Investments in green companies and technologies globally now total more than $2 trillion

February 22, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

A new report from Ethical Markets Media which tracks private investments since 2007 in green companies and technologies globally, says investments now total more than $2 trillion.

The Green Transition Scoreboard® (GTS) represents time-based, global research of non-government investments and commitments for all facets of green markets. This update of the GTS totals  $2,005,048,785,088 from 2007 to the end of 2010. This is significant because many studies indicate that investing $1 trillion annually until 2020 will accelerate the Green Transition worldwide.  The updated 2010 finding puts global investors and countries on track to reach the $10 trillion in investments goal by 2020.

Hazel Henderson, D.Sc.Hon., FRSA, former US government technology advisor and president of Ethical Markets Media said, “this new total is remarkable in spite of economic uncertainty.  It indicates that the global transition away from the 300-year fossil-fueled Industrial Era is accelerating toward the cleaner, greener, information-rich economies of the 21st century.”

Timothy Nash, M.Sc., Senior Advisor to Ethical Markets Media, adds, “This over $2 trillion total does not include nuclear, ‘clean’ coal or CCS, nor biofuels from food or agricultural sources, which we consider unsustainable.”

Rosalinda Sanquiche, Ethical Markets Media’s Executive Director and editor of the Green Transition Scoreboard® report, points out, “this startling amount does not include thousands of deals under $100 million, which we hope to include in future reports.  We have added and will continue to track our exclusive Corporate R&D sub-report and invite companies to alert us to any investments we may have missed.”

The full report is available at www.greentransitionscoreboard.com.

USA: St. Augustine, FL

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Ogilvy & Mather acquires majority stake in Ogilvy South Africa

January 27, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Ogilvy & Mather has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Ogilvy South Africa, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals.  Completed, the deal will increase Ogilvy & Mather’s ownership of the agency from a 49.9 to 59 percent stake. The deal comes on the heels of another recent deal completed last April  the formation of a joint venture with African marketing services giant Scangroup.

Established in 1984, Ogilvy SA employs over 700 staff across 12 companies, with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.  It is the No. 1 agency network in South Africa in both revenue and creativity, according to AdReview’s most recent agency ranking.  In 2010, it was awarded the AdReview Ad Group of the Year.  It provides a diverse range of services to clients including advertising, digital and interactive, activation, promotions, internal marketing, CRM, shopper marketing, PR, channel planning and relationship marketing.  Ogilvy SA clients include a mix of local and multinational companies including BP, Cell C, KFC, MultiChoice and SABMiller.

Miles Young, Global CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, said, “Obtaining majority share of our South African operations was an inevitable next step for our growth strategy in Africa, which I passionately believe is one of the last great frontiers in global communications.  While the acquisition has made our majority ownership official, I’ve always felt that Ogilvy SA has embodied the Ogilvy values and spirit no less so than any of our wholly owned offices.  It is one of our network’s strongest performers in terms of creativity and business growth.  I toast all my partners in Ogilvy SA and welcome them officially to the Ogilvy family with which they have been associated for so long.  They are the ‘best of the best,’ and as a full part of our network they will give to us much more than just geographic presence.”About Ogilvy South Africa

USA, New York, NY & South Africa, Johannesburg

 

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US information industry M&A report shows deal value and volume Up 36%

January 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Berkery Noyes has released its 2010 Information Market M&A Trends Report. The report analyses merger and acquisition activity in the US Information Industry in 2010 and compares it with activity in the three previous years.

Highlights

  • Transaction volume in 2010 surpassed 2009 by 36 percent, climbing to 2,046 transactions.
  • Transaction value has increased by 36 percent as well, with $112 billion in aggregate acquisition value.
  • The median revenue and EBITDA multiple both increased over 2009, with the revenue multiple rising to 1.8 and the EBITDA multiple to 11.2, a 29 percent increase over the 8.7 of 2009.

“Multiples have started to make a return to pre-crisis levels,” said James Berkery, CIO of Berkery Noyes. “There are more deals happening and there are higher valuations. While we’re not at the levels we saw in 2007, I think we’re well on the road to recovery.”

Strategic acquirers have been the most common acquirer in the industry, yet financially sponsored transactions rose 39 percent by value over 2009 while losing 2 percent in volume over 2009. This trend of larger financially sponsored transactions is further evidenced by two of the top seven deals by value this year being made by financial acquirers: Interactive data Corporation’s acquisition by Warbug Pincus and Silver Lake Partners for $3.2 billion and Visma ASA’s acquisition by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. for $1.9 billion.

Google was not only the most active buyer in the information industry in 2010, with 28 acquisitions, but was also the most active buyer from 2007 through 2010, with 48 transactions during that time.

