WPP’s Kantar Retail to acquire minority interest in retail consultancy GME in the UAE

April 16, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Kantar Retail, WPP’ss wholly-owned insight and consultancy business, has agreed to acquire a minority interest in G.M.E.FZ-LLC (“GME”) based in Dubai, subject to regulatory approvals.

Founded in 2007, GME offers retail insight and consultancy services to clients across all business sectors. The business employs 16 people and clients include Arla, BP, Heineken, J&J and Samsung. GME has been Kantar Retail’s franchise partner in Dubai since 2007 and now becomes a full member of the Kantar Retail network.

GME’s revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately AED 9.5 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately AED 2.6 million.

UAE, Dubai

Related articles

 

 

Posted in B2B Services, Consultancy, Marketing/Advertising, ~Middle East & Africa. Tags: . Leave a Comment »

Berkery Noyes releases 2011 year-end Financial Technology & Information Industry M&A Acquisitions Report

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet
Berkery Noyes has released its 2011 Full Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trend Report for the Financial Technology & Information Industry.

The report analyses the sector for 2011 and compares it with similar activity in 2009 and 2010. This market includes information and technology companies in capital markets, payments, banking, insurance and other related financial services.

  • The most active acquirer between 2009 and 2011 was Thomson Reuters with 11 transactions.
  • Total transaction volume in 2011 increased by 2 percent over 2010, from 266 to 271 transactions.
  • Total transaction value in 2011 increased by 43 percent over 2010, from $20.52 billion in 2010 to $29.78 billion this year.
  • The median revenue multiple increased from 2.2x in 2010 to 2.6x in 2011, while the median EBITDA multiple decreased from 13.5x to 11.6x.

There has been a consistent improvement in the number of Capital Markets transactions, which was the only segment that saw an increase from 2010 to 2011. Indeed, the most active market segment tracked by Berkery Noyes between 2009 and 2011 was Capital Markets with 254 transactions, 100 of which were announced or closed in 2011. The segment’s transaction value for the year was $18.17 billion.

“At present we are seeing destructive creativity going on in a number of financial service sectors,” said Peter Ognibene, Berkery Noyes managing director. “For instance, smart phones have become digital wallets and are enabling a host of banking and other mobile commerce activities. There has also been an increase in consumer focus on wealth management strategies. And as always in times of turmoil and uncertainty – there is a desire for more precise and forward looking risk management tools, especially enterprise-wide.”

Click here to read the full report.

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Market Data & Information, Publishers, Research Reports, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America, ~Oceana. Leave a Comment »

Berkery Noyes releases 2011 year-end Online & Mobile Industry M&A Report

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Berkery Noyes has released its 2011 Full Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trend Report for the Online & Mobile Industry. The report analyses the sector for 2011 and compares it with similar activity in 2009 and 2010.

  • Total transaction volume in 2011 increased by 33 percent over 2010, from 1299 in 2010 to 1723 this year.
  • Total transaction value in 2011 increased by 55 percent over 2010, from $46.34 billion in 2010 to $71.95 billion this year.
  • The median revenue multiple rose from 1.9x in 2010 to 2.4x in 2011. The median EBITDA multiple increased from 11.4x to 12.5x.
  • The segment with the largest increase in volume in 2011 over 2010 was E-Marketing & Search with a 53 percent increase from 263 in 2010 to 403 in 2011.

“M&A activity for social media and analytics companies continues to grow as a broader range of players seek to capitalize on this evolution in media and marketing communications,” said Kathleen Thomas, Managing Director at Berkery Noyes. “The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, entered the market in April with their $300 million acquisition of Kosmix Corporation, and Kosmix, now known as @WalmartLabs, has already completed four deals.”

  • Microsoft Corporation’s acquisition of Skype Technologies SA, a portfolio of Silver Lake Partners, was the largest transaction for 2011, with an acquisition price of $9.08 billion.
  • The most active acquirer in the Online & Mobile Industry was Google Inc. with 21 transactions (not including the acquisition of Motorola Mobility).
  • There were 192 financially sponsored transactions with an aggregate value of $11.93 billion, representing 11 percent of the total volume and 16 percent of the total value, respectively.

