WPP June acquisitions update – Poster Conseil (Paris), WANDA Digital (Turkey), Chemistry Media (New Zealand), TechEdge (Denmark), Greenhouse Group B.V (The Netherlands), SET Creative (USA)

June 30, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s Kinetic and GroupM acquire majority stake in Poster Conseil

WPP’s wholly-owned operating companies, Kinetic and GroupM, have acquired a majority stake in Financiere Poster.

Poster Conseil manages media planning and buying for agencies and direct clients, and provides planning and measurement technologies to both agencies and vendors. It employs 25 people and is based in Paris.

Poster Conseil will continue to be led by CEO Xavier Sorato. The agency’s consolidated revenues for the year ended 31 December 2014 were EUR9.8 million, with gross assets of EUR8.5 million.

UK, London & France, Paris

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WPP’s J. Walter Thompson Company acquires minority stake in WANDA Digital in Turkey

WPP’s J. Walter Thompson Company has acquired a minority stake in WANDA Digital, one of the leading independent digital agencies in Turkey.

Founded in 2006 and employing 80 people in Istanbul, WANDA’s clients include Turkcell, L’Oreal, Nestle and Unilever.

WANDA offers a range of services including campaigns, social media, platform development and games and apps.

Unaudited net sales for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately US$ 3.4 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately US$ 2.3 million.

Following the transaction, WANDA and J. Walter Thompson’s local office, Manajans J Walter Thompson Turkey, will operate independently.

UK, London & Turkey, Istanbul

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WPP’ GroupM acquires Chemistry Media in New Zealand

WPP’s wholly owned operating company GroupM has acquired Chemistry Media Ltd., a leading media agency based in New Zealand.

Chemistry Media is a media planning and buying agency with operations in Auckland and Wellington. Key clients include Bank of New Zealand, Fonterra, Nestlé, and Restaurant Brands.

Since 2010, Chemistry has been affiliated with the MediaCom network, and currently trades under the name MediaCom. Following the acquisition, Chemistry will continue to trade as MediaCom.

UK, London & New Zealand, Auckland

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WPP increases its stake in TAM analysis software company, TechEdge in Denmark

WPP has increased its stake from 20% to 49% in TechEdge, a supplier of software that enables the analysis TV audience measurement (TAM) data.

TechEdge licenses a range of software products to broadcasters and media companies, enabling users to analyse, interpret and action respondent level TAM data. For example, broadcasters can review TV audience patterns, whilst media companies use TechEdge’s products to optimise advertising allocation by channel and time of day.

TechEdge was founded in 2000 by Andreas Velter (CEO) and Henrik Sahlholt (CTO). MEC, (part of GroupM, WPP’s Data Investment Management division) invested in the company in 2001.

Unaudited net sales for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately US$ 13.6 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately US$ 6.3 million.

UK, London & Denmark, Copenhagen

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WPP’s GroupM acquires Greenhouse Group B.V in The Netherlands

WPP’s holy owned operating company GroupM has acquired Greenhouse Group in The Netherlands.

Greenhouse Group provides digital media and marketing services through its four operating companies: Blue Mango Interactive and Fresh Fruit Digital (online marketing agencies), We Are Blossom (social media), and Source Republic (SEO and content marketing).

Greenhouse Group was founded in 2007 and employs more than 150 people. Unaudited revenue for the year ended 31 December 2014 was EUR 10.1 million, with gross assets of EUR 14.1 million as at the same date.

Greenhouse Group will operate as a stand-alone business within GroupM and will continue to be led by CEO Marion Koopman and CFO Frank Sanders.

UK, London & The Netherlands, Eindhoven

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WPP acquires majority stake in SET Creative in the US

WPP has acquired a majority stake in SET Management, LLC (SET Creative). US-based SET engages consumers with brands through physical experiences in retail stores, pop-up stores, trade shows and live events. SET Creative continues that engagement digitally via apps, content creation and social media.

