St Ives acquires Solstice Consulting

March 1, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

St Ives plcst ives, an international marketing services group, has acquired Solstice Consulting LLC, a Chicago-based digital consultancy specialising in mobile-first digital product design and engineering services.

Established in 2001 and trading under the name Solstice Mobile, the business employs approximately 200 staff across three offices in Chicago, New York and Buenos Aires. The company has a strong client base across Fortune 1000 businesses in the US, with particular strength in the financial services, manufacturing and distribution sectors.

In the financial year ended 31 December 2014, Solstice generated adjusted EBITDA of £2.7 million on revenue of £16.5 million; gross assets were £5.1 million.

St Ives has agreed to acquire Solstice, on a cash and debt free basis, for £24.7 million, to be satisfied by approximately £20 million in cash and approximately 2.6 million St Ives shares. Further consideration of up to £25.3 million may be payable (to be satisfied 80% in cash and 20% in shares) dependent on incremental profit performance for the years ending 31 December 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Solstice will operate as a subsidiary of St Ives and will continue to be managed from its current location by its existing management team, which includes J Schwan, the vendor.

Matt Armitage, Chief Executive of St Ives, commented:“This acquisition further strengthens St Ives’ reputation and capabilities in digital, and significantly extends these into mobile. Strategically, the deal supports the growth of the Group’s marketing services division, while expanding our presence and capabilities in the Americas.”

UK, London & USA, Chicago, IL

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Ebiquity acquires Media Value 

February 26, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

ebiquityEbiquity plc has acquired Media Value SL in Spain.  MV has operated as Ebiquity’s franchise partner for media auditing in the Iberian market since approximately 2008 and has been operating under the Ebiquity name.

MV is being acquired for an initial cash consideration of €743,000. The maximum total consideration is up to €6m, payable in cash, depending on the performance of the MV business in the three financial years ending 30 April 2016. 

MV is being acquired from shareholders including its co-founder Mauricio Barange. Following completion of the Acquisition, Mr Barange will remain as Chief Executive of MV. 

MV comprises two divisions. The first is an independent media auditing and benchmarking business.  This business will be included in Ebiquity’s Media Value Measurement division. MV’s second business comprises an ROI/effectiveness practice, which will be included in Ebiquity’s Marketing Performance Optimization division. MV has offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon. 

MV’s unaudited revenue for the year ended 30 April 2014 was approximately €2.3m and it generated an operating profit before highlighted items of approximately €0.3m. MV had unaudited net assets of approximately €0.5m at 30 April 2014 and employs 32 people. 

Michael Greenlees, Chief Executive Officer of Ebiquity, said, “I am delighted that Mauricio Barange and his colleagues have now formally joined our growing business. MV has been operating under the Ebiquity name for some time and has played an important part in the European development of the Ebiquity group. The Iberian business has performed well and this acquisition marks another step in the development of Ebiquity’s leading position in marketing and media data analytics across Europe.“

UK, London & Spain, Madrid

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Internet Brands acquires Total Attorneys 

February 23, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

Internet BrandsInternet Brands has acquired Total Attorneys, a company founded in 2002 that generates online and phone leads, as well as appointment scheduling services, for small and medium sized law firm attorneys

Total Attorneys“As one of the oldest and largest legal marketing platforms, Total Attorneys helps thousands of attorneys attract and convert consumers into new clients,” said Chris Braun, General Manager of the Legal division at Internet Brands. “The company’s proven track record of helping attorneys grow their practices is an ideal fit within our Legal portfolio, which shares the same philosophy of innovation and superior customer service.”

The Total Attorneys brand will remain intact and the company will continue to operate from its Chicago headquarters.

USA, Los Angeles, CA & Chicago, IL

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NAHL Group acquires Fitzalan Partners

February 18, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

national accident helplineNAHL, the UK consumer marketing business focused on the Personal Injury market, operating under the National Accident Helpline brand, has acquired Fitzalan Partners. The Group is paying up to £4.3m for Fitzalan made up of an initial cash consideration of £3.0m and a further cash of up to £1.3m prior to 31 December 2015 dependent on certain conditions being met. Fitzalan reported Profit before Taxation of £0.7m for the year to 31 July 2014.  

Based in London, Fitzalan, which was founded in 2011, is an online marketing specialist that uses proprietary technology platforms to target home buyers and sellers in England and Wales and offers lead generation services to panel law firms and surveyors in the conveyancing sector, providing them with confirmed instructions rather than partially qualified leads. 

Russell Atkinson, CEO of NAHL, commented: “As we highlighted at the time of our IPO, strategic acquisitions are a key part of our growth strategy and we are delighted with the acquisition of Fitzalan.  The acquisition offers NAHL the opportunity to extend its reach into the conveyancing market and utilise its competitive advantage and skill set from the PI market to take advantage of the significant growth opportunities already identified.”