Total acquisitions involving social media and analytics companies rose 39% from 116 transactions in 2010 to 161 in 2011. The median revenue multiple for this sector between 2009 and 2011 was 5.5x.

Click here for a copy of the Full Year 2011 Online & Mobile Industry M&A Trend Report.

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Mobile Apps, Research Reports, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America, ~Oceana. Leave a Comment »

News Corporation acquires a stake in MOBY Group

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

News Corporation is to become a minority investor in MOBY Group, a media company headquartered in Dubai and active in Central Asia, principally Afghanistan, and the Middle East. Under the terms of the agreement, News Corporation will contribute its 50 percent shareholding in Broadcast Middle East, its Farsi-language TV joint venture with MOBY, for a minority shareholding in MOBY and will also provide growth capital to MOBY for its expansion plans. Broadcast Middle East will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MOBY following the investment.

Through Broadcast Middle East, News Corporation and MOBY have launched two successful Farsi-language channels, FARSI1 and Zemzemeh, reaching millions of Farsi speaking audiences across Central Asia and the Middle East.

The agreement with News Corporation will enable MOBY to strengthen its leadership position across the regions in which it currently operates whilst working to expand its presence in new and emerging markets. MOBY will continue to be chaired by Saad Mohseni while Zaid Mohseni will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of BME.

News Corporation will provide strategic guidance and input via representation on the MOBY Board of Directors.

James Murdoch, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chairman and CEO, International, News Corporation said, “Merging our Farsi joint venture into MOBY allows us to expand our activities with what is surely one of the most dynamic and exciting media businesses in emerging markets anywhere. The Mohsenis are true pioneers and we are pleased to be able to invest alongside them in these challenging, yet very promising markets.”

Saad Mohseni, Chairman, MOBY Group said, “We are delighted to have in News Corporation both a partner with a long track record of growing entrepreneurial, innovative businesses and an investor that sees value in entering parts of the world which many media organizations have not traditionally looked to. Today’s agreement both recognizes the value we have created together in Broadcast Middle East and enables us to continue to grow MOBY for the future.”

UK, London & UAE, Dubai

Related articles:

Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, ~Europe, ~Middle East & Africa. Tags: . Leave a Comment »

Berkery Noyes Releases 2011 Year End Online & Mobile Industry Mergers and Acquisitions Report

January 12, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet
Berkery Noyes, an independent middle market investment bank, has released its 2011 Full Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trend Report for the Online & Mobile Industry. The report analyses the sector for 2011 and compares it with similar activity in 2009 and 2010.

Median revenue and EBITDA multiples increased from 2010 to 2011. The median revenue multiple went from 1.9x to 2.4x, a 26 percent rise, while the median EBITDA multiple increased from 11.4x to 12.5x. There were 1531 strategic transactions, an increase of 33 percent compared to 2010. Total volume in the Online & Mobile space increased 33 percent over 2010, from 1299 to 1723 transactions.

“M&A activity for social media and analytics companies continues to grow as a broader range of players seek to capitalize on this evolution in media and marketing communications,” said Kathleen Thomas, Managing Director at Berkery Noyes. “The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, entered the market in April with their $300 million acquisition of Kosmix Corporation, and Kosmix, now known as @WalmartLabs, has already completed four deals.”

@WalmartLabs, which is now the retailer’s digital technology division, has been building what they call “the future of commerce” through their “Social Genome,” a database combining billions of tweets, YouTube videos, Facebook messages and more. They claim this will assist shoppers with making decisions through “a broad array of social commerce applications” and ultimately help Walmart achieve greater margins and sales.

Total acquisitions involving social media and analytics companies rose 39% from 116 transactions in 2010 to 161 in 2011. The median revenue multiple for this sector between 2009 and 2011 was 5.5x.

A copy of the Full Year 2011 Online & Mobile Industry Mobile Industry M&A Trend Report is available at the Berkery Noyes website.

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Mobile Apps, Research Reports, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America, ~Oceana. Leave a Comment »

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

Related articles:

Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, Internet Media, Marketing/Advertising, Publishers, Research Reports, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America, ~Oceana. Tags: , . Leave a Comment »

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.