SET Creative’s revenues for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately US$38 million with gross assets of approximately US$18 million at the same date. Clients include Arc’teryx, BMW, Google Glass, Jordan, Nike, Red Bull and Uniqlo. Founded in 2009, SET Creative is headquartered in Portland, Oregon, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. The agency recently acquired a UK operation, called Flourish, to be renamed SET Live, concentrating on live events, exhibitions and environments. In total, SET Creative employs around 120 people.

SET’s management, led by founder Sabina Teshler, will remain in place, reporting in to Simon Bolton, co-leader of WPP’s branding & identity division (B to D group), who will oversee SET as part of a newly-formed collective focusing on all elements of brand experience.

Bolton commented: “SET creates world class physical and digital brand experiences, making it an ideal partner to Brand Union and FITCH. The three agencies provide a complementary set of services, from brand strategy, to retail, design and events, collectively creating a roadmap for agile omni-channel brands.”

UK, London & USA, Portland, OR

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WPP’s GroupM acquires majority stake in directComm Marketing Group in Turkey

WPP wholly owned operating company GroupM, has acquired a majority stake in directComm Marketing Group, a leading provider of integrated direct marketing services in Turkey.

directComm specialises in digital marketing, customer relationship management, events and social media. Clients include Türk Telekom, Siemens and Sony Mobile. Founded in 2000 and based in Istanbul, directComm employs around 70 people.

Unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2014 were approximately US$ 6.5 million, with gross assets at the same date of approximately US$ 3.2 million.

UK, London & Turkey, Istanbul

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WPP’s Kantar Media invests in data analytics firm BIScience

WPP’s wholly owned operating company Kantar Media has invested in BIScience (2009) Ltd., a data analytics firm that specialises in platforms for cross-channel and multi-country digital media monitoring, planning and optimisation.

BIScience’s global coverage spans over 60 geographies, with competitive cross-channel intelligence and analytics for display, mobile, video, and programmatic media covering more than 500,000 publishers worldwide. Clients include Conduit, Digilant, Funbox, Matomy and the Media Initiatives Group. Founded in 2009, BIScience employs over 35 people and is based in Tel Aviv with an office in New York.

UK, London & Israel. Tel Aviv

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BroadbandTV acquires YoBoHo

April 22, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

BBTV_Logo_black_writingMedia and technology business BroadbandTV (BBTV) has acquired kids content producer and publisher YoBoHo. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

YoBoHoYoBoHo owns and operates HooplaKidz, one of the largest YouTube Kids and Family networks, as well as 27 other channels. The company has a video library of over 8,000 videos mainly produced by the company. The vast majority of its content is original Intellectual Property. All 55 YoBoHo employees will join BBTV. RTL Group, the European entertainment network, provided funding for BroadbandTV’s acquisition of YoBoHo.

“We’re very pleased to conclude the acquisition of a top player in the kids space at a time when the kids content vertical is experiencing burgeoning growth,” said Shahrzad Rafati, BroadbandTV Founder and CEO. “BroadbandTV is also making a multi-million dollar investment in YoBoHo to further expand its library of original content, broaden its international footprint, and further diversify its revenue streams.”

Canada, Vancouver, British Colombia

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IRI acquires Chinese market research organisation Datasea

April 21, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

IRI_logoInformation Resources, Inc. (IRI) has acquired Datasea, a Chinese analytic services and market research company with deep knowledge and expertise in the retail and consumer packaged goods industries.

“We are building a Chinese company powered by the latest global insights, analytics and technology and bringing the latest tools and technology to this market,” said Andrew Appel, president and chief executive officer, IRI. The agreement represents the most recent execution of IRI’s strategic commitment to dramatically increase our geographic footprint to meet the global market research needs of our clients. It also complements other facets of IRI’s strategic direction, including expanding our data assets and leveraging this data with advanced analytics, plus consumer and shopper marketing services that enable our clients to achieve sustained levels of more rapid growth. We look forward to integrating IRI and Datasea’s strengths to bring enhanced offerings to our clients.”

In 2013, IRI completed the acquisition of Aztec, a provider of market measurement and related services in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden and the U.K. It also acquired FreshLook Marketing, which offers data and consulting services to the fresh food industry, in 2013.

Founded in 1996, Datasea clients include consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers, as well as companies in related industries, such as quick service restaurants and cosmetics. It maintains offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Jinan, supported by a nationwide service network.

