Coupons.com acquires Yub

January 6, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

Coupons.com Corp Logo - Full Color - RGBCoupons.com has acquired Yub, Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Yub allows consumers to link digital offers and promotions to payment cards for instant savings when they use the cards for in-store purchases. Merchants, retailers and restaurants can easily track offers from online clicks to offline purchases. Coupons.com plans to bring its scale, affiliate network reach and merchant base to the Yub platform to increase consumer adoption.

Yub, which is privately held, is based in Mountain View, California.

USA, Mountain View, CA

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News Corp acquires Irish social news agency Storyful

January 4, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

newscorpRupert Murdoch’s media company News Corp has acquired Storyful, a Dublin-based start-up social news agency, for €18 million.

Storyful discovers, verifies, acquires and distributes timely and relevant video and user-generated content to its partners.  With its combination of proprietary technology and journalistic expertise, Storyful also provides social media dashboards, real-time discovery tools, feeds and analytics to its customers, allowing them to integrate video into their news or advertising efforts via online and mobile platforms and to monitor social conversations and sentiment. So far in 2013, verified user-generated videos managed by Storyful generated 750 million views for its partners.

“Storyful has become the village square for valuable video, using journalistic sensibility, integrity and creativity to find, authenticate and commercialise user-generated content,” said Robert Thomson, Chief Executive of News Corp. “Through this acquisition, we can extend the village square across borders, languages and platforms.”

Storyful’s management team of Chief Executive Officer Mark Little and Executive Editor David Clinch will continue to oversee the company’s operations. Rahul Chopra, Senior Vice President of Video for News Corp, will join the Storyful management team, taking on the additional role of Chief Revenue Officer. Mr. Little will report to David Brinker, News Corp Senior Vice President and Global Head of Business & Corporate Development.

Storyful remains headquartered in Dublin, where the company was founded in 2010. Additional business development and advertising sales staff will be hired and based in New York. The business will operate as a stand-alone business unit within News Corp and continue to work with its existing roster of global customers, which includes The Wall Street Journal.

USA, New York, NY & Ireland, Dublin

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Groupon completes the acquisition of Ticket Monster

January 2, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet
grouponGroupon has completed the acquisition of Ticket Monster from LivingSocial, a  Korean ecommerce company, for $260 million in cash and stock. The final allocation paid to LivingSocial, Inc. was $100 million in cash and $160 million in Groupon Class A common stock, subject to registration rights.

As previously reported, Groupon has acquired LivingSocial Korea, Inc., the holding company that owns Ticket Monster. LivingSocial Korea’s Malaysian subsidiary was divested prior to close and is not part of this transaction.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, LivingSocial Korea, Inc., excluding its Malaysiantmon subsidiary, had gross billings of $572.7 million, revenue of $78.5 million, an operating loss of $38.7 million, and Adjusted EBITDA of $0.7 million.

See previous Fusion DigiNet reporting.

The Ticket Monster brand and leadership team will remain in place and continue to be led by Daniel Shin, CEO of Ticket Monster. The company will maintain its headquarters in Seoul, where it employs approximately 1,000 employees.

USA, Chicago & Korea, Seoul

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NUS Consulting Group acquires Enraedt in the Netherlands

January 1, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet
EnraedtNUS Consulting Group, a global energy management solutions company, has acquired Enraedt & Partners B.V., a private company specialising in energy management, procurement and sustainability. Enraedt is based in Almere, the Netherlands.

“We are very pleased to welcome Enraedt into the NUS Consulting Group. This transaction fits our long-term strategy and commitment to growing NUS Consulting’s international coverage and service capabilities,” said Richard Soultanian, Co-President of NUS Consulting Group. As part of the transaction, Enraedt & Partners will change its name to NUS Consulting Group B.V. “Over the past decade, Enraedt has developed an excellent reputation in the Dutch energy markets. We will be combining Enraedt with our own Amsterdam office. Our goal is to create a single team that provides exceptional services and support to both NUS’s international clients as well as our local Dutch accounts,” said Allyn Rieke, General Manager for the Benelux region.

USA, Park Ridge, NJ & The Netherlands, Almere

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NUS Consulting Group acquires Viking Energy Management Posted on September 5, 2011

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Global M&A Performance Roars Back in 2013

January 1, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

Acquirers around the world enjoyed their best performance this year since the financial crisis began in 2008, outperforming companies not involved in M&A activity by an average of 4.7%, according to Towers Watson’s Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor.

