WPP Digital acquires majority stake in marketing technology solution group Acceleration

July 23, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP Digital has acquired a majority stake in Acceleration Holdings Ltd in Guernsey and Acceleration eMarketing (Pty) Limited in South Africa, the holding companies of Acceleration, a marketing technology solutions group.

Founded in 1999, Acceleration has offices in Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Dubai, Johannesburg, London and New York and and employs 148 marketing technologists. Acceleration helps its clients architect, implement and orchestrate digital marketing and publishing technologies to enhance their digital business initiatives. Acceleration’s clients include Celebrity Cruises, The Economist, South African Tourism and UEFA.

Acceleration’s combined audited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were US$16.8 million, with gross assets of US$7.1 million as at the same date.

UK, London & South Africa, Cape Town & Guernsey

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Millward Brown to acquire consumer insight company, Cadem Advertising, in Chile

July 23, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s wholly owned operating company Millward Brown, a brand, media and communications research business,  has acquired Cadem Advertising S.A., a consumer insights company in Chile.

Founded in 1997, Cadem has operated as a licensee of Millward Brown for many years providing brand tracking, quantitative and qualitative research services.

Cadem employs 87 people and key clients include Coca-Cola, Falabella Retail, Nestle, Telefonica and Unilever.

Cadem’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately CLP3.2 billion with gross assets of approximately CLP1.3 billion at the same date.

UK, London & Chile, Santiago

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Aegis to acquire Chinese digital agency, Catch Stone, for initial consideration of £55.2m

July 23, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Aegis Group plc is to acquire Beijing Catch Stone Advertising Co., Ltd and the business of Shanghai Catch Stone Culture Media Co., Ltd, an established full service digital media and marketing agency in China, for an initial consideration of RMB 550 million (£55.2 million). Catch Stone will form a separate network brand for Aegis Media in China.

Catch Stone is an established digital agency in China. Its capabilities include digital media planning and buying as well as a range of digital marketing services in areas including creative origination and social media. Catch Stone is a leading media buying agency operating across China with a particular specialism in the automotive and financial services sectors. It has a strong mix of multi-national and local clients in these sectors, including Audi, Nissan, Saic GM Wuling (SGMW), Industrial Bank and Inoherb. Catch Stone was formed in 2002 and now employs over 130 people in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

The acquisition is subject to a four year earn-out structure, from 2013 to 2016 inclusive, with further annual consideration payments being made during this period, dependent on the level of future profit growth achieved. The total consideration for the acquisition by 2016 is expected to be around RMB 949.4 million (£95.2 million). If Catch Stone significantly outperforms current forecasts, the total consideration could be higher with a cap on the maximum amount payable of RMB 1.5 billion (£150.4 million). All consideration payments will be satisfied in cash.

The unaudited profit before tax of Catch Stone for the year ended 31 December 2011 was RMB 81 million (£8.1 million) and the value of the gross assets at that time was RMB RMB 375.9 million (£37.7 million).

The RMB: £ exchange rate used in this article is RMB 9.9724: £1.

UK, London & China, Beijing

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Publicis Worldwide in the USA, and the Kaplan Thaler Group to merge

July 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis New York, part of Publicis Worldwide in the USA, and the Kaplan Thaler Group, part of the Paris-based Publicis Groupe, will merge to form Publicis Kaplan Thaler, effective immediately. The combined New York-based entity, with over 650 employees, becomes the U.S. flagship agency within the Publicis Worldwide Network of over 200 offices in 82 countries. Publicis Kaplan Thaler will be Publicis Worldwide in the USA’s flagship New York agency.

Publicis Kaplan Thaler will be led by Linda Kaplan Thaler as Chairman and Robin Koval as CEO. Rob Feakins, President and Chief Creative Officer for Publicis New York will continue in that role and lead creative for the expanded entity.

Susan Gianinno, Chairman and CEO of Publicis Worldwide in the USA stated, “Publicis Kaplan Thaler will build on the strong performances of Publicis New York, which includes the successful integration of digital agency Modem, and the Kaplan Thaler Group, to create a more dynamic New York base. Publicis Kaplan Thaler is poised to lead the change for its clients and the industry.”