USA, Chicago, IL & China, Beijing

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Market Track acquires New Momentum

April 20, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

MarketTrackMarket Track, a provider of advertising, promotional, and pricing intelligence solutions in North America, has acquired New Momentum (NewMo). The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

newmoBased in the San Francisco Bay area, NewMo provides online brand protection and eCommerce price monitoring services to many of the world’s most respected brands.

Commenting on the NewMo acquisition, Paul Salay, Market Track’s President, said, “NewMo has developed a proven expertise in helping companies reduce online fraud and protect their valuable brand equity. The unique combination of the two companies’ technology platforms coupled with NewMo’s unique, data-driven solutions will enable us to offer enhanced services to our clients through industry-leading innovation and thought leadership in this ever-changing digital landscape. The NewMo acquisition is just one of many investments Market Track is making to support our clients’ evolving needs across pricing optimization, competitive intelligence and assortment planning.”

USA, Chicago, IL & San Francisco Bay, CA

 

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LinkedIn is to acquire lynda.com for around $1.5Bn

April 16, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

Screen Shot 2015-04-16 at 14.28.51LinkedIn is to acquire lynda.com, an online learning company teaching business, technology and creative skills. Based in Carpinteria, CA, lynda.com was co-founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin.

The transaction is valued at approximately $1.5 billion, approximately 52 percent cash and 48 percent stock and is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015. Most members of the lynda.com team are expected to join LinkedIn.

Through a subscription to lynda.com’s service, individual members and organisations have access to a comprehensive collection of courses taught by industry experts, offered in English, German, French, Spanish, and Japanese. In addition to individual subscribers, lynda.com serves corporate, government and educational organizations through its lyndaEnterprise, lyndaPro, lyndaCampus, lyndaLibrary and lyndaKiosk products.

“The mission of LinkedIn and the mission of lynda.com are highly aligned. Both companies seek to help professionals be better at what they do,” said Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn. “lynda.com’s extensive library of premium video content helps empower people to develop the skills needed to accelerate their careers. When integrated with the hundreds of millions of members and millions of jobs on LinkedIn, lynda.com can change the way in which people connect to opportunity.”

Further Reading:

Ryan Roslansky, head of global content products at LinkedIn, blogged in more detail about the acquisition here. Jeff Weiner, CEO of LinkedIn, wrote a post about the acquisition here, and Lynda Weinman, co-founder of lynda.com,  posted about it here.

Mountain View, CA & Carpinteria, CA

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WPP acquires Medialets in the US

April 15, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP announces has acquired Medialets Inc., creator of technology that helps marketers manage and measure the complete return on investment of mobile ad campaigns.   The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Medialets’ clients include American Express, HBO, Johnson & Johnson and SKY Sports television. The company employs almost 50 people and is based in New York with sales operations in Los Angeles, Chicago and London. Medialets was founded in 2008.

UK, London & USA, New York, NY

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Postmedia acquires Sun Media English Language Newspapers and Digital Properties

April 13, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

PostmediaPostmedia Network Canada Corp. has completed is $361M (Canadian) acquisition of Sun Media Corporation’s English language newspapers and specialty publications, as well as digital properties, from Quebecor Media Inc.

quebecor“Today we welcome more than 2,500 new employees and more than 170 new brands, along with loyal audiences and business partners, to the Postmedia family,” said Paul Godfrey, President and CEO. “With the completion of this transaction Postmedia becomes one of Canada’s largest newsmedia companies with even more compelling, made-in-Canada offerings for marketers. For our readers and audiences, we will continue to deliver the content they value most from their favourite Postmedia and Sun Media brands – across all of our platforms.”

To finance the deal, Postmedia issued $140-million of debt subscription receipts and, earlier this month, completed a rights offering that raised $173.5-million. It will also use proceeds from the sale of the Montreal Gazette production facility and some corporate cash to finance the Sun Media purchase.

Quebecor has kept its French-language titles, including Le Journal de Montréal.

Canada, Toronto

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Merkle acquires digital analytics consultancy Pointmarc

April 7, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

MerkleMerkle, a performance marketing agency, has acquired Pointmarc, a digital analytics consultancy headquartered in Seattle, WA. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

pointmarcMerkle’s interest in acquiring Pointmarc was based on its expertise in highly specialised, sophisticated data architecture and engineering, as well as the immediate scale that it will bring to the agency’s existing site analytics and channel optimisation capabilities.

Founded in 2006, Pointmarc has achieved double-digit percentage growth every year since its inception. Clients include Microsoft, Williams-Sonoma, and T-Mobile. The Pointmarc team of more than 100 digital analytics professionals will all join Merkle.

“From a cultural perspective, Pointmarc’s leadership and management philosophy are very similar to Merkle’s own. We were immediately attracted to their high-growth, entrepreneurial spirit and their focus on building long-standing client relationships with top-tier brands,” said David Williams, Merkle chairman and CEO. “With Merkle’s focus on performance marketing and the expanding mid-funnel, Pointmarc’s capabilities in digital data architecture, marketing platform implementation, and site optimization across key industries will perfectly complement the value we bring to our clients’ channel marketing efforts.”

USA, Columbia, MD & Seattle, WA

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LRP Conferences acquires education technology events from 1105 Media

April 2, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

LRPLRP Conferences, LLC, an affiliate of LRP Publications, has acquired the Future of Education Technology Conference (FETC), FETC Virtual Conference, Campus Technology Conference and the Campus Technology Forum from 1105 Media, Inc., a California based multimedia B2B company backed by Alta Communications and Nautic Partners. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

1105Campus Technology Conference, Campus Technology Forum, FETC, and FETC Virtual attract thousands of attendees seeking to understand the future of education technology. FETC, the largest of the four acquired events, hosts more than 9,000 professionals annually.

Ken Kahn, President of LRP Publications, said: “As LRP grows, we continue to seek out innovative products that can help us transform. We know FETC, FETC Virtual, Campus Technology Conference, and Campus Technology Forum can help us do that. With their addition we saw a great opportunity to reach a wider education audience, as well as build on our existing HR Technology market, offering a broader audience to our technology exhibitors.”

1105 Media will continue to operate its publishing and digital products in the education marketplace, including Campus Technology and THE Journal. Mike Eason, President of the 1105 Education Events group will join LRP and continue to oversee the business.

USA, Palm Beach, FL & Irvine, CA

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CBRE Group to acquire the Global Workplace Solutions Business of Johnson Controls

March 31, 2015 — Fusion DigiNet

CBRECBRE Group is to acquire the Global WorkPlace Solutions (GWS) business of Johnson Controls, Inc. GWS is a provider of integrated facilities management solutions for major occupiers of commercial real estate and has significant operations around the world. The purchase price is $1.475 billion, payable in cash, or $1.3 billion net of the present value of estimated tax benefits, and with customary post-closing adjustments for working capital and other items. GWS will operate as part of CBRE’s Global Corporate Services business.

“The exceptionally talented GWS team will greatly enhance our service offering for occupiers around the world,” said Bob Sulentic, president and chief executive officer of CBRE. “With GWS, we further our ability to create advantages for occupier clients by aligning every aspect of how they lease, own, use and operate real estate to enhance their competitive position.”

JOHNSON CONTROLS LOGOGWS, which has approximately 16,000 employees worldwide, generated approximately $3.4 billion of revenue for the 12 months ended December 31, 2014. Upon closing, John Murphy, GWS’s president, will join CBRE as global chief operating officer, GCS.

Together, CBRE and GWS will manage nearly 5 billion sq. ft. of real estate and corporate facilities globally, including 2.3 billion sq. ft. in the Americas, 1.2 billion sq. ft. in Europe, the Middle East & Africa and 1.4 billion sq. ft. in Asia Pacific.

CBRE anticipates that GWS will be materially accretive to its adjusted earnings per share in 2016. It expects to fund the acquisition through a combination of cash on hand and proceeds from the incurrence of debt. The transaction is expected to close in the late third quarter or early fourth quarter of 2015 and is subject to customary regulatory approvals. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP acted as CBRE’s legal advisor.

USA, Los Angeles, CA & Milwaukee, WI

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