The study of completed M&A deals over $100 million, conducted in partnership with Cass Business School in London, shows that during 2013, North America acquirers outperformed those in other regions at 8.1% above the regional MSCI Index. This represented a significant turnaround from last year, when the region underperformed the index by 1.3%.

Acquiring companies in Asia Pacific outperformed the regional index by 3.5% (compared to a 0.1% underperformance in 2012), while performance in Europe came in at 2.2% above the regional index (compared to 2.4% in 2012).

“The big M&A story for 2013 is how well acquirers’ stock performed relative to that of non-acquirers across the three regions we track. And North America acquirers showed the most dramatic reversal, underperforming the index in 2012, then outperforming the index so strongly this year,” said Jim McKay, North America M&A practice leader at Towers Watson.

North America continues to lead the other regions in terms of the volume of deals completed, with 375 deals over $100 million so far in 2013. This accounts for nearly 60% of the global total. Asia Pacific has overtaken Europe as the second-most active M&A region, completing 141 deals to Europe’s 104. As a result, for the second year in a row, Europe had the lowest number of completed deals in 2013 and its lowest level since 2009.

The research also shows that in 2013, there were fewer megadeals (those over $10 billion) than in prior years. There were only four such deals in 2013, none of which occurred in the second half of the year. This marks the first time this has occurred for any six-month period in nearly three years.

The data also show that in 2013, slow deals (those taking over 70 days from announcement to completion) performed better than deals completed rapidly (7.0% versus 3.1%). In addition, domestic deals (where the acquirer and the target company are both based in the same country) outperformed cross-border deals by 5.2%.

“While many companies have cash to spend on acquisitions, and the economic outlook is improving for many countries, the research confirms that most companies are still taking a surprisingly restrained approach to M&A,” said McKay. “Such caution is understandable, but we do know from previous research that companies buying into a rising market tend to outperform their peers to a greater extent than those buying in a flat or declining market. So if the markets remain strong, those companies willing to be among the early movers in their industry are likely to see a clear advantage.”

USA, London and UK, London

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WPP’s December acquisitions – Crystal Semantics, Vocanic, Social Lab, Fisheye Analytics, Richard Attias & Associates, ARMI, RC&M, ClickMedia and MASSCOM

December 27, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

wppWPP ends the year with nine acquisitions.

1) Mindshare to acquire MASSCOM media agency in Philippines: December 20, 2013

WPP’s wholly owned operating company, Mindshare, a global media agency network, is to acquire the business and assets of Media Arts System and Services Company, Inc. in the Philippines.

MASSCOM was established in 1986 as an independent media agency, serving Unilever exclusively in the Philippines. MASSCOM provides media planning, strategy and buying services to Unilever, the global fast-moving consumer goods company and a top advertiser in the Philippines.

2) GroupM to acquire majority stake in social media marketing agency, ClickMedia in Vietnam: December 19, 2013

WPP’s wholly owned operating company, GroupM, WPP’s global media investment management arm, is to acquire a majority stake in ClickMedia, a social media marketing agency in Vietnam.

Established in 2008, ClickMedia is a full service social media marketing firm which provides social media strategy, campaign strategy and implementation, as well as social media listening, crisis prevention and management.

Clients include Unilever, FrieslandCampina, Piaggio and Estee Lauder. ClickMedia’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2012 were VND 23.7 billion with unaudited gross assets at the same date of VND 12.0 billion. The agency employs 55 people.

3) Grey to acquire majority stake in RC&M, a rural communications and marketing services provider in India: December 18, 2013

WPP’s wholly owned operating company, Grey, the advertising network of Grey Group, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in RC&M, one of India’s largest rural communications and marketing services providers.

RC&M is a pioneer in experiential marketing in India, delivering integrated activation solutions, encompassing creative designing to production & implementation. With a formidable reach across 400,000 Indian villages and 5,000 towns, the company is a leader in the organised rural/semi-urban activation market.

Founded in 1990, RC&M is headquartered in Delhi, with offices in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

RC&M’s unaudited revenues for the year ending 31 March 2013 were approximately INR 360 million. The company employs more than 320 people and services clients in the automotive, industrial automation, FMCG and durable sectors.

RC&M marks WPP’s 12th acquisition in India in the last nine years.

4) Millward Brown acquires majority stake in ARMI-Marketing in Russia and Ukraine: December 18, 2013

WPP’s wholly-owned operating company Millward Brown, a global leader in brand, media and communications research, is to acquire a majority stake in ARMI-Marketing in Russia.

