Publicis Groupe acquires Mediagong

January 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has acquired French digital agency Mediagong.

Founded in 2002, Mediagong employs some 50 communications professionals on the conception and development of innovative digital tools and interactive campaigns. Mediagong will retain its current name and will continue to operate under the leadership of its founding partners Guillaume De La Brosse, David Oks and Olivier Zetlers. They will take the title of Deputy Managers of Mediagong, an entity within Groupe Leo Burnett France, and will report to Jean-Paul Brunier, President of Groupe Leo Burnett France.

Mediagong has demonstrated strong growth (more than 25% in 2011) and is particularly noted for its creation of vivid, playful and highly interactive narrative campaigns.Its many core sectors include digital and community strategizing, social media, the development of brand content, advergaming and mobile. Mediagong’s client list is particularly strong in the food, beauty and luxury industries, as well as financial services and retail, and includes market leaders Accor hotels, Bel, Crédit Agricole, Danone, Dessange International and Lindt. Mediagong will be aligned with Leo Burnett France, one of the top ten full-service agencies in the country, which has experienced very high growth over the past two years.

“Mediagong is a smart young company with a track-record that’s already very solid and a management team that is very impressive indeed,” said Jean-Paul Brunier, President of Leo Burnett France. “They’re energetic, rigorous, structured and driven to achieve high levels of return on investment for their clients. Every project they undertake is carried out with the same passion for perfection. Digital has become key to our clients, and the French market has the potential for strong growth. This strategic acquisition means Leo Burnett will be among the very few full-service agencies with such a strong grounding in digital expertise.”

France, Paris

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Rauxa acquires digital firm ThoughtMatrix

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Rauxa, a full-service direct marketing agency, has acquired ThoughtMatrix, a San Francisco-based digital design and development firm. The deal will expand Rauxa’s portfolio of digital and integrated services.

“This acquisition will expand Rauxa’s service footprint and continues our growth and evolution in digital services,” Rauxa CEO Jill Gwaltney said. “We strive to make our clients’ marketing dollars more productive, and we’ll expand upon this by adopting and delivering the latest in digital marketing capabilities.”

The two agencies will operate in their current locations until mid-2012, when Rauxa’s San Francisco office will combine with ThoughtMatrix in a new location. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2003 by Tony Rems and Trevor Fagerskog, ThoughtMatrix employs 44 people. Clients include Autodesk, Mattel, Levi’s, Dannon, Cisco, eBay, Expedia and PayPal. Rems, the former CTO of Razorfish, will assume the role of senior vice president of technology at Rauxa, while Fagerskog will become senior vice president of operations.

USA, Costa Mesa, CA & San Francisco, CA

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UK private equity investment in the £10M-£10OM market grows by 44%

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Data from the Lyceum Capital and Cass Business School UK Growth Buyout Dashboard shows that the UK has reinforced its position as the preeminent market for private equity investment in Europe, with activity in its lower mid-market having continued its strong recovery in 2011 to pre-recession levels of almost 100 deals.

Highlighting the segment’s robustness despite macro-economic challenges, the UK Growth Buyout Dashboard, revealed 44 per cent growth in the total number of transactions last year to 91, compared to 63 in 2010 and 34 deals in 2009.

The quarterly data, which analyses UK-headquartered private equity control deals in the £10 to £100 million enterprise value space, also shows that total deal value has more than trebled over the past three years, with aggregate values in excess of £3.4 billion last year compared to over £2.2 billion in 2010 and just above £1.0 billion in 2009.

Technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) was the stand-out sector – a trend which is likely to continue, driven by growth in innovative IT solutions such as cloud computing and mobile business applications. 26 TMT deals completed during 2011, contributing to 29 per cent of completed transactions, compared to 11 a year earlier and just four in 2009.

Click here to read the full UK Growth Buyout Dashboard.

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Ad Network and publishing company PK4 Media acquires JSFour Media and Technology

January 12, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

PK4 Media, an online video advertising network and publishing company, has acquired JSFour, a media and technology company. As part of the acquisition JSFour founder Jimi Smoot will join PK4 Media as the VP of Product Development. The two companies have been in collaboration to develop an advanced video distribution platform named Bishop.

The Bishop Video Platform is designed for the next generation of online video. At the core of Bishop’s DNA is JSFour’s Render platform, which was engineered for publishers to lower the cost associated with running video on their site. PK4 Media brings advertisers to the mix to offset any cost.