In making the announcement, Publicis Groupe COO and Executive Chairman of Publicis Worldwide, Jean-Yves Naouri, said, “New York is the largest communications community in the world. We are deeply committed to building a stronger base of operations in this market – one that attracts and retains the best talent in the world to build our clients’ brands.”

Publicis Kaplan Thaler is designing new offices and will be headquartered in one location starting in early 2013.

France, Paris & USA, New York, NY

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Publicis Groupe acquires CNC – Communications & Network Consulting AG

July 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has acquired strategic communications consultancy CNC – Communications & Network Consulting AG . CNC will become part of MSLGROUP, the strategic communications network of Publicis Groupe. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Munich, CNC is an international strategic communications consultancy group. CNC, which employs around 100 professionals, is present in 14 cities across Europe, Asia, North and South America. Since its founding in 2002, the consultancy has regularly achieved double-digit annual growth.

CNC advises large corporations, mid-cap companies, institutions and individuals on all aspects of strategic communications within their specific markets. CNC’s services range from strategic communications and reputation management to financial communications, crisis counseling including litigation advisory, branding and public affairs.

CNC has been involved in more than 100 German IPO transactions with a total volume of more than €180 billion and has a particularly strong focus on cross-border mandates.

CNC will be aligned to MSLGROUP. Its leadership under CEO Dr. Christoph Walther remains unchanged.  MSLGROUP CEO Olivier Fleurot and MSLGROUP President for the EMEA region, Anders Kempe, will join CNC’s supervisory board where Mr Kempe will become Chairman.

Maurice Levy, Publicis Groupe Chairman and CEO, said,”CNC is one of the premier strategic and financial public relations firms in Europe, with a client base that is outstanding. I have followed CNC’s success story with interest and I am impressed by the company’s entrepreneurial spirit. The skill set will fit perfectly into our group and our strategy to make Germany one of our key hubs.”

France, Paris and Germany, Munich

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Berkery Noyes releases first half 2012 M&A Report for the Media and Marketing Industry

July 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Berkery Noyes, an independent mid-market investment bank, has released its first half 2012 mergers and acquisitions trend report for the Media and Marketing Industry.

The report analyzes merger and acquisition activity in the Media and Marketing Industry for the first half of 2012 and compares it with activity in the four previous six-month periods from 2010 to 2011.

Total transaction volume increased six percent during the last six months, from 784 transactions in second half 2011 to 834 in first half 2012. Meanwhile, total transaction value increased 27 percent, from $24.88 billion to $31.51 billion. Despite this uptick, median enterprise multiples in the industry decreased. The median revenue multiple fell from 1.8x to 1.2x and the median EBITDA multiple declined from 10.0x to 7.8x. However, three segments had median revenue multiples of at least 2.0x: B2B Publishing, Broadcasting, and Exhibitions, Conferences, and Seminars.

Marketing was the most active industry segment for first half 2012, accounting for 262 transactions and surpassing Internet Media in transaction volume during the last twelve months. Although Internet Media activity declined two percent compared to second half 2011, it remained 19 percent above its second half 2010 levels. In the Marketing segment, 47 percent of deals were Digital Marketing transactions, which represented a 10 percent improvement on a half-to-half year basis. WPP Group was the largest acquirer in the Digital Marketing sub-segment as well as the overall Media and Marketing Industry.

The segment with the largest rise in volume in first half 2012 was Exhibitions, Conferences, and Seminars with an 85 percent increase. The median revenue multiple in the segment also increased 26 percent relative to first half 2011, from 1.9x to 2.4x.

Consumer Publishing M&A rose 13 percent, improving for the third consecutive half year period. The segment was led in first half 2012 by Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisitions of Waco Tribune Herald, The Bryan College Station Eagle, and 63 daily newspapers from Media General. In addition, the B2B segment was responsible for three of the top nine deals by value and underwent a 10 percent increase in transaction volume.

