AdMedia Partners survey forecasts an increase in traditional media and digital media M&A and improved multiples

December 30, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The AdMedia Partners annual survey of senior executives interviews senior executives in leading content (traditional media and digital media) and services (marketing services, digital marketing and marketing technology) businesses. They were asked for their views on the  prospects for industry mergers and acquisitions in the year ahead.

Respondents believe that M&A activity will increase in 2011 – with 78–86% (of content and services respondents, respectively) expecting more M&A activity from strategic buyers and 63–68% expecting more M&A activity from financial buyers.

On the services side, approximately half of respondents considered EBITDA multiples of 8x or greater to be reasonable for companies providing analytics/optimization, mobile marketing, social marketing and marketing technology services. The median multiples for content firms were in the 5–6x EBITDA range, with the exception of online media achieving the highest valuation expectations of 7–8x. Consumer media and business-to-business media both showed significant gains in valuation expectations, jumping from 4x EBITDA in last year’s survey to 6x EBITDA this year.

The full report can be downloaded from here

USA, New York, NY

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Online game operator The9 to form $100 million investment fund

December 28, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The9, an online game operator and developer in China, is planning a to form a $100 million investment fund (Fund9) with the help of Chengwei Ventures, ChinaRock Capital Management and China Renaissance K2 Ventures

Fund9 will focus on investments in both domestic and overseas mobile internet application and platform developers. All mobile internet application and platform project proposals can be directly submitted online to the fund investment committee for evaluation.

Mr. Jun Zhu, The9’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “Mobile internet application and platform has become a significant part of the mobile and internet industry with a rapidly growing number of smartphone users, especially in China. We noticed that there are many talented and creative domestic development teams in need of support during their development. If they receive financial and other support such as marketing, operation and administration, their chance of success will be much higher. I believe Fund9 has a unique opportunity to provide such support to these talented developers who will be able to launch more advanced mobile applications that will ultimately benefit all mobile internet users. We will also target talented overseas mobile internet application and platform developers with the ultimate goal of bringing the best products to China.”

China, Shanghai

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Livewire Mobile acquires FoneStarz Media Group

December 18, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

US mobile music and content company Livewire Mobile, has acquired FoneStarz Media Group, a UK based mobile digital storefront and mobile content supplier.

The combination of the two companies provides a broad content-offering that includes application distribution, ringback, full-track music, video, advertising, ringtones, images and games. Furthermore, the acquisition expands Livewire Mobile’s market reach to more than 400 million subscribers at over 40 mobile operators in nearly 30 countries, providing one of the most comprehensive one-stop digital content solutions for carriers, handset manufacturers and other media companies entering the mobile content market.

Based in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, FoneStarz has a successful track record of retailing mobile entertainment content for mobile network operators. It manages cutting edge digital content services, from its proprietary merchandising and delivery platform for 11 mobile operators in eight countries around the world.

FoneStarz services are currently deployed with premier operators including Vodafone, Hutchison 3 and O2 in countries including the U.K., Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, New Zealand, South Africa and Egypt. It works with a number of other Tier 1 and 2 operators and has content aggregation agreements with handset manufacturers including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG, and content licenses with more than 140 media companies, including Disney, Playboy, Turner, American Greetings and Manchester United.

Livewire Mobile plans to incorporate the FoneStarz platform into its InfuseTM integrated storefront solution for mobile operators, as well as its recently launched MediadromeTM direct-to-consumer music service.

Together, the companies bring extensive global experience and market-leading technical infrastructures, providing a platform for rapid strategic growth in new and existing territories and positioning them alongside firms such as Motricity, RealNetworks and Zed in the fast-growing mobile content market. The management team is headed up by Matthew Stecker, CEO, Livewire Mobile and Dave Moreau, CEO and founder of FoneStarz, who will become COO of the combined company. They intend to grow the combined business by exploiting its product set and extending services across six continents. 