“When JSFour showed us their low cost and streamlined method for publishers to add video to their site, light bulbs went off instantly,” said PK4 Media CEO and Founder, Tom Alexander. “We knew that the publishers we have relationships with would benefit from this platform, and any costs would be offset through our brand partners. We acquired the technology almost immediately.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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Publishers Clearing House Acquires Liquid Wireless

January 12, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet
Publishers Clearing House, a multi-channel direct marketer, has acquired Liquid Wireless, a Portland, Maine-based company specialising in mobile lead generation, media buying and analytics.  The company’s mobile platform and services offering is a 360 degree approach to lead generation and customer acquisition.

“The Liquid Wireless team has built technology and processes that are unmatched by most larger mobile technology companies,” said Andy Goldberg, CEO of Publishers Clearing House.  “This enables Liquid Wireless to provide quality customer acquisition at a scale that has never been seen before on mobile. The business is a terrific complement to the multi-platform model that PCH has already created and continues to successfully execute on daily, delivering quality customer acquisition services to over 1000 marketers. We are excited to have them as part of the PCH family.”

The Liquid Wireless team will continue in Portland, Maine while becoming an extension of the Publishers Clearing House digital advertising sales organisation.

NEW YORK and PORTLAND, Maine

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Berkery Noyes releases 2011 Year End Media Trends Report

January 10, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

2011 Key Highlights

  • The largest announced transaction for 2011 was West Australian Newspapers’ acquisition of Seven Media Group, a portfolio company of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., for $4.15 billion.
  • The segments with the largest disclosed median enterprise value multiples for 2011 were Broadcasting with 3.8x revenue and Internet Media at 17.5x EBITDA.
  • There were 174 fi nancially sponsored transactions with an aggregate value of $11.05 billion, representing 12 percent of the total volume and 20 percent of the total value, respectively.

2011 Key Trends

  • Total transaction volume in 2011 increased by 15 percent over 2010, from 1225 in 2010 to 1409 this year.
  • Total transaction value in 2011 increased by 41 percent over 2010, from $38.31 billion in 2010 to $54.12 billion this year.
  • The median revenue multiple rose from 1.5x in 2010 to 1.9x in 2011. The median EBITDA multiple moved slightly from 10.4x to 10.6x.
  • The segment with the largest increase in volume in 2011 over 2010 was Marketing with a 29 percent increase from 332 transactions in 2010 to 428 transactions in 2011.

M&A Market Overview

  • Berkery Noyes tracked 3572 transactions between 2009 and 2011, of which 1013 disclosed fi nancial terms, and calculated the aggregate transaction value to be $119.95 billion. Based on known transaction values, we project the value of the 2550 undisclosed transactions to be $25.33 billion, totaling $145.27 billion worth of transactions tracked over the past three years.
  • The largest transaction tracked by Berkery Noyes between 2009 and 2011 was Comcast Corporation’s acquisition of NBC Universal, a subsidiary of General Electric Company for $22.85 billion, which was announced in 2009 and closed in 2011.
  • The most active acquirer by volume in the Media and Marketing industry between 2009 and 2011 was Publicis Groupe SA with 39 transactions, 24 of which were announced or closed in 2011.

Visit the Berkery Noyes website to download the full report

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AdMedia’s Industry Survey – 2012 Mergers and Acquisitions Prospects for Media, Marketing Services and Related Technology Firms

January 10, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

AdMedia Partners has released its latest industry survey, “2012 Mergers and Acquisitions Prospects for Media, Marketing Services and Related Technology Firms.’

The report reveals the viewpoints of buyers and sellers regarding 2012 valuations, advertising spending, M&A activity, and key trends affecting all industry participants, such as the changing nature of content delivery, consumption and monetization.

Respondents were generally optimistic about prospects for their industries and their own businesses in the year ahead, and expect that strong M&A activity in 2011 will continue into 2012. They believe there will be an increase in M&A activity driven by strategic buyers with historic amounts of cash on their balance sheets, private equity firms with large amounts of uninvested capital and changing industry dynamics.

Specific survey findings include:

  • Fifty-nine percent of respondents expect to seek an acquisition, up markedly from last year when 40% had the same expectation.
  • Highlighting the fact that significant capital is sitting on the sidelines, 55% of respondents who anticipate making an acquisition expect to fund using existing cash reserves; in addition, 43% expect to raise outside equity (e.g., from a private equity firm) and 27% plan to use debt financing.
  • Almost half of respondents (48%) anticipate contemplating the sale of their company and/or subsidiary operation in 2012, a significant increase over the 36% who expressed this opinion in 2011.
  • Approximately three out of four respondents anticipate that M&A by strategic buyers will be up in 2012.
  • Almost half of respondents anticipate that M&A by financial buyers will be up in 2012.
  • The most popular areas of expansion interest within the services sector were analytics, social and mobile. User-generated content and mobile were hottest topics for content respondents.
  • Respondents predict that valuations will remain strong in 2012, particularly for mobile marketing, social marketing, and digital media firms.

Visit the AdMedia Partners website to download a full copy of the report.

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Trinity Mirror acquires email marketing business Communicator Corp for £8 million

January 9, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Trinity Mirror has acquired email marketing business Communicator Corp for £8 million. The company was acquired from a number of shareholders including the Managing Director, Chris Wilds who will be retained in the business. The company reported revenues of £3.5 million and operating profit of £1.0 million in its latest reported accounts to the year ended 31 March 2011 and had gross assets of £1 million. Communicator Corp is based in Sunderland.

This acquisition furthers Trinity Mirror’s aim to build a network of digital marketing services businesses. In 2008 Trinity Mirror acquired Rippleffect, a digital marketing services specialist offering website design and development, e-commerce, social media and on-line advertising. Communicator Corp complements the Rippleffect business by adding email and mobile communications to the services currently offered.

Sly Bailey, CEO Trinity Mirror PLC said: “Increasingly we’re seeing that, in addition to print and website advertising, clients want help in areas such as website design, search engine optimisation, e-mail marketing, social media and web analytics. The addition of Communicator Corp to our stable of digital assets will enhance our offering and complement the digital marketing services currently offered by Rippleffect.

UK, London and Sunderland

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Glam Media to go public in Q2 2012

January 9, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

According to Ad Age Digital, sources close to Glam Media said that its North American business became profitable in fourth-quarter 2010 and that it will file to go public in the second quarter of 2012. The company is considering Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley to lead the offering and Bank of America to underwrite it.

Glam Media is led by its founder and CEO Samir Arora. Fernando Ruarte, CTO, and VP Engineering and Raj Narayan are Co-Founders with Arora.

Glam is a vertical media company with 2000 plus lifestyle websites and blogs. It is best known for Glam.com, a website targeted at women. The company also operates the male counterpart Brash.com.

Funding

  • 2004 – Seed stage, £1.1M series A led by Information Capital LLC
  • 2005 – Series B, £10M led by Accel, with DFJ and Walden VC
  • 2006 – Series C, £18.5M led by Accel, with DFJ and Walden VC, Information Capital LLC and DG Ventures
  • 2008 – Glam Media raises $85 million in private strategic funding
  • 2010 – Glam raises $50 million in private equity mezzanine funding

Read the fill story here.

USA, Brisbane, CA

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Wolters Kluwer completes sale of its pharma-related marketing & publishing services business to Springer Science+Business Media

December 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Wolters Kluwer has completed the sale of its pharma-related Marketing & Publishing Services business to Springer Science+Business Media. The sale is part of Wolters Kluwer’s strategy to focus on core health markets through its Wolters Kluwer Health & Pharma Solutions division.

“The sale of our pharma-related business will allow us to focus future investments in our core healthcare business in key growth areas such as point of care,” said Nancy McKinstry, CEO and Chairman of the Executive Board of Wolters Kluwer. “We are committed to continued investments in innovative solutions that help clinicians around the globe access critical information to improve healthcare.”

The agreement encompasses the Marketing & Publishing Services business unit, part of the Wolters Kluwer Health & Pharma Solutions division. Marketing & Publishing Services is a leading global provider of strategic marketing, publishing, and business intelligence products and services to the pharmaceutical industry as well as to medical libraries and academic and research institutions. The sale represents approximately 35% of the company’s pharma-related assets in terms of revenue, with Adis and inScience Communications as the leading brands, and encompasses approximately 450 employees globally.

The intention to divest the Pharma Solutions business was announced in July 2011. The proceeds from this divestment are expected to be used for general corporate purposes including the reduction of debt levels in line with the company’s stated objectives and investments in the business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Netherlands, Alphen Aan Den Rijn

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