The largest transaction in 2010 was Intel Corporation’s announced acquisition of McAfee, Inc., for $7.55 billion.

To view the full report click here:

USA, New York, NY

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Google acquires Quiksee

September 15, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Reported in Israeli newspaper website Haaretz and confirmed on the Quiksee website, Quicksee has been acquired by Google. Haaretz estimates the deal at $10 million. Quiksee allows users to create location-based interactive media content.

The Quiksee announcement

We are delighted to announce that Quiksee has been acquired by Google! We’ve learned a lot from our previous work at Quiksee, and we look forward to bringing our experience, creativity and insight to Google. Both Google and Quiksee share the same innovative vision, and while we can’t share any future product plans, we look forward to the opportunity to contribute and do great things together in the future. We’ll be joining the Google Geo team and hope to have news for you soon. Stay tuned!

In April DigiNet reported that Google acquired Israeli startup LabPixies in April for between $15 and $25 million.

Israel, Or Yehuda & USA, Mountain View, CA

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Heightened M&A activity in the Alternative Energy Global

August 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

In 2009, the demand for worldwide energy saw its first decline since 1982, according to a new report from IMAP. However, the combined revenue of the three major sources of alternative energy was $144.5 billion, up 15.8 percent from 2008. Government support, including stimulus packages, helped to boost the global capacity for wind by 31 percent, solar by 47 percent and biofuels by 21 percent. Additionally, for the first time in 2009, energy smart technologies such as digital energy applications, power saving appliances and electric vehicles attracted more venture capital and private equity investment than any other renewable energy technology. Although the industry faced the 2009 financial crisis in North America and Europe, its long-term growth fundamentals remain intact.

From the second quarter of 2009 through the second quarter of 2010, the industry saw 391 transactions, valued at $20.4 billion in total transaction value, up 54.8 percent in deal value versus the previous period. Solar and wind accounted for nearly 58 percent of total dollar volume for the period. In terms of country, China saw the highest transaction value of $5.4 billion with a total of 23 transactions during the last 12 months. The U.S. came in second with a transaction value of $2.6 billion from 72 transactions, followed by Spain, the Philippines and India. Among regions, Asia led with a total of 63 transactions, followed by Europe with 183, North America with 110 and the Middle East with 4.

In the future, the growth of energy demand will be largely concentrated in developing economies due to the high demand in these regions. As emerging markets rapidly expand their power generation capacity, IMAP advisers predict they will focus on wind, solar, bio and hydropower.

For more information about the The 2010 Alternative Energy Global Report go to www.imap.com

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DST to assume full control of Mail.ru upon share swap with Naspers

August 13, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Naspers’s (the broad based international media group) subsidiary Myriad International Holdings B.V. (“MIH”) is to take a 28,7% stake in Digital Sky Technologies Limited (“DST”), the internet company that has stakes in stakes in internet world leaders such as Facebook, Zynga and Groupon. The transaction will be effected by Naspers contributing its 39,3% stake in Mail.ru into DST and investing US$388m in cash. Concurrently, Mail.ru management and other minorities will also convert their shares into DST.

Upon the close of this transaction, DST will own over 99,9% of Mail.ru. Mail.ru is the leading communication and entertainment platform in the Russian-speaking internet world, with over 50m registered email accounts, leading market share in MMO games and one of the leading social networks in Russia.

Naspers and DST have worked closely together over the past three years as co-owners of Mail.ru and today’s transaction will enable them to further strengthen that relationship.

Chief Executive Officer of DST, Yuri Milner, said, “Naspers’s strategic insight has already proven to be valuable in our partnership and we welcome the expertise they will bring to DST. We are delighted to announce this transaction and look forward to creating further value through our relationship.”

Antonie Roux, head of Naspers’s internet operations, commented: “We have known DST and its management for years and we share a similar view and approach. We are excited to strengthen our partnership. This opportunity further expands our exposure to emerging markets and the fast-growing internet sector.”

Location: South Africa, Johannesburg & Russia, Moscow

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Ras2Ras comparison platform acquired by Qatari investor Ahmed Alaji

June 30, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

According to startuparabia, Ras2Ras, the Yemen-based online social rating and comparison platform, has been acquired by Qatari investor Ahmed Alaji.

Ras2Ras was founded by Amad Almsaodi in 2008. It is fun site where two comparable items are put together and readers vote on which is the best.

Some recent results

  • iPhone vs the iPad – 61.4% of readers think the iPhone is better than the iPad
  • Spain vs Brazil – 43.56% of readers think Spain will win the World Cup. 56.44% think Brazil will win.