Founded in 1992 and headquartered in Moscow, ARMI is a leading provider of market research services in Russia and Ukraine. Clients include leading multinational and local brands, including two-thirds of Russia’s top 15 advertisers.

ARMI’s consolidated unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2012 were approximately RUB 735 million. The company employs around 200 people.

5) WPP takes stake in Richard Attias & Associates: December 17, 2013

WPP has taken a 30% stake in strategic consultants Richard Attias & Associates.

Under the active leadership of founder chairman Richard Attias, RAA has built a reputation for helping governments and corporations articulate their global objectives.

Events led by Attias include the World Economic Forum in Davos and other regions, the Clinton Global Initiative, launch of the Euro in 2000, the 2008 Arab Strategy Forum, the APEC CEO Summit in Hawaii, the 15th African Securities Exchange Association in Marrakech, Doha GOALS Forum, The Middle East Peace Summit in Jordan, the contract for the signature of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in Marrakech, the Monaco Media Forum and the Nobel Laureates Conference. In 2010, Richard Attias founded The New York Forum, an annual meeting to promote economic leadership and in 2012, The New York Forum AFRICA, a pan-African business and investment platform. In 2014, RAA will be producing 14 symposiums.

Commenting on the partnership, WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell said, “By building this partnership with global influencer Richard Attias , WPP confirms its strategy to support countries to brand their nations and corporations to have access to faster growing markets. Our ambition is to create together with Richard a world champion in the field of strategic communication, international conferences and global action oriented events.”

RAA is based in New York, with other offices in Paris, London, Rabat and Dubai. RAA employs 50 people and has revenues of around US$35 million.

Public sector clients of RAA have included the African Development Bank, Bahrain, Brazil, China, Dubai, France, Gabon, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, UAE, UK, United Nations and the US.

6) Kantar to acquire Fisheye Analytics, a media monitoring and analytics services business in Singapore : December 16, 2013

WPP’s wholly-owned data investment management business Kantar, is to acquire the entire issued share capital of Fisheye Analytics Pte. Ltd., a media monitoring and analytics services business based in Singapore.

Founded in 2009 in Singapore with an R&D centre in Hyderabad, Fisheye employs 14 people. The company, which will become part of Kantar Media, works with some of the biggest sports governing bodies, international organisations and governments from Europe to Asia.

For the year ending 31 October 2013, Fisheye’s unaudited revenues were SGD 782,871, with gross assets as at the same date of SGD 332,162.

7) Ogilvy & Mather to acquire majority stake in social marketing agency, Social Lab in Belgium : December 12, 2013

WPP’s wholly-owned marketing communications network, Ogilvy & Mather, has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Social Lab, a social marketing agency based in Belgium with offices in Paris and Amsterdam.

Founded in 2010 and employing 50 people, Social Lab specialises in social media marketing. Clients include IKEA, Club Med, Interbrew, L’Oréal, Galbani, Electrabel GDF Suez, Nespresso, Oasis, Delhaize and the National Lotery. Social Lab’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2012 were EUR 3.1 million with gross assets as at the same date of EUR 0.4million.

8) GroupM to acquire majority stake in Vocanic, a social media marketing business in Asia : December 10, 2013

WPP’s wholly-owned operating company, GroupM, WPP’s global media investment management arm, is to acquire a majority stake in Vocanic Pte Ltd., a social media marketing business in Asia.

Based in Singapore with offices in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, Vocanic is a full service social media marketing firm. Established in 2005, Vocanic has 70 people providing social media strategy consulting, social technology, social media program and campaign management, community management and social media analytics.

For the year ending 31 December 2012, Vocanic’s revenues were SGD 4.3 million, with gross assets of SGD 2.1 million.

Vocanic’s client list includes blue chip business partners such as StarHub, Axis, EDB, SAP, Astro, Unilever, Dell, Symantec, Mead Johnson, Danone, WingTai Retail, MHD, and Standard Chartered Bank.

9) 24/7 Media acquires digital agency Crystal Semantics In the UK: December 9, 2013

WPP Digital’s marketing technology company 24/7 Media, has acquired the entire issued share capital of Crystal Semantics Limited. Crystal Semantics is a provider of semantic advertising solutions.

With its proprietary technology, Crystal Semantics accurately matches advertising to the meaning of a page of web content, greatly reducing the risk of inappropriate advertising placement. With the acquisition, the combined companies will provide distinct advantages to both advertiser and publisher clients through improved advertising relevance and enhanced brand protection. Founded in 2001 and based in London, Crystal Semantics is a major provider of online data services to advertising agencies, networks and exchanges.

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PA Group sell MeteoGroup to General Atlantic

December 17, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

meteoPA Group, the parent company of the Press Association, is to sell its weather business MeteoGroup to global growth investment firm General Atlantic.

MeteoGroup, Europe’s largest private sector weather business, provides weather services for corporate, industrial, media and consumer markets including key sectors such as transport, marine and energy.

Since PA’s acquisition of MeteoGroup in 2005, the business has enjoyed consistent double digit growth in both revenue and profit and has more than doubled in size, employing almost 400 people in 14 countries.

Clive Marshall, PA Group’s Chief Executive, said: “The sale of MeteoGroup will provide the capital to enable us to continue to invest in and diversify the Press Association business, as well as address our pension fund deficit.

“This sale, which follows the divestment of our interest in Canada Newswire in 2012, is part of the company’s strategy to focus our activities on the Press Association news and information business; develop new products and services for both media and non-media customers; and seek strategic acquisitions that help diversify the revenue and profits of the company.

“Our recent investments in Globelynx and Sticky Content – companies that provide services to both the media and corporate markets – are key elements in our diversification strategy.

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Viggle Acquires Wetpaint

December 16, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet
viggleViggle, the television and music loyalty service launched in 2012, has acquired Wetpaint, an entertainment media and technology company focused on television fans, for approximately $30 million in cash and stock.

Wetpaint provides original content to over 12 million monthly unique users and provides a way for fans to stay connected with celebrities and TV shows.

“Wetpaint is the perfect complement to our business for users, TV network partners and advertisers,” said Greg wetpaintConsiglio, President and COO of Viggle. “This combined company brings together Viggle’s proven promotion, entertainment rewards and monetization capabilities with Wetpaint’s reach, social distribution technologies and best-in-class content. Wetpaint leverages the power of social media to ensure TV fans are getting the latest news and commentary about the shows they love, and enables us to expand our offering to before, during and after the show airs.”

For marketers, this acquisition creates significant opportunities to reach a passionate audience with targeted messages across an “always on” entertainment experience that now includes multiple touch points and platforms. Marketers already benefit from Viggle’s extensive reward program, as well as in-app advertising, and that will now be extended through Wetpaint’s online content and social media streams.

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USA, New York, NY

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Vox Media to acquire Curbed Network

December 12, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

voxAccording to Fortune, Vox Media is to acquire Curbed Network in a deal made up of cash and stock worth between $20 and $30 million.

curbed-network-logoreal estate, dining & nightlife, shopping & fashion, and design. Real estate blog Curbed was founded in 2004 as a side project by Lockhart Steele, who was then managing editor of Gawker Media. Eater was founded in 2005 and features local content for 27 cities around the U.S. and Racked was launched in 2007. The sites collectively bring in 5 million monthly unique visitors.

Vox recently raised $34 million in a round of funding led by Accel Partners that could grow to as much as $40 million, according to Fortune’s Dan Primack.

USa, Washington, D.C.

 

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Progressive Digital Media Group acquires Pyramid Research from UBM

December 12, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

progressiveProgressive Digital Media Group the provider of business information to the consumer and technology markets, has acquired the business and trading assets of Pyramid Research, a leading  of business information and market analysis for the Information and Communications Technology industry, from UBM for a gross consideration of US$3.3 million in cash payable on completion. Completion, which is subject to UK employee consultation, is scheduled for 2 January 2014 and will be financed from the Group’s existing cash resources.

pyramidresearchFor nearly 25 years, Pyramid has been providing practical advice on market and service opportunities to leaders in the converged communications, media and technology industries. Pyramid’s market analysis is centred on detailed primary research complemented with insightful analysis and dynamic modelling tools.  Pyramid has offices in London, Boston and Argentina with subscribers located across the globe.

“Pyramid is well known to us and we are delighted that the opportunity has arisen for this business to join the Group”, said Simon Pyper, Chief Executive of Progressive Digital Media. “Pyramid has a well regarded brand name, a portfolio of high quality data assets and moreover, an expanding presence in some of the world’s fastest growing markets.”

Owing to the subscription nature of the business the acquisition is expected to be earnings neutral in the first full year of ownership and earnings accretive thereafter. The net assets to be acquired on completion are expected to be approximately US$0.3 million.

UK, London

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2. UBM

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