“As we stated earlier this year, we refocused our company resources toward providing our global partners and customers with an innovative suite of products and end-to-end services,” said Mr. Stecker. “Now, with this combination of two complementary companies, we are creating an even stronger organization with a broadened product suite, improved service and support worldwide and increased cross-selling opportunities to an expanded customer base.”

Mr. Moreau added: “We spent some time looking for a partner that offered a strategic fit in terms of product roadmap and territorial expansion. Scale is vital in this fast moving, global market and we believe Livewire Mobile and FoneStarz together will be able to provide a preeminent digital solution for mobile network operators, handset manufacturers and media businesses.”

USA, Littleton, MA & UK, Cambridgeshire

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Navteq to acquire Trapster

December 14, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

autoblog is reporting that Navteq, a wholly owned subsidiary of of Nokia, is to acquire Trapster, the speed trap and road hazard tracking company that makes GPS apps for iPhone, Android and Blackberry.

According to Autoblog, five companies were interested in acquiring Trapster.

Read the full story

USA, Cardiff by the Sea, CA

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Aspiro sells mobile entertainment business to Exsol Oy

November 20, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

TV and music streaming services business Aspiro has sold its remaining Mobile Entertainment business in Finland to Exsol Oy. The initial purchase price is €100,000, plus an earn-out which should give Aspiro a minimum of €200,000 euros over a two year period. The earn-out model is based on 15% percent of the pay-outs from the operators. Net sales for the Mobile Entertainment business in Finland from January-September 2010 was about 7.5 million SEK. Earnings after direct expenses for the same period were approximately 1.8 million SEK and EBITDA of minus 0.7 million SEK.

“We are streamlining our operations and focusing mainly on streaming services in music, television and video, as well as business solutions in the Mobile Solutions area. We see very high growth potential in the future and it is therefore positive that we can focus even more on our core business, “says Aspiro’s CEO Gunnar Sellæg.

Aspiro delivers services to partners worldwide like T-Mobile, Telefónica O2, Telenor, 3, TeliaSonera, Tele2, the BBC, Aftonbladet, mBlox, TVNorge, Entel and VG. Aspiro is listed on Nasdaq OMX Nordic Exchange Stockholm and has a local presence in all the Nordic and Baltic countries. Sales for continuing operations in 2009 were SEK 249 m and the company has some 115 employees.

Finland

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Expedia to acquire mobile travel apps business Mobiata

November 19, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Expedia has entered into an agreement to acquire Mobiata, creator of best selling mobile travel applications including FlightTrack. The deal marks Expedia’s most significant investment to date in addressing the mobile travel market, and accelerates the company’s ability to enable mobile travel shopping and booking across multiple platforms.

“With the pace at which mobile traffic to Expedia sites is exploding, we wanted the right team to help us address the sizable opportunity swiftly and successfully,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia, Inc. “There’s simply no better company out there doing mobile travel apps with the same level of design sensibility and utility as Mobiata.”

In its first two years since it was founded in 2008, Mobiata has developed a host of best selling travel apps, including FlightTrack, which has ranked a Top 5 best selling iPhone travel app for 18 months straight; best selling itinerary manager app TripDeck™ and best selling hotel booking app HotelPal™.

“We are thrilled to be joining the biggest and best online travel company while maintaining the creative passion for mobile travel apps that makes Mobiata unique,” said Ben Kazez, president and founder of Mobiata. “Together with Expedia, we believe we can continue to revolutionize the way people plan, book, and manage travel – from anywhere on any device.”

Mobile traffic currently accounts for approximately four percent of all visitors to Expedia.com®, with mobile bookings up in 2010 nearly five times over the previous year. “Mobile and travel are just made for each other,” said Joe Megibow, VP of Global Analytics and Optimization for Expedia®. “The mobile device is always with us; it’s always on. Getting mobile right for our customers is something we take very seriously.”

With its experience offering mobile travel design and development services to third parties, Mobiata brings to Expedia the proven ability to design and execute the most compelling travel apps available to mobile users.