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Market Data & Information, Marketing/Advertising, Research Reports, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America, ~Oceana. Tags: , . Leave a Comment »

Prince Alwaleed makes a $300 million investment in Twitter 


December 20, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud of Saudi Arabia and his investment company Kingdom Holding Company (KHC) have invested $300 Million in Twitter. Bloomberg are reporting Ahmed Halawani, a Kingdom Holding director, saying in an interview that the investment values Twitter at over $10 billion.

Prince Alwaleed commented: “Our investment in Twitter reaffirms our ability in identifying suitable opportunities to invest in promising, high-growth businesses with a global impact.” 


Prince Alwaleed, was ranked the richest Arab businessman for the eighth year by Arabian Business magazine http://richlist.arabianbusiness.com. He is the largest individual investor in Citigroup and a significant investor in News Corporation’s and holds a 29.9% stake in Saudi Research and Marketing Group, which includes the publications Asharq Al Awsat, Al Eqtisadiah, Arab News, Hia magazine, Al Majalla magazine, Arrajol magazine and Sayidati magazine. In addition, Prince Alwaleed recently announced his plans to launch his privately owned Alarab news channel, the news channel.

Saudi Arabia & USA, San Francisco, CA

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

MyHeritage acquires FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com to Enter US Market

November 22, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

MyHeritage has acquired FamilyLink.com, maker of the family history content sites FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com. This is MyHeritage’s seventh and largest acquisition since 2007. The purchase marks a significant move into the US market commercially and operationally, and will boost MyHeritage’s offering to families with the addition of a vast database of several billion historical records. With offices and staff in Europe, Australia and Israel, MyHeritage will now be adding its first US-based office in Utah.

“We are delighted to join forces with the talented FamilyLink team in Provo to deliver meaningful value to families across the world,” says MyHeritage CEO and Founder Gilad Japhet. “Combining close to one billion family tree profiles on MyHeritage with FamilyLink’s massive library of historical data delivers a perfect one-stop-shop for families looking to discover and share their family history”.

Founded in 2006, both FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com are subscription services which provide access to a database of historical content, covering several billion individuals within census, birth, marriage and death records, as well as the web’s largest archive of historical newspapers.

This is the latest in a series of purchases by MyHeritage since 2007 which have included Pearl Street Software, makers of GenCircles.com and the Family Tree Legends software; free family tree backup service BackupMyTree.com; European family social network market leader OSN (Verwandt) GmbH; Dutch family network ZOOOF; British family network Kindo.com and Polish family network Bliscy.pl.

The majority of the FamilyLink.com employees will join MyHeritage, based out of the company’s new US office in Provo, Utah. The CEO of FamilyLink.com, Paul Brockbank will support the transition over the coming months and will later join the MyHeritage advisory board. FamilyLink.com founder Paul Allen will not be part of the merger with MyHeritage.

In the short-term, MyHeritage will continue to operate the two sites FamilyLink.com and WorldVitalRecords.com, with the intention of achieving full integration within MyHeritage in 2012.

USA, Provo, UT & UK, London & Israel, Tel Aviv

Related article

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, ~Europe, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

mergermarket Q3 Monthly M&A Insider report

November 2, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

According to the mergermarket Q3 Monthly M&A Insider report (October 2011), global m&a in the first three quarters of 2011 totalled us$1,718bn – a 21.5% increase from the us$1,414.4bn worth of deals registered in the first three quarters of 2010 – and the financial services sector saw an even steeper 37.4% increase during this nine-month window. The first three quarters of 2011 brought us$208.5bn in financial services deals to market, up from us$151.7bn in the same period last year,

Sectors covered by Fusion DigiNet

The largest sector by market share was Energy, Mining and Utilities at 23.1% (835 deals) down 10% (-125 by volume), in 7th place is Business Services at 4.4% (1,159 deals) -17% (+62 by volume), media is in 8th place at 1.9% (279 deals) +23% (no change by volume).

See the full report at mergermarket

Posted in B2B Services, Broadcasting, Conference/Exhibitions/Events, Consultancy, Content Media, e-Commerce, Energy & Environmental Services, Games, Internet Media, Market Data & Information, Marketing/Advertising, Mobile Apps, Research Reports, ~Asia, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~Middle East & Africa, ~North America, ~Oceana. Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »