Lagardere acquires BEST (Blue Entertainment Sports Television)

June 7, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Paris based global media group Lagardere SCA through newly branded Lagardere Unlimited has acquired BEST (Blue Entertainment Sports Television), the sports and entertainment affiliate owned and operated as a portfolio company of Kentucky based private equity firm Blue Equity, LLC. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

BEST is a unified, full-service sports and entertainment marketing, management and production firm.  BEST originally acquired the tennis, events and television/media divisions from Live Nation in August 2006, and has made multiple acquisitions thereafter in football, college sports, basketball and experiential properties.

Formerly headquartered in Louisville, KY, BEST currently has several offices, including locations in New York City, Beverly Hills and Washington, DC.  Besides its client roster  of professional athletes, entertainers and media personalities, BEST produces, owns and operates several high profile signature events and retains the television, production and distribution rights to several major sporting events worldwide. 

Location: USA, Louisville, KY & France, Paris

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Ziff Davis acquired by Vivek Shah and Great Hill Partners

June 6, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

It’s almost 3 and a half years since troubled technology publisher Ziff Davis first tried to sell itself. If you want to follow the whole saga, paidContent have published a useful Ziff Davis’ Sale: A History In Links.

Ziff Davis has now been acquired. The buyer is former Time Inc. executive Vivek Shah in partnership with Boston-based investment firm Great Hill Partners.

The announcement says that the acquisition represents the first step in building a new digital media company that specializes in producing and distributing content for consumers making important buying decisions.

The nine Ziff Davis properties being acquired are PCMag.com, ExtremeTech, GearLog, GoodCleanTech, DL.tv, AppScout, CrankyGeeks, Smart Device Central and TechSaver.com, which reach over 7 million users per month.

“This is an unusual opportunity to acquire a recognized category leader with a very deep team of talent that has already fully transitioned to digital,” said Shah, who begins today as CEO of the new Ziff Davis. “Ziff Davis is an incredible foundation off which to build an exciting new digital media company focused on delivering fantastic content to our audience and unprecedented opportunities to marketers.”

GCA Savvian Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor to Ziff Davis on this transaction. Specific financial terms of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

USA, NEW YORK, NY

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Hearst Corporation acquires iCrossing

June 6, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Hearst Corporation has acquired iCrossing, one of the largest independent digital marketing services providers in the world. Don Scales, president and CEO, iCrossing and all key members of iCrossing management, will continue in their present roles following the transaction’s close. The financial details were not disclosed.

The acquisition gives Hearst extensive global digital marketing capabilities, including paid search, search engine optimization, Web development, mobile and social marketing, and data analytics. iCrossing works with leading companies like Bank of America, Toyota, Travelocity and The Coca-Cola Company to help them connect with customers via digital platforms and increase search effectiveness and consumer engagement. iCrossing will continue to work with and grow its own client base while simultaneously collaborating with other Hearst divisions to bring clients and consumers new and innovative solutions.

Commenting on the deal, Frank A. Bennack, Jr., vice chairman of Hearst said: “Search and online marketing expertise will be an important asset for us as we continue to look for new ways to reach key audiences through digital marketing for our brands and our clients. iCrossing has built a great business and has consistently been recognized as a leader in its field; its strong relationships with top brands and companies are a perfect complement to our own.”

Matthew Petersen, senior vice president of Hearst Magazines, will head a new line of business, Hearst Marketing Services, which will include oversight of iCrossing.

Location: USA, New York, NY & UK, Brighton, West Sussex

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Nielsen plans to raise $1.75 billion through an IPO

June 3, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Nielsen Holdings BV, a global information and media company best known as a television ratings and consumer research company, plans to sell up to $1.75 billion in shares in an initial public offering when it floats on the New York Stock Exchange. Full details are available in the S1 regulatory filing – click here.

The filing does not disclose what percentage of the company’s shares are to be sold so the information can not be used to calculate a company valuation.

For the year ending 31 December 2009 Nielsen revenues were $4,808 million ($4,806 million in 2008). Net Loss attributable to Nielsen stockholders were $491 million ($589 million in 2008). The reconciliation from net loss attributable to Nielsen stockholders results in an adjusted EBITDA of $1,312 million ($1,205 million in 2008).

The filing says they have now and will continue to have a significant amount of indebtedness. As of March 31, 2010, they had total indebtedness of $8,558 million. The proceeds from the IPO will be used to help pay down the debt.

The lead underwriters are J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley, along with Credit Suisse Group AG, Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citigroup Inc.