Mobiata will remain in its headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

USA, Ann Abbor, MI & Bellevue, WA

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EA acquires Chillingo

October 20, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Electronic Arts has acquired Chillingo Ltd., a UK based publisher of iPhone games whose titles include titles include Cut the Rope, Angry Birds, Helsing’s Fire, Predators, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Minigore, iDracula, and Modern Conflict.

With the acquisition of Chillingo, EA Mobile has positioning on the Apple platform. EA’s announcement says the acquisition combines Chillingo’s expertise in cultivating the ideas of independent developers with EA’s global reach in mobile publishing.

USA, Redwood City, CA & UK, Cheshire

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DeNA to acquire mobile games developer ngmoco

October 12, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

DeNA today is acquiring ngmoco for up to US$400 million in cash and securities, creating the world’s largest mobile social games platform company.

ngmoco’s shareholders and employees will receive US$300 million in cash and securities and are entitled to additional consideration, up to a maximum of US$100 million, contingent upon the achievement of certain performance milestones through Dec. 31, 2011.

“In ngmoco and its team we see a lot of the same talent and dynamic traction that we have in the Japanese market, making the merger a perfect fit for us,” said Tomoko Namba, founder and CEO, DeNA. “This acquisition cements DeNA’s leadership position in the U.S. We’re building the largest mobile social gaming platform in the world and populating it with incredible games and services.”

Headquartered in San Francisco, and with studios in New York and Portland, ngmoco was founded in 2008 by games industry veterans Neil Young, Bob Stevenson, Alan Yu and Joe Keene. ngmoco’s games are played more than 50 million minutes a day and have been downloaded more than 60 million times on Apple’s iOS devices, resulting in 20 top 10 applications. The company’s Plus+ social network has over 13.5 million registered users, with more than 50 million friend connections and has been installed more than 86 million times. In September, ngmoco announced its commitment to the Android platform with games and services arriving in the fourth quarter.

“We are delighted to be joining forces with DeNA, a company that we have admired and aspired to,” said Neil Young, founder and CEO, ngmoco. “The opportunity to be a part of creating the number one social mobile game platform company and to benefit from the unique learning and knowledge that DeNA possesses is an amazing way to accelerate our vision for gaming.”

As a wholly owned subsidiary, ngmoco will be responsible for bringing DeNA’s “X-Device X-Border” strategy to Western markets by making DeNA’s Mobage a global service and platform for games. A key focus for the company is the creation of a unified open developer platform that combines ngmoco’s state of the art smartphone technology framework with DeNA’s pioneering Mobage Open SDK. The unified Mobage Smartphone Platform will allow developers to target both iOS & Android and access both Western and Japanese customers.

USA, San Francisco, CA

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BlackBerry maker RIM acquires DataViz in a deal worth $50m in cash

September 8, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Crackberry is reporting that BlackBerry maker RIM has acquired DataViz in a deal worth $50m in cash.

Rim’s statement reads, “RIM has acquired some of the assets of DataViz and hired the majority of its employees to focus on supporting the BlackBerry platform. Terms of the deal were not disclosed but the transaction was not material to RIM in the context of RIM’s financial results.” Most news sources are reporting that the deal is thought to be worth $50 million dollars in cash.

DataViz is best known for its mobile Office suite, Documents To Go. Other products include wireless Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync client and RoadSync.

Canada, Ontario & USA, Milford, CT

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Nokia to acquire Motally

August 21, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 

Nokia has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Motally Inc., a privately-held US-based company. Motally’s mobile analytics service offers in-application tracking and reporting, and is designed to enable developers and publishers to optimize the development of their mobile applications through increased understanding of how users engage. The service offering is planned to be adapted for Qt, Symbian, Meego and Java developers, and Nokia plans to continue serving Motally’s existing customer base.

“The acquisition underpins Nokia’s drive to deliver in-application and mobile web browsing analytics to Ovi’s growing, global eco-system of developers and publishers, enabling partners to better connect with their customers and optimize and monetize their offering”,  said Marco Argenti, Vice President, Media, Nokia.

Motally currently employs a team of eight people.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2010.

Finland, Espoo

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