M&A volume in the Entertainment segment increased for the fourth straight half year, growing 24 percent in first half 2012. The largest related transaction in first half 2012 was Lionsgate’s acquisition of Summit Entertainment for $700 million. Video games, a sub-classification of Entertainment, rose 30 percent in first half 2012 and accounted for 62 percent of the segment’s deals. There was also a 50 percent increase in social gaming transactions during the last six months. The most notable social gaming deal by value was GREE International’s announced acquisition of Funzio, a mobile game developer, for $210 million.

“As we predicted in the press release for our first quarter report, there has been an impressive increase in M&A pertaining to social gaming,” said Evan Klein, Managing Director at Berkery Noyes. “Of the many possible means of monetizing social games, enticing users to purchase virtual currency and other rewards continues to be the most lucrative model for generating revenue.”

A copy of the FIRST HALF 2012 MEDIA AND MARKETING INDUSTRY M&A REPORT is available here.

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TiVo to acquire TRA

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

TiVo is to acquire TRA, a media marketing and analytics software company whose products help advertisers, agencies and television networks improve advertising targeting, accountability and return on media investment. TRA matches television exposures from 1.5 million TV homes with specific purchase transactions. The new unit will be known as TiVo Research and Analytics.

Tom Rogers, CEO and President of TiVo said, “TV has long been the best medium for advertisers to influence what consumers buy. TRA has proven its platform can determine the effectiveness of TV advertising by connecting the exposure of ads to actual purchases, helping advertisers identify the right audience and get the most out of their ad dollars. TRA has driven a substantial client list of advertisers, agencies and networks with this proposition. With this new level of unique audience insights and analytics, TiVo will be able to provide insights nobody else has in an industry increasingly seeking alternative ways to measure audience behavior accurately while increasing efficiencies in media spending.”

TRA has more than 45 brand clients and 27 network clients including CBS, A&E Television Networks, ION Media, Procter & Gamble, Oscar Mayer and Starcom MediaVest Group, among others.

TiVo will pay approximately $20 million for TRA. TiVo expects the transaction to close this month. TRA’s revenue is on track to increase significantly in 2012.

 

USA, Alviso, CA

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Kantar completes the acquisition of a majority stake in Press Index S.A. in France

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s wholly-owned operating network Kantar, the information, insight and consultancy group, has completed its acquisition of 1,446,139 shares, representing 87.76% of the share capital of Press Index. The deal was first reported on Fusion DigiNet on July 6, 2012.

As a next step, Kantar will launch a simplified cash public tender offer to purchase the remaining outstanding shares of Press Index. If, at the end of the public tender offer, the non-tendered shares represent less than 5% of the share capital of Press Index, Kantar intends to implement a squeeze-out procedure.

UK, London & France, Boulogne Billancourt

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JWT acquires majority stake in digital agency, Activeark Oy in Finland

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s wholly-owned advertising agency network JWT, has acquired a majority equity stake in Activeark Oy, a full service digital agency in Finland.

Activeark, founded in 2003, is based in Helsinki with operations in the UK and India. The agency employs more than 80 people. JWT Finland and Activeark will combine their businesses and partner in Finland in order to provide a comprehensive offering for both local and international clients.

Activeark’s audited gross revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately EUR8.1 million with gross assets as at the same date of approximately EUR3.4 million.

UK, London & Finland, Helsinki

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Aegis Group acquires W Garden

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Aegis Group, the media and digital communications group, has acquired six subsidiary companies owned by W Garden, Verbal Clint, Allin and others (collectively referred to as “W Garden”). In aggregate, the entities had gross assets of €5.0m as at 31 December 2011.

W Garden is a provider of search and performance marketing solutions, consultancy and software tools, with a particular focus on search engine optimisation. The business has also developed a specialist search capability in the area of social media. Founded in 2007, W Garden’s management team has established a strong network of offices across France and has built up a high quality local client base.

The integration of W Garden with iProspect France’s existing business is expected to be completed early in the third quarter of 2012.

Thierry Jadot, CEO Aegis Media France, commented:  “We are delighted to welcome the team from W Garden to Aegis Media France. This transaction ensures that iProspect will have the most comprehensive search and performance marketing capability in our market. A strengthened iProspect business will support Aegis Media France in continuing to seize the exciting opportunities the convergent media environment brings and will help us to further consolidate our leading position in the French market.”

UK, London & France, Paris

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