It could have some interesting research uses.

Location: Yemen

Ref: F231109-523

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Dice Holdings acquires online and career events business WorldwideWorker

May 11, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Dice Holdings, a provider of specialised career websites for professional communities, has acquired WorldwideWorker, the online and career events recruiter for engineers and professionals in the energy industry worldwide.

“The acquisition of WorldwideWorker delivers on two important parts of our growth strategy: international growth and new vertical expansion,” said Scot Melland, Chairman, President & CEO of Dice Holdings, Inc. “WorldwideWorker is a well-regarded player in the highly-attractive energy sector. The global nature of the energy business allows us to leverage both our cross-border recruiting expertise and our international infrastructure.”

Based in Dubai, WorldwideWorker is widely known for its extensive international resume database and its recruitment events held at industry-leading conferences. More than 400,000 energy professionals have registered with WorldwideWorker and two-thirds of those are based in Asia, Africa or the Middle East.  Nearly half of WorldwideWorker’s candidates have at least ten years experience.  

“Our common goal is to help hiring managers and recruiters find the best possible talent most efficiently. Speed-to-hire is critical in the energy industry,” said Frederik Rengers, CEO of WorldwideWorker.  “Pairing the experienced Dice team with our extensive energy-industry knowledge will drive the growth of WorldwideWorker and deliver significant value to our customers.”

The purchase price consists of initial consideration of $6 million in cash.  Additional consideration to a maximum of $3 million in cash is payable upon the achievement of certain operating and financial goals over the next two years.

Ref: F231109-425

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Google acquires Labpixies

April 30, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Google has acquired LabPixies, a developer of personalized web gadgets “widgets” including iGoogle, Android and the iPhone. The team will be based in Google’s Tel Aviv office.

Over the years, Google has worked closely with LabPixies on a variety of projects, including the launch of a number of global OpenSocial based gadgets.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it’s believed to be between $15 to $25 million, according to TechCrunch.

Location: Israel, Tel Aviv
Sector: Internet
Ref: F231109-409

Other recent Google acquisitions

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Qlipso acquires the assets of Internet Television company Veoh

April 8, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Qlipso, a social feature-rich multi-party content-sharing platform with 3D avatars, webcam and voice, today announced its purchase of substantially all of the assets of Veoh, an Internet Television company delivering broadcast-quality video programming. The purchase enables Qlips0’s unique synchronized media sharing and socially-interactive environment to tap into Veoh’s library of more than one million videos, TV shows, online games and other interactive content, as well as Veoh’s tens of millions of active monthly users. Qlipso is backed by Jerusalem Venture Partners, an Israeli venture-capital fund.

“By bringing together features of both Qlipso and Veoh, we are taking the best of social, multiplayer online gaming and applying that to mainstream digital content, such as videos and music, for a mainstream audience,” said Jon Goldman, CEO of Qlipso. “This provides not only a terrific user experience, but also a vastly improved target audience for advertisers.”

As part of the transaction, key former Veoh executives will help shape the new vision of Qlipso.

Aprox. Value:  Undisclosed
 
Acquirer:  Qlipso
ACQ Web:  http://www.qlipso.com 
Location:  Israel, Jerusalum
Region:  Middle East & Africa, Europe
Description:  Qlipso allows users to share any type of Flash-based media live and synchronized with friends in a secure online social setting. Personalization options include avatar creation and webcam support, thereby enabling users to interact with each other while viewing the media simultaneously. As a business partner, Qlipso integrates with web sites to allow their audience to invite friends to share content, as well as to open up new revenue streams, like virtual item sales.
Category:  Technology, Media
Contact 1:  Jon Goldman, CEO and founder
Contact 2:  Ishay Pnuelli, Chief Technology Officer  and founder
Contact 3:  Erel Margalit, Jerusalem Venture Partners founder and managing partner 
 
Vendor:  Veoh
Vendor Web:  http://www.veoh.com
Location:  USA, Los Angeles, CA
Region:  North America
Description:  Veoh is an Internet Television company that delivers broadcast-quality video programming via the Internet. Veoh has more than 100,000 content publishers – from CBS, Viacom’s MTV Networks, ABC, Warner Bros. Television Group, ESPN and Lions Gate to thousands of independent filmmakers and content producers – and attracts over 28 million unique users per month worldwide.
Category: Television

About Jerusalem Venture Partners: A venture-capital fund based in Israel. The Fund operates from Jerusalem and manages more than USD$800 million. JVP focuses on building market leaders in the fields of digital media technology, including gaming and virtual worlds, mobile media, software and hardware applications and Internet advertising.
 
Links: 

FDN Database Reference:  F231109-381
 

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

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