UK, Kettering & London

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21st Century Fox completes acquisition of true[X]

February 17, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

21CF21st Century Fox has completed the acquisition of true[X] media, a video advertising company that specialises in consumer engagement and on-demand marketing campaigns. The parties announced a preliminary agreement in December 2014. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Previous reporting – 21st Century Fox to Acquire true[X] Posted on December 17, 2014true[x] media

USA, New York, NY

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The Mission Marketing Group acquires The Weather Digital and Print Communications Limited

February 17, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

MissionThe Mission Marketing Group plc, a marketing communications and advertising group, has acquired Edinburgh-based The Weather Digital and Print Communications Limited, a specialist digital Agency, employing 11 staff. The acquisition was made through The Mission Marketing Group’s integrated Agency, Story UK Limited. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Executive Chairman of the The Mission Marketing Group plc, David Morgan, The Weathersaid: “Continuing our strategy of finding complementary businesses to extend and expand the range of services our Agencies can provide, we are delighted to welcome The Weather into the missiontm family.” 

The Acquisition of The Weather is not a substantial acquisition as defined by the AIM Rules for Companies. As part of the initial consideration for the Acquisition, the The Mission Marketing Group plc will issue 210,136 new ordinary shares of 10 pence each. Further consideration may be payable, subject to The Weather’s future performance.

UK, London & Edinburgh

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WPP’s Wunderman acquires majority stake in digital marketing agency Phantasia in Peru  

January 7, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP’s wholly-owned operating company Wunderman has acquired a majority stake in Binarix S.A.C. (“Phantasia”), a leading digital marketing agency in Peru. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Phantasia’s gross revenues for 2014 are expected to be S/.22.2 million. Clients include Telefonica, Backus, Banco de Credito, Samsung and Coca-Cola. Phantasia employs 200 people and is based in Lima. The agency, which provides consulting, digital marketing, creative and media buying services to its clients, was founded in 1998. It has been a Wunderman affiliate since 2012.

UK, London & Peru, Lima

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Communisis acquires Life Marketing Consultancy for up to £23.3M

January 6, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

communisisCommunication services business Communisis plc has acquired shopper marketing agency, Life Marketing Consultancy Limited.

Life’s adjusted EBITDA (on a normalised basis before non-recurring items) for the year ending 31 December 2014 is expected to be approximately £1.4 million. For the financial year ended 31 December 2013, Life generated adjusted EBITDA of £1 million on turnover of £7.0 million (£4.6 million net of recharged third-party costs). Gross assets of Life at that date were £3.6 million.

Communisis will acquire Life for an initial consideration of up to £14 million including its estimated free cash at completion of £0.7m. The initial consideration will be satisfied by the issue of a two-year, bank guaranteed promissory note of £9.3 million, £0.7 million in cash and the issue to the vendors of 7,988,015 new ordinary shares in Communisis. The new ordinary shares have a one-year restriction on sale.

Additional consideration of up to £9.3 million will be payable on the basis of Life’s future performance including its average adjusted EBITDA for the two financial years ending 31 December 2015 and 2016 and the contribution from defined synergies realised over Life’s three financial years ending 31 December 2017. The additional consideration will be satisfied in cash of up to £7.3 million and by the issue of new ordinary shares up to a value of £2.0 million.

The maximum consideration payable is £23.3 million.

Life is a research and insight-led shopper marketing agency. It’s clients are leading consumer goods groups especially in the food, drinks, technology and pharmaceutical sectors. Life has 63 permanent employees and operates from offices in Birmingham and London. The principal vendors, David Poole and Ian Humphris will join the Group in senior executive roles.

Shopper marketing focuses distinctly on understanding and influencing consumer behaviour within the shopping environment whilst also taking account of retailer strategies and requirements. It is an important component of the marketing budgets of large consumer goods brands.

Andy Blundell, Chief Executive, commented; “Life has an excellent reputation in shopper marketing. It brings new capability to Communisis, broadening our agency proposition and complementing the brand deployment services offered to our growing number of consumer goods clients. This acquisition will benefit our fastest growing and higher margin business segments.”

UK, London

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WPP leads US$250 million investment round in George Pyne’s Bruin Sports Capital 

January 6, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP is leading a syndicate investing $250 million in Bruin Sports Capital, a global sports marketing firm launched by George Pyne, the former President of IMG Worldwide’s global sports and entertainment business.

Bruin Sports Capital will build its portfolio organically, as well as through acquisitions and investments in established sports marketing businesses, sports federations, leagues and franchises. WPP will have a preferred partnership arrangement with Bruin Sports Capital that will allow its operating companies’ clients access to unique media and sponsorship opportunities in sport.

“WPP’s investment in sports and sports content through Bruin Sports Capital is an important part of its strategy, as it impacts new markets, new media, data investment management and the application of technology and horizontality,” said Sir Martin Sorrell, Founder and CEO of WPP.  “George is a major talent in the sports business world and based on his track record, I’m confident that the clients who work with WPP’s operating companies will be given access to many high-value media and sponsorship opportunities. GroupM, our wholly owned media investment management company, manages over US$100 billion in billings (according to RECMA) and there is growing interest on the part of clients to invest some of that portfolio in content and sport.”

UK, London & USA, New York, NY

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WPP acquires digital agency Clarus in Mexico

December 18, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP is to acquire the assets of Maka Marketing Digital S.A. de C.V. and Clarus Digital S.A. de C.V. (“Clarus”), a digital marketing agency in Mexico.

Clarus’ 2014 revenues should reach MXN$ 108 million. Clients include Telcel, Citi-Banamex, Aeromexico, and Sigma Alimentos. The agency, which now employs 112 people, was founded in 2009 and provides full-service digital marketing and media buying capabilities to its clients. It is based in Mexico City.

UK, London & Mexico, Mexico City

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