description:  Turbine is the largest privately-held online gaming studio in North America and has created some of the world’s most popular and award-winning online games, including The Lord of the Rings Online™, Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Eberron Unlimited™, and Asheron’s Call®.
Category: Online Games
Contact:  Jim Crowley, president and CEO

Previously reported on Fusion DigiNet: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Group acquires majority stake in Rocksteady Studios February 23, 2010

  
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-392
 
Contact us at pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit the Fusion Corporate Partners website

Posted in Games, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Greycroft Partners closes its second fund to invest in digital media businesses

April 14, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

NEWS

Greycroft Partners LLC, an early stage venture capital fund based in New York and Los Angeles announced today the completion of $130.7 million in fundraising for its second fund, Greycroft II. Greycroft II will continue to focus on businesses in the digital media space, broadly defined as products or services delivered through a wireless device or via the Internet.

Greycroft II investors encompass a leading group of municipal and corporate pension funds and endowments led by JP Morgan Investment Advisors, in addition to individuals from across the corporate world. The General Partners of the new fund are the same as Greycroft I, Alan Patricof, Dana Settle and Drew Lipsher with the addition of Ian Sigalow, promoted from Principal.

Previously, Greycroft I raised $75 million, completely from high net worth individuals. During its four years in operation, Greycroft I made over 30 investments in the digital media space including: Collective, Huffington Post; Paid Content, which was sold to Guardian Media; Digisynd, which was sold to Disney; and Pump Audio, which was sold to Getty.

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Games, Internet Media, Market Data & Information, Publishers. Leave a Comment »

Livedoor sold to NHN for just $67 million

April 13, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The Japanese unit of NHN Corp.has agreed with Tokyo-based LDH Corp. to buy Liverdoor Co. for 6.3 billion yen ($67.44 million) to ramp up its business in Japan. The portal at one time had a market capitalisation of more than $7bn before its founder, Takafumi Horie, was arrested in January 2006 and later found guilty of falsifying the company’s accounts and misleading investors.

Sale Price:  6.3 billion yen / $67.44 million. LDH are to sell 100,000 shares in Livedoor to NHN by May 10. The sale accounts for 99 percent of LDH’s holding.
 
Acquirer:  NHN Japan
ACQ Web:  http://www.nhncorp.jp/
Other Web Links: Game Portal – Hangame Japan, Mobile Game Community Site – Hange
Location:  Japan, Tokyo
Region:  Asia
Description:  NHN Japan, established in September 2000, operates Hangame Japan, which is the largest online game portal in Japan. It ranked first place in the entertainment category of Yahoo! Internet Guide’s the WEB of the YEAR for three consecutive years (2004-2006). 2008 (2008) Revenue 11,507 million Yen: Operating Income 544 million Yen.
Category:  Online Games
Contact 1:  Chun Yang-Hyun, Chairman
Contact 2:  Morikawa Akira, CEO
 
Vendor:  LDH Corp
Vendor Web:  http://www.ldh-corp.co.jp
Business Sold: Liverdoor Co.
Location:  Japan, Tokyo
Region:  Asia
Description:  Liverdoor Co. offers various Internet solutions in Japan and internationally. The company primarily provides computer network consulting, computer network management, development and sale of computer programs, and network content editing and design services. It operates in Japan, China, Thailand, Germany, and Spain. Liverdoor Co. was founded in 1996 under the name Livin’ On the EDGE, Inc. and changed its name to Livin’ on the EDGE Co., Ltd. in 1997. Further, it changed its name to EDGE Co., Ltd. in 2003 and to Liverdoor Co., Ltd. in 2004.
Category: ISP, Software
Contact:  President, Ishizaka Hiroshi, LDH Corp 
 
 
FDN Database Reference:  F231109-384
 
Contact us at pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit the Fusion Corporate Partners website

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Asia. Leave a Comment »

FUND RAISING ROUND-UP

April 12, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The best way to receive Fusion DigiNet information is to subscribe to the free email service available from the home page.

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

Contact us at pkelly@fusioncorp.co.uk or visit the Fusion Corporate Partners website

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

FUND RAISING ROUND-UP

April 6, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 

 

The best way to receive Fusion DigiNet information is to subscribe to the free email service available from the home page.

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 »

Playdom acquires online games developer Three Melons

March 31, 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:  F231109-372
 
Playdom, a leading social gaming company has acquired Three Melons, a developer of online games. This is the third Playdom acquisition/investment we have reported this month (see below). Three Melons was privately held and is based in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Playdom plan to grow Three Melons forty-five person studio over the next year to support the aggressive product calendar Playdom has planned for 2010.
 
Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  Playdom
ACQ Web:  http://www.playdom.com 
Location:  USA, Mountain View, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Playdom’s lineup of games includes Sorority Life, Mobsters 2, Lil Farm Life, Tiki Farm, Tiki Resort, Wild Ones and Poker Palace.
Category:  Online Games
Contact:  John Pleasants, CEO  
 
Vendor:  Three Melons
Vendor Web:  http://www.threemelons.com
Location:  Argentina, Buenos Aires
Region:  Latin America and Caribbean
Description:  Three Melons has developed proprietary software to enhance the production of games and is also an early adopter of cutting edge development tools like Unity 3D. To date, Three Melons has produced more than fifty games as a third-party developer and recently launched their first original title, Bola, a Facebook soccer application with over 145,000 daily active users.
Category: Online Games
Contact 1:  Mariano Suarez Battan, CEO
Contact 2:  Augusto Petrone, co-founder
Contact 3:  Pablo Mayer, co-founder
Contact 4:  Nicolas Cuneo, co-founder
Contact 5:  Patricio Jutard, CTO
 
Link: Press Release

Related Fusion DigiNet articles

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Perfect World to acquire online games operator C&C Media

March 30, 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:  F231109-370
 
Perfect World (Nasdaq: PWRD), a leading online game developer and operator based in China, is to acquire 100% equity interest in C&C Media, a Japanese online game operator from ATLUS, a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor and other shareholders of C&C Media.
 
Aprox. Value:  $21,000,000
 
Acquirer:  Perfect World
ACQ Web:  http://www.pwrd.com  
Location:  China, Beijing
Region:  Asia
Description:  Online game developer and operator based in China. The Company’s current portfolio of self-developed online games includes massively multiplayer online role playing games (“MMORPGs”): “Perfect World,” “Legend of Martial Arts,” “Perfect World II,” “Zhu Xian,” “Chi Bi,” “Pocketpet Journey West,” “Battle of the Immortals” and “Fantasy Zhu Xian;” and an online casual game: “Hot Dance Party.
Category:  Online games
Contact:  Michael Chi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer 
 
Vendor:  ATLUS
Vendor Web:  http://www.atlus.com
Business Sold: C&C Media
Website: http://www.cc-media.co.jp
Description:  Online game portal site “MK-STYLE,” Mainly its own titles. 
Category: Online Games
Contact:  Kensuke Chikaishi, CEO
 
Link: Press Release

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Asia. Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »