WPP’s GTB acquires Zubi Advertising Services in the US

February 2, 2017 — Fusion DigiNet

gtbGTB, WPP’s wholly owned full-service agency dedicated to the Ford Motor Company account, has acquired Zubi Advertising Services, Inc., a full-service advertising agency that focuses on the Hispanic market in the US.

Zubi’s unaudited net revenues were US$18.9 million as of December 31, 2016. Clients include Ford, JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. and Dunkin’ Donuts. Founded in 1976, Zubi employs approximately 120 people and is based in Coral Gables, Florida, with offices in Los Angeles and Detroit.

UK, London & USA, Coral Gables, FL

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Pageant Media acquires Hedge Fund Intelligence from Euromoney

January 3, 2017 — Fusion DigiNet

pageant-mediaPageant Media, the business information specialist has acquired Hedge Fund Intelligence from Euromoney Institutional Investor. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hedge Fund Intelligence provides a series of business information, data and workflow products – including EuroHedge and AsiaHedge – and global events, which provide a 360-degree view of the hedge fund world.

Pageant Media is one of the financial sector’s fastest growing providers of intelligence and insight. The company, founded in 1998, provides membership services offering senior professionals – across a range of industries, including hedge funds, mutual funds and real estate – exposure to market leading news and analysis, data and events.

This acquisition provides Pageant Media with a series of synergies and brand extension opportunities for its existing market-leading hedge fund brand, HFM, and will increase the company’s scale and reach in the global hedge fund space.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Charlie Kerr, Chief Executive of Pageant Media, said: “This latest deal will enable to Pageant Media significantly to enhance its business information offering to the hedge fund industry. As with the recent acquisition of II Searches, we look forward to integrating these brands into our business and evolving their digital offering. These products will also benefit from Pageant’s belief in strong content, user engagement and creating a membership model that delivers real value.”

Staff from both the UK and US will join Pageant Media’s London and New York offices.

UK, London & USA, New York

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Grey Group acquires Tank in Canada

December 19, 2016 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s wholly-owned operating company Grey Group, a marketing communications company, has acquired Entreprise de Communications Tank Inc., a full-service healthcare and consumer agency in Canada.

Tank’s audited net revenues were CAD$14 million for its fiscal year ended April 30, 2016. Clients include AbbVie, BMS, Caisse de depot, Department of Canadian Heritage, Eli Lilly, Lundbeck and Telus Health. The company employs 120 people and is based in Montreal. It was founded in 2007.Tank will retain its name and become part of Grey Group Canada.

UK, London & Canada, Montreal

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21st Century Fox makes £11.7bn firm offer for Sky

December 15, 2016 — Fusion DigiNet

21st-century-foxRupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox and Sky have reached agreement on the terms of a cash offer by 21st Century Fox for the fully diluted share capital of Sky which 21st Century Fox and its Affiliates do not already own.

The £10.75-a-share all cash offer for the 61 per cent of Sky that the US media group does not already own values the group at £18.5bn, and will cost Fox £11.7bn.

The offer is a multiple of approximately 11.4 times Sky Adjusted EBITDA of £2,178 million for the twelve month period ended 30 June 2016.

Comments

21st Century Fox said:

“As the founding shareholder of Sky, we are proud to have participated in its growth and development. The strategic rationale for this combination is clear.  It creates a global leader in content creation and distribution, enhances our sports and entertainment scale, and gives us unique and leading direct-to-consumer capabilities and technologies. It adds the strength of the Sky brand to our portfolio, including the Fox, National Geographic and Star brands.”

“Sky is a creative, commercial, and consumer powerhouse delivering its own content to customers across all platforms. Sky is the #1 PayTV brand in all its key markets, with an exciting growth runway in each. The enhanced capabilities of the combined company will be underpinned by a more geographically diverse and stable revenue base.  It will also create an improved balance between subscription, affiliate fee, advertising and content revenues. This combination creates an agile organization that is equipped to better succeed in a global market.“

Martin Gilbert, Deputy Chairman of Sky said:

“I am enormously proud that Sky is the number one premium pay TV provider in all its markets and is recognised as a world leading direct-to-consumer business. On top of this, the business has an outstanding track record of growth and has delivered substantial value for its shareholders over many years.

The Independent Committee, which was formed with the express purpose of protecting independent shareholders’ interests in relation to the proposal from 21st Century Fox, has given full consideration to the fundamental value and prospects for the Sky Group.

While the Independent Committee remains confident in Sky’s long-term prospects, as laid out in detail at our recent investor day in October, we, supported by our advisers, believe 21st Century Fox’s offer at a 40 per cent. premium to the undisturbed share price will accelerate and de-risk the delivery of future value for all Sky Shareholders. As a result, the Independent Committee unanimously agreed that we have a proposal that we can put to Sky shareholders and recommend.

The Independent Committee also notes 21st Century Fox’s track record in growing businesses and its ability to continue the development of Sky across Europe, in a world where entertainment and distribution are converging. 21st Century Fox’s ownership will support the delivery of Sky’s strategy and long-term growth, ensuring that it remains at the forefront of Europe’s creative industries.”

Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp abandoned its last bid for Sky in 2011 after it was revealed that journalists at the News of the World had hacked the phone of the murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler.

USA, New York & UK, London

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Salmon acquires e-commerce digital consultancy Eperium in the Netherlands

December 15, 2016 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s e-commerce consultancy, Salmon, has acquired Netherlands-based Eperium, a digital and e-commerce consultancy.

Eperium is headquartered in Amsterdam and employs over 200 people in Europe and India. Clients include Sligro, Plus Supermarkten, Jumbo, Bunzl, Xerox, Dutch Railways and Asian Paints. The agency’s consolidated unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2015 were €8.5 million with gross assets of €4.1 million as at the same date.

The acquisition gives Salmon, which has a presence in the UK, US, China and Australia, access to the northern European and Indian markets where Eperium has an operation. Following the transaction, the Salmon group will employ over 700 people.

UK, London & The Netherlands, Amsterdam

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Pageant Media acquires asset management business information brands from Euromoney

December 1, 2016 — Fusion DigiNet

pageant-mediaPageant Media has acquired iiSearches; Foundation & Endowment Intelligence and Money Management Intelligence from Euromoney Institutional Investor. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Foundation & Endowment Intelligence and Money Management Intelligence are information services which provide critical insight for asset managers who need to understand current investor activity.

Pageant Media, founded in 1998, provides membership services offering senior professionals – across a range of industries, including hedge funds, mutual funds and real estate – exposure to market leading news and analysis, data and events.

This acquisition complements the growth of Pageant Media’s existing business intelligence networks by providing information on active investor searches across hedge funds, mutual funds and real estate. The addition of II Searches, a database product currently relied on by eight of the top ten asset managers in the world by AuM, further extends Pageant Media’s reach into key data services and workflow products.

Commenting on today’s announcement Charlie Kerr, CEO of Pageant Media, said: “This acquisition marks a significant step in the development of Pageant Media’s asset management business information services. We look forward to integrating these brands into our business and evolving their digital offering. These products will benefit from Pageant’s belief in strong content, user engagement and creating a membership model that delivers real value.”

II Searches; Foundation & Endowment Intelligence and Money Management Intelligence have been sold to Pageant Media by Euromoney Institutional Investor. Staff from both the UK and US will join Pageant Media’s London and New York offices.

UK, London & USA, New, York

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WPP acquires Promotion Execution Partners in the US

November 29, 2016 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP has acquired Promotion Execution Partners, LLC, a project management and procurement company that oversees shopper marketing promotions for clients, in the US.

Since its founding in 2004, PEP has managed over US$3.5 billion in marketing spend across 35,000 campaigns for over 500 brands worldwide. Clients include Heinz, Johnson & Johnson, Kraft Foods Group and Procter & Gamble. The company employs approximately 200 people and is based in Cincinnati with offices in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Panama. PEP manages budgets, timelines and vendor coordination for programs like direct mail campaigns, sweepstakes and promotion events on behalf of clients. PEP ensures these projects are delivered on time, within budget and to meet the specifications of the client, freeing the client to focus on the big picture of running the business.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

UK, London & USA, Cincinnati, OH

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Keywords Studios acquires Enzyme Testing Labs

November 17, 2016 — Fusion DigiNet

keywordsKeywords Studios has acquired Global Video-Games Services Inc. (GVGS) together with its subsidiary companies including its principal trading entity, Enzyme Testing Labs Inc. from its founders, Yan Cyr and Emmanuel Viau and Fonds d’Investissement de la Culture et des Communications (FICC).

Keywords Studios is paying the sellers and settling the financing obligations of FICC to a total of CAD$5.4m. This is being satisfied by the payment of CAD$4.9m in cash to the Sellers and CAD$0.5m to FICC in repayment of loans advanced to GVGS.

Enzyme was founded in 2002. The consolidated, audited accounts for the year to 31 December 2015 show revenue of CAD$11.5m and profit before interest and tax of CAD$1.3m. Net assets at closing after adjusting for the loans being repaid are estimated to be CAD$2.3m.

Based in Montreal and St-Jérôme (60 km from Montreal) and with an office in Kawasaki near Tokyo, Enzyme’s strengths are in Functional and Localisation Testing of video games for leading game publishers and developers. In addition, it provides Localisation Services and Focus Group Testing; the latter fitting well with Keywords’ recently acquired Player Research. Combining Enzyme with Keywords will significantly increase Keywords’ Functional Testing capacity (which accounted for 8% of Group revenue in the first half of 2016) and provide significant operational synergies within the Group. The business will be integrated into Keywords during the course of 2017 and we anticipate the resulting synergies will deliver significant margin improvement.

Andrew Day, Chief Executive of Keywords Studios, commented: “The acquisition of Enzyme brings together two of the leading video games testing providers, reinforcing Keywords’ position as the market leader in the field, with testing operations in Montreal, St-Jérôme, Seattle, Tokyo, Singapore, New Delhi, Milan and Dublin.”

Ireland, Dublin & Canada, Montreal

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Informa acquires Penton, the US- based Exhibitions and Information Services group, for £1.2bn.

September 16, 2016 — Fusion DigiNet

Informa, the Business Intelligence, Exhibitions, Events and Academic Publishing Group, is to acquire Penton, the independent US- based Exhibitions and Professional Information Services group, from MidOcean Partners and Wasserstein & Co for £1.18bn.

The Acquisition will be funded through a combination of new debt and equity, including a fully underwritten rights issue of one Rights Issue Shares at 441 pence each for every four Existing Informa Shares to raise £715m. The Sellers will receive £1,105m consideration in cash and £76m in new Informa equity with a holding period of up to one year. Within this, £6m is to be paid to the management of Penton who own shares in the New York-based Group.

Based on Penton’s results for the 12 months ended 30 June 20161, the Board consider that these results imply a trailing acquisition multiple of approximately 11x adjusted EBITDA.

The acquisition will create one of the world’s largest owner/operators of Exhibitions, Events and Conferences. On completion, Informa’s US business will account for 47% of annual pro-forma revenues. It will also mean that less than 10pc of Informa’s revenue will be earned in the UK.

Penton’s portfolio of around 30 Exhibitions includes brands in Natural Products & Food (Natural Products Expo), Agriculture (Farm Progress), TMT (IWCE), Infrastructure (WasteExpo) and Transportation (MRO Event Portfolio).

Additionally, Penton has more than 20 digital subscription data Brands in verticals including Infrastructure (Equipment Watch), Transportation (Aviation Week Intelligence Network) and Design & Manufacturing (SourceESB), and a portfolio of 100+ print and digital B2B insight products .

informa-carterStephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive, said: “Today we are announcing continued progress on our Growth Acceleration Plan with the proposed addition of Penton Information Services. This combination will further strengthen our capabilities in Global Exhibitions and Business Intelligence and extend our US presence.”

ACQUISITION TIMETABLE

The acquisition is expected to complete by early November.

15 September 2016

Announcement date

15 September 2016

Posting of Circular to shareholders and Prospectus published

10 October 2016

General Meeting for Shareholders

11 October 2016

Admission of Rights Issue Shares and dealings in Nil Paid Rights on the London Stock Exchange

26 October 2016

Results of Rights Issue announced

26 October 2016

Dealings in Rights Issue Shares, fully paid, commence on the London Stock Exchange

November 2016

Expected date of completion

UK, London & USA, New, York

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Penton

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Questex acquires UK’s The Annual Hotel Conference

July 13, 2016 — Fusion DigiNet

questexBusiness information and events company Questex has acquired The AHC Company Limited, organizer of The Annual Hotel Conference. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The agreement merges the collective resources of Questex, organizers of the International Hotel Investment Forum (IHIF) Berlin and The AHC. Founders Chris Eddlestone and Jonathan Langston and their team will continue to lead content development and management of the event.

“We are tremendously pleased to team up with Chris and Jonathan and combine our resources to enhance the value provided to the UK hotel industry by this important event,” said Kerry Gumas, Questex president and chief executive officer.

“From its beginnings as a small, invitation-only gathering targeting the regional individual and small-chain hotel owner and operator, The AHC has grown over its 13-year lifetime into one of the UK’s largest hotel industry events outside London,” said Eddlestone. “With Questex’s significant scale and resources, we expect the event will grow at a faster pace, with new marketing opportunities for our supporters and partners.”

This year’s The AHC will be held Oct. 12- 13 at the Hilton Manchester Deansgate hotel. It is expected to draw around 700 delegates. The event, themed Performing in Transient Times, will bring individual, boutique and consortium hotel owners, operators and managers together with developers, investors, bankers, advisors, government agencies, designers, architects, consultants, tourism leaders, regional tourist board representatives and other stakeholders for relevant and inspirational educational content and peer-to-peer networking.

The AHC was cofounded by 30-year industry veteran Eddlestone, global head of hospitality and leisure services at Squire Patton Boggs, an international law firm; and Langston, a renowned industry consultant and commentator with a 30-year track record who most recently served as the UK chief operating officer for CBRE Hotels Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

USA, Newton, MA & UK, Manchester

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