The Company was founded in 1923 by Arthur C. Nielsen, Sr., who invented an approach to measuring competitive sales results that made the concept of “market share” a practical management tool. Nielsen Holdings B.V. is a Dutch private company with limited liability , incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands. The registered office is located at Diemen in the Netherlands. The company headquarters are located in New York, USA. The Nielsen Company B.V. and its subsidiaries were purchased on May 24, 2006 through Nielsen Holdings by a consortium of private equity firms – AlpInvest Partners, The Blackstone Group, The Carlyle Group, Hellman & Friedman, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and Thomas H. Lee Partners. Subsequently, Centerview Partners invested in the Company. David Calhoun was appointed Chief Executive Officer in August 2006.

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The Nielsen Company Acquires Video Technology Leader GlanceGuide

June 3, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Here’s one we missed from earlier this month.

PRESS RELEASE:  New York, NY and Palo Alto, CA, MAY 4, 2010 – The Nielsen Company has acquired GlanceGuide, a leading video analytics and technology company in Palo Alto, CA.  GlanceGuide’s advanced analytics capabilities have been immediately integrated into Nielsen’s online video measurement tools to deliver more actionable daily insights to media publishers, agencies and advertisers.  Nielsen clients now have access to better understand who is watching online video each day, and how consumers interact with online video content and advertising.

GlanceGuide’s technology provides insights into how consumers interact with the video they watch online.  The acquisition of GlanceGuide enables Nielsen to provide its global clients new and critical business intelligence.   This offering introduces a new and powerful Nielsen metric to the online video advertising industry– the attentiveness score— which aggregates key variables like viewing duration, video visibility, and audio volume to provide a composite ‘score’ for a piece of video content or advertising. This acquisition also comes on the heels of Nielsen’s recent announcement in the U.S. to provide clients, through its “Extended Screen” initiative, with the ability to see how the same piece of content performed on TV versus how it performed online.

In 2009, in response to global client feedback, Nielsen selected GlanceGuide as the technology partner to help streamline the video data collection process.  The integration between Nielsen & GlanceGuide provided clients with a single technology solution that enables audience measurement, advertising effectiveness research, and robust analytics and optimization. When combined with new demographic insights, the newly integrated solution enables media companies and advertisers to understand how different groups of consumers respond to online video and advertising, which in turn can feed into media sales & advertising optimization efforts.

“Nielsen is fully committed to providing our clients with actionable, comprehensive and immediate insights about online video consumption,” explains Dave Osborn, senior vice president of online product leadership for The Nielsen Company. “GlanceGuide is a leader and innovator in video technology and analytics, so this was a natural and exciting extension of Nielsen’s current offerings to the advertising community.”

“This is truly a match where the sum is much greater than the parts,” added GlanceGuide co-founders Indra Mohan and Desikan Jagannathan.    “Our integration with Nielsen will enable media clients to better sell their audience, while providing marketers with the tools to improve the effectiveness of their advertising.” 

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications. The privately held company is active in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information,  please visit www.nielsen.com.

About GlanceGuide
GlanceGuide offers a hosted service for web video analytics that captures and analyzes every video event once viewers hit Play. The service helps clients make decisions on how to optimize and better monetize online video content and ad assets. The results are compiled in interactive reports that display everything from viewing time metrics to demographics. Unique to GlanceGuide is the Attentiveness Score, a single number that quantifies the overall quality of a viewer’s experience with videos and ads.

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Thomson Reuters to Acquire Complinet

June 3, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Thomson Reuters is to acquire Complinet, a leading provider of global compliance information solutions for financial services institutions and their advisers. Terms of the deal, expected to close in the second quarter, were not disclosed.

Complinet was founded in 1997. It is headquarted in London, with offices in offices in New York, Sydney, Singapore and Dubai. The company has more than 200 employees.

Complinet services are provided to industry professionals in more than 1,900 firms across 81 countries. Complinet’s services will complement the Thomson Reuters existing professional information and software assets in the global legal and financial markets.

Chris Pilling, Complinet CEO and founder, said the deal with Thomson Reuters is the important next step in Complinet’s natural evolution. “The acquisition by Thomson Reuters will allow Complinet to fully realize its vision, backed by the reach and resources of Thomson Reuters,” he said. “Current customers will only see improvements to the unique services and quality they have come to expect from Complinet. Moving forward, we will see the true potential of this business when aligned with the scale and global footprint of Thomson Reuters.”

Pilling will continue to lead Complinet and the business will continue to serve its clients as before. Pilling will report to Peter Warwick, chief executive officer of Thomson Reuters, Legal, and will work closely with businesses pan-Thomson Reuters to fully leverage current global regulatory compliance assets within both the Markets and Professional divisions.

Location: USA, New York & UK, London

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National Association of Corporate Directors to Acquire Directorship

June 3, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), an organisation dedicated to exemplary board leadership, is to acquire the assets of Directorship LLC which include NACD Directorship Magazine, www.directorship.com, the Global Boardroom Forum and the Directorship 100 Forum – media properties celebrating the most influential people in the boardroom and board governance. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of June 2010. Directorship LLC provides corporate governance news, research, and boardroom intelligence for directors of public companies.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“As the current environment is rapidly changing and expanding the needs of directors, the new combined organization will enable us to better leverage our intellectual capital and extend our service leadership position with our members, business partners and stakeholders,” said Ken Daly, President & CEO, NACD.  “NACD is dedicated to improving our members’ knowledge, skills and performance.  Bringing together our resources with Directorship’s, will further extend NACD’s position as the Voice of the Director.”

“We at Directorship are excited about our future with NACD as one organization in which leading board directors can more easily access the widest range of resources in the areas of director education, corporate governance news, and boardroom research. The combination will clearly enhance NACD’s role as the go-to partner for directors seeking to build a more dynamic board culture and drive efficiency and effectiveness in the boardroom,” said Jeffrey M. Cunningham, CEO, Directorship. In the new organization, Jeff Cunningham is to become a managing director and senior advisor to Ken Daly, President & CEO, NACD.

Location: USA, Washington, MA

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BuzzMedia acquire three music entertainment sites

June 1, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

BuzzMedia, the entertainment publisher, today announced the addition of six music sites. According to paidContent three are acquisitions – PureVolume, Concrete Loop and Gorilla vs. Bear. The other three are described as partnerships. They are PopMatters, , The Hype Machine, and RCRD LBL. Buzz Media say together they connect with over five million fans every month.

Location: USA, Hollywood, CA

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Blockchalk raises around $1 million

May 28, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Blockchalk, a free location based bulletin board, has announced in the Blockchalk blog that they have raised a significant round of seed financing. Around $1 million according to PE Hub.

The investors include Battery Ventures, Mitch Kapor, Harrison Metal, Founder Collective, Joshua Schachter, Josh Stylman, Tom McInerney, and David Liu.

Blockchalk’s announcment says, “We’ll be using this funding to build the next generation of BlockChalk and accelerate our vision, which is to help people connect with their neighbors and mobilize their local communities. We can’t share details yet, but we have some very big things planned. To reach our goals we’re hiring a team of talented engineers who are as excited about this vision as we are. First up, we’re looking for experienced iPhone developers and server-side engineers; details will follow shortly in a subsequent post.”

Location: USA, Menlo Park, CA

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Energate Secures $7.2 Million Series B Funding

May 28, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Energate a provider of demand response and home energy management solutions for utilities and their consumers, thas secured $7.2 million in Series B funding. The funding will be used to drive sales growth and customer deployment initiatives while supporting the company’s ongoing product development efforts and strategic partnerships.

The investment was led by Cycle Capital Fund I. New and existing investors participated in the round, as did the Ontario Capital Growth Corporation’s (OCGC) Ontario Emerging Technology Fund (OETF). OETF is a direct investment fund established by the Province of Ontario in 2009 to invest alongside Qualified Co-Investors into innovative, high-growth, private Ontario companies.

The financing will enable Energate to continue to scale operations and strengthen its position in the growing Demand Response and Smart Grid market. Energate has propelled itself to the forefront of this area by developing solutions such as its broadband-enabled and Smart Grid-interoperable Consumer Connected Demand Response (CCDR) solution set that is utility-focused yet allows consumers to control their own personal requirements. Utilities are deploying demand response programs to curb energy usage, especially during peak periods. Managing peak demand is proven to be significantly more cost effective than building new power plants, and those savings benefit utilities, governments, consumers and the environment.

“Energate’s market lead in Smart Thermostats and Demand Response combined with their smart grid partnerships gives us confidence that the company will deliver results and tremendous growth in this global market,” said Andrée-Lise Méthot, Founder and Senior Partner and Bernhardt Zeisig, Senior Partner with Cycle Capital. “We are impressed with the Energate team and what they have accomplished – the best is yet to come for this organization.”

Location: Canada, Ottowa, ON

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