Cumulus Media to acquire Citadel Broadcasting

March 10, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Radio broadcast company Cumulus Media has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Citadel Broadcasting Corporation. Under the terms of the deal, Cumulus will acquire all of the outstanding common stock and warrants of Citadel at a price of $37.00 per share. This consideration is payable in cash and shares of Cumulus stock, and values Citadel as an enterprise at approximately $2.4 billion. Citadel owns and operates 225 radio stations in over 50 markets and also operates the Citadel Media business, which is among the largest radio networks in the U.S.

Cumulus also expects to complete a refinancing of all of the outstanding debt of Cumulus, Citadel and Cumulus Media Partners in conjunction with the proposed merger. Cumulus has obtained commitments for up to $500 million in equity financing from Crestview Partners and Macquarie Capital, and commitments from a group of banks for up to $2.525 billion in senior secured credit facilities and $500 million in senior note bridge financing, the proceeds of which will be used to pay the cash portion of the merger consideration, and effect the refinancings.

Cumulus anticipates that the merger, after giving effect to anticipated synergies, will be accretive relative to Cumulus’ current Adjusted EBITDA trading multiple. After giving effect to the proposed acquisition, Cumulus would own 572 radio stations across approximately 120 U.S. markets. Cumulus expects to complete the merger by the end of 2011.

UBS Investment Bank is acting as lead financial advisor to Cumulus, and it also has committed to Cumulus to provide debt financing. Macquarie Capital is also acting as a financial advisor to Cumulus, and it has committed to provide debt and equity financing. Moelis & Company delivered a fairness opinion to the Board of Cumulus. Jones Day is acting as legal counsel to Cumulus in the transaction. Goldman, Sachs & Co. is acting as a financial advisor to Crestview Partners.

USA, Las Vegas & Atlanta

Related articles:

 

 

Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

SkyWeaver acquires envIO Networks

March 10, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

SkyWeaver, which enables search, discovery and advertising on the social web, has acquired the assets of envIO Networks.

envIO’s CEO, Manish Jha, will lead the combined company as President and CEO. Additionally, key members of envIO’s technology organization will join the SkyWeaver team.

“The envIO Networks assets will accelerate SkyWeaver’s mission — helping consumers, content owners and advertisers derive more value from the torrent of tweets, updates, and check-ins on the social web. envIO’s intellectual property portfolio, critically acclaimed products, proven and scalable technology platform, select business relationships, and engineering talent, will create a sustainable competitive advantage for SkyWeaver,” said Manish Jha.

“Social discovery, search and advertising represent the next frontier of growth on the internet. The combination of SkyWeaver and envIO assets, coupled with Manish’s experience, positions the company to win,” said Rob Soni. Rob, envIO board member, will join the SkyWeaver board as an observer.

USA, New York, NY

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Bergen Energi forms global energy management alliance

March 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Here is a story we missed in early February:

Energy services company Bergen Energi, has formed a strategic alliance with US based Delta Energy and Brazilian Comerc Energia. The alliance, known as Energy Experts, is created with the mission to offer a global solution to serve the energy management and data reporting needs of industrial and commercial clients with facilities around the world.

Bergen Energi is also cooperating with energy data management company Entech USB.

The global energy markets have over the last decades seen a rapid development. Deregulation in the markets for, inter alia, electricity and gas, the emergence of increasingly international markets and a sharpened focus on CO2-emissions related to energy consumption are three key features of this development.

Bill Schjelderup, CEO and founder of Bergen Energi says: “Just as global companies demand financial and legal consulting from advisors with a global reach they now request the same reach from their energy management advisors. They need expertise and tools to benefit from price movements in a global market. They need frequently updated reports on their worldwide energy consumption, cost and carbon footprint. Via the Energy Expert Alliance we will be able to provide these services in a comprehensive and comprehensible way – also to clients with global operations”.

The member companies of Energy Experts combine more than 285 energy experts serving over 1,200 clients with facilities in North America, Europe and South America. The alliance plans to expand Energy Experts’ presence into additional geographies in the coming months.

Bergen Energi: Norway, Bergen
Delta Energy: USA, Columbus, OH
Comerc Energia: Brazil, Sao Paulo
Entech USB: London

Posted in B2B Services, Energy & Environmental Services, Procurement, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

AOL is about to announce it’s acquiring hyperlocal veteran Outside.In

March 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Business Insider is reporting that AOL is about to announce it’s acquiring hyperlocal veteran Outside.In. Business Insider, estimates the deal will be for less than $10 million.

Read the full story:

USA, New York, NY

Related articles:

 

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

AOL completes the acquisition of Huffington Post

March 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

AOL has closed its acquisition of The Huffington Post.

AOL will integrate The Huffington Post with all AOL Media and AOL Local properties to create the Huffington Post Media Group, a source of news, opinion, entertainment, community, and digital information. Arianna Huffington will lead the overall editorial direction of the new group as President and Editor-in-Chief.

USA, New York, NY

Related articles:

 

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Google acquires BeatThatQuote.com

March 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Google has acquired BeatThatQuote.com, a UK based price finance companies price comparison site, for £37.7 million.

The notice on BeatThatQuote.com reads as follows:

“BeatThatQuote.com today was sold to Google for £37.7 million. We think this deal is a tremendous opportunity for our company to develop new and innovative options for personal finance in the UK.
Our team is excited about becoming a part of Google. We look forward to working with their engineers to create new tools making it easier for consumers to choose the right financial products. We think we can offer more transparency and better pricing information than existing online offerings.

We are confident that by combining BeatThatQuote.com’s expertise in UK financial products with Google’s technology, we’ll accelerate innovation in this field, benefiting consumers and the companies offering these products. We plan to keep working with our current partners and look forward to working with new ones, too.

John Paleomylite
Managing Director”

UK, London & USA, Palo Alto, CA

Related articles:

 

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Internet Media, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Hefner completes purchase of Playboy

March 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner completed the purchase of Playboy Enterprises, meaning the company will once again be private owned. Icon Acquisition Holdings, an entity controlled by Hefner, paid $6.15 per share, or $207 million.

(See previous DigiNet report)

Affiliates of Rizvi Traverse Management and Jefferies & Company provided equity and debt financing, respectively, for the transaction. Hugh M. Hefner will remain Editor-in-Chief and Chief Creative Officer of Playboy, with Scott Flanders continuing in his role as CEO.

Mr. Hefner said, “Today marks the beginning of an exciting era for this company and our iconic brand. I believe this new ownership structure will allow us to further capitalize on the unique and global appeal of the Playboy brand, and I look forward to our future success.”

Mr. Flanders added, “Our partnership with Rizvi Traverse brings Playboy new resources and expertise, which will help us more quickly and efficiently execute on our strategy to transform Playboy into a brand management company. With this transaction completed, we can now turn our full focus on the effective management of our existing operations and the development of new business opportunities.

“Ben Kohn, Managing Partner of Rizvi Traverse’s Los Angeles Office, stated: “We are pleased to partner with Mr. Hefner and Mr. Flanders as this legendary brand enters a new chapter. We believe this team has the right strategy and vision, and now the right ownership structure, to fully realize its potential.”

Lazard is acting as financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is acting as legal counsel to Playboy Enterprises. Raine Securities LLC is acting as financial advisor and Kaye Scholer LLP is acting as legal counsel to the Special Committee. Moelis & Company LLC is acting as financial advisor and Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP is acting as legal counsel to Mr. Hefner.  Jefferies & Company, Inc. is acting as financial advisor and Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is acting as legal counsel to Rizvi Traverse.

USA, Los Angeles, CA

Related articles

 

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Twitter has no plans to go public and the JP Morgan investment story is made up

March 4, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Reuters is reporting Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter,  as saying that Twitter has no plans to go public any time soon and does not need additional funds.

The conversation took place at a business forum in Seoul when Stone was asked about the prospects of an IPO. Stone also dismissed speculation that JPMorgan Chase & Co was in talks with Twitter to buy a 10 percent stake for $450 million, saying the story was “made up”. this would have valueed the company at $4.5 billion.

Read the full story

USA, San Francisco

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Disney acquires Rocket Pack

March 4, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

TechCrunch is reporting that Disney has acquired an HTML5 gaming engine startup called Rocket Pack, based out of Helsinki, Finalnd. Rocketpack will report into Disney Interactive Media Group.

Terms of the deal have not been released, but TechCrunch are suggesting a price of between $10 and $20 million. It’s a fast acquisition – as of Feb 1, Rocket Pack was still developing the engine.

Read the full story

USA, Burbank, CA & Finland, Helsinki

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Games, Internet Media, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

FirstCarbon Solutions acquires The Plan Consulting Group

March 4, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Environmental business intelligence business FirstCarbon Solutions has acquired the utility optimisation practice of The Plan Consulting Group (TPCG), a full service strategic management and consulting firm that assists companies in their efforts to measure and manage utilities, waste and spending and create measurable value.

Jim Beall, former CEO of The Plan Consulting Group, joins FirstCarbon Solutions as Senior Vice President and will continue to lead The Plan Consulting Group as a member of the ADEC Group of Companies. TPCG will continue to specialise in strategy consulting and program management. Prior to The Plan Consulting Group, Mr. Beall held a variety of senior management and business development positions with CB Richard Ellis, EMCOR Group, and Johnson Controls. TPCG provides clients with strategy development and revenue expansion programs in order to increase efficiencies and decrease costs. TPCG will continue to provide services to Kraft Foods, Trane Corporation and Cummins, among others.

The acquisition of TCPG will enable FirstCarbon Solutions to further enhance return on investment for its clients by driving energy optimisation programs and delivering measurable cost savings. Although the trend to become sustainable has increased dramatically, many companies still have difficulty identifying, justifying and implementing sustainability programs due to the burden it places on internal resources and capital constraints. Combining energy process and tools of TPCG, FirstCarbon Solutions enhances its performance-based return on investment driven sustainability solutions.

“Our acquisition of The Plan Consulting Group broadens our offering and more closely links sustainability initiatives with bottom line impacts,” said Jim Donovan, CEO, FirstCarbon Solutions. “Companies have long struggled to define ROI and the implementation of energy management programs. In addition to helping clients make an environmental difference, FirstCarbon Solutions will continue to help companies be competitive, efficient and profitable.”

USA, West Chester, PA

Posted in B2B Services, Energy & Environmental Services, ~North America. Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »