Yahoo! acquires gaming infrastructure start-up PlayerScale

May 30, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

YahooYahoo! has acquired gaming infrastructure start-up PlayerScale. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

PlayerScale was founded in 2009 and is based in Belmont, California. It develops infrastructure software for various gaming platforms across the social and mobile space. PlayerScale has 100 million users with 4000 titles from over 2,600 developers worldwide.

Other recent Yahoo acquisitions include Astrid, a task-management app maker;Summly, a news-condenser app maker; Stamped, a playerscalemobile-review app maker; OnTheAir, which specializes in broadcasting video chats or interviews to online audiences; Snip.it, which is a kind of clipping service for the web; Propeld, a location-based apps maker; Jybe, a social recommendation site and Loki Studios, a mobile gaming start-up.

The acquisitions are part of a strategy to broaden and strengthen Yahoo!’s expertise in the mobile segment as adoption of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets continue to accelerate.

USA, Sunnyvale, CA & Belmont, CA

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Answers acquires Webcollage

May 29, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Answers, operator of answers.com, has acquired Webcollage, a SasS platform for managing and publishing rich product information. Founded in 1999, Webcollage has over 1,000  consumer brands who create and publish rich product descriptions, videos, and interactive tours through their  network of retail e-commerce sites. Webcollage has headquarters in New York City and R&D center in Tel Aviv, Israel. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Webcollage is a perfect extension to Answers’ product suite for retailers and brands,” said David Karandish, CEO of Answers. “Consumer manufacturers and retailers who trust Webcollage as a publishing platform can now benefit from Answers’ complementary products for product reviews, product Q&A, retailer reputation management, and branded consumer engagement. With the stellar Webcollage team, we are committed to making Webcollage customers even more successful.”

USA, St. Louis, MI & New York, NY

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LexisNexis acquires Sheshunoff and A.S. Pratt

May 23, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

logo-lexisnexisLexisNexis Legal & Professional, a  provider of content and technology solutions (and part of Reed Elsevier), together with Reed Elsevier Properties SA, has acquired the  publishing brands and businesses of Sheshunoff and A.S. Pratt from the Thompson Media Group. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed.

Widely known for its “how to” guides for compliance professionals, the Sheshunoff collection of publications includes more than 100 sheshunofftitles offering expert information critical for the financial services industry with a strong focus on federally regulated banking and credit union lending activities. The A.S. Pratt collection has established itself as the “gold standard” of analytical content for the banking and commercial practice areas and includes 40 industry-leading titles covering key legal and regulatory issues – including respected treatises, journals and newsletters such as the Banking Law Journal, Pratt’s Letter, Brady on Bank Checks, Clark’s The Law of Secured Transactions, and others.

“Sheshunoff and A.S. Pratt are highly valued brands that have built a trusted reputation by featuring some of the country’s most respected and recognized legal authorities,” said Bob Romeo, CEO, Research & Litigation Solutions at LexisNexis. “The addition of this trusted practice area content to our portfolio, and our ability to offer them through multiple channels further cements the status of LexisNexis as a premier provider of holistic banking and compliance information and analytical content.”

Both collections will continue to be offered in print format. Additionally, LexisNexis intends to offer them through digital channels, including as eBooks and online.

Other acquisitions in the past year include Law360 legal news, Knowledge Mosaic securities content and services and Oxford University Press intellectual property titles.

USA, New York, NY

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Yahoo! to Acquire Tumblr for $1.1BN – promises not to screw it up

May 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

Yahoo! Inc. is to acquire Tumblr.

The announcement follows:

YahooPer the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business. David Karp will remain CEO. The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately with the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators.

With more than 300 million monthly unique visitors and 120,000 signups every day, Tumblr is one of the fastest-growing media networks in the world. Tumblr sees 900 posts per second (!) and 24 billion minutes spent on site each month. On mobile, more than half of Tumblr’s users are using the mobile app and do an average of 7 sessions per day. Its tremendous popularity and engagement among creators, curators and audiences of all ages brings a significant new community of users to the Yahoo! network. The combination of Tumblr+Yahoo! is expected to grow Yahoo!’s audience by 50 percent to more than a billion monthly visitors, and to grow traffic by approximately 20 percent.

The deal offers unique opportunities for both companies. Tumblr can deploy Yahoo!’s personalization technology and search tumblrinfrastructure to help its users discover creators, bloggers, and content they’ll love. In turn, Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo!’s media network and search experiences. The two companies will also work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance the user experience.

Total consideration is approximately $1.1 billion, substantially all of which is payable in cash.

“Tumblr is redefining creative expression online,” said Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer. “On many levels, Tumblr and Yahoo! couldn’t be more different, but, at the same time, they couldn’t be more complementary. Yahoo is the Internet’s original media network. Tumblr is the Internet’s fastest-growing media frenzy. Both companies are homes for brands – established and emerging. And, fundamentally, Tumblr and Yahoo! are both all about users, design, and finding surprise and inspiration amidst the everyday.”

“I’ve long held the view that in all things art and design, you can feel the spirit and demeanor of the creator. That’s why it was no surprise to me that David Karp is one of the nicest, most empathetic people I’ve ever met. He’s also one of the most perceptive, capable entrepreneurs I’ve ever worked with,” continued Mayer. “David’s respect for Tumblr’s community of creators is awesome. I’m absolutely delighted to have him join our team.”

David Karp, CEO of Tumblr, addressed the Tumblr community, “Our team isn’t changing. Our roadmap isn’t changing. And our mission – to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve – certainly isn’t changing. But we’re elated to have the support of Yahoo! and their team who share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from.”

The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the second half of the year.

USA, Sunnyvale, CA & New York, NY

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RKG Acquires ex-Googler Vanessa Fox’s Company, Nine By Blue

May 22, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

rkgDigital and search marketing company RKG has acquired Nine By Blue, ex-Googler Vanessa Fox’s software and consulting company.

The acquisition includes Blueprint, Nine By Blue’s search analytics and diagnostics proprietary software, which will become part of the RKG technology suite.

Vanessa Fox is  known as the creator of Google’s Webmaster Central and helped launch sitemaps.org. She is also the author of Marketing in the Age of Google. Fox will take on the new role of Chief Product Officer. Fox and the Nine By Blue team will continue to be based in Seattle, operating as RKG Seattle.

USA, Seattle, WA

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GLM acquires the Pier Antiques Show & the Antiques at the Armory Show from Stella Show Management Company

May 20, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

GLMGLM has acquired the Pier Antiques Show and the Antiques at the Armory Show from Stella Show Management Company. This transaction follows the Miami National Antiques Show acquisition earlier this year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Following the recent addition of the Miami National Antiques Show to our annual events, the acquisition of these established shows in New York further strengthens U.S. Antique Shows’ position as the world’s leading producer of indoor antique shows,” said Dan Darby, GLM vice president and U.S. Antique Shows group show director. “In our unique position, we will bring more than 50,000 consumers together with 2,400 dealers, from 22 countries, who exhibit rare merchandise and signature collections in the key U.S. antique and jewelry markets.”

The Pier Antiques Show, one of New York City’s largest, trendsetting shows featuring Fashion Alley and Book Alley, is held semi-annually in March and November, and features 500 exhibitors of quality antique furniture, decorative and fine arts, at Pier 94. The next Pier Antiques Show will be held on November 23-24, 2013.

Originally launched in 1995, the Antiques at the Armory Show has become a mainstay of Americana Week in New York each January. The Show features 100 select exhibits of fine and affordable American & European antiques, period furniture, Americana, folk art, garden and architectural artifacts, fine art and prints.

“The Pier Antiques Show and Armory Antique Show are a natural fit for U.S. Antique Shows,” said Andrea Canady, director of business development, U.S. Antique Shows. “Producing these incredibly unique shows will allow us to develop new, more distinct and comprehensive selling opportunities for dealers, including dealers who have exhibited with U.S. Antique Shows for more than 40 years, while broadening the reach for each of these well-established events.”

USA, Naples, FL & New York, NY

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Ziff Davis acquires NetShelter from inPowered

May 20, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

ziffdavisZiff Davis, the  digital media company in the technology, gaming and men’s lifestyle categories, has acquired NetShelter. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. Ziff Davis is a division of j2 Global, Inc.

NetShelter is a network of over 150  consumer and business tech sites, including AndroidCentral.com, MacRumors.com, Neoseeker.com, SlashGear.com and TechSpot.com, which create over 40,000 articles every month, delivering nearly 16 billion ad impressions per year.

Vivek Shah, CEO of Ziff Davis, said: “The acquisition of NetShelter fully returns Ziff Davis to the dominant netsheltermarket position in the technology vertical. We will combine our best-in-class ad targeting capabilities and trading desk expertise with what our marketers need most today: High-quality, high-impact inventory that’s available at scale on trusted sites frequented by tech enthusiasts.”

Hemi Zucker, CEO of j2 Global, said: “This acquisition not only extends Ziff Davis’ leadership position in the tech vertical but makes Ziff Davis overall one of the largest digital media companies in the U.S. that can deliver advertisers targeted, highly desirable audiences of significant scale.

USA, New York, NY

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Intelligent Living Inc. acquires Israeli on-line brain games company, Mind360

May 17, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

intelligent livingFEEL Golf Co., Inc. through its wholly owned subsidiary, Intelligent Living Inc., has acquired Mind360, a company which offers a series of scientifically developed online brain games targeted to improve cognitive skills and memory function. The games on Mind360 are aimed toward sharpening memory, increasing focus, building logical reasoning skills, increasing alertness and awareness, boosting productivity, and exercising the mind. Each player gets a virtual personal brain trainer that helps build up brain function.

Danny Aboody and co-founders Dr. Eran Chajut and Gil Steiner spent 2008 quietly building Mind360, a suite of brain-training games mind360that according to the company “help people boost overall well being and maximize their potential through online well-defined, entertaining cognitive training activities.”

Mind360 has over 10,000 users in every continent with more than 40 games. Sign-up is free and monthly or annual subscriptions are available.

USA, Fort Lauderdale, FL & Israel, Tel Aviv

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Inception Media Group acquires Strategic Film Partners

May 17, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

inception mediaInception Media Group, LLC, a diversified media company specialising in the production, acquisition and distribution of entertainment content, announced it has acquired Strategic Film Partners through its newly formed subsidiary, Inception Film Partners, LLC.

Strategic Film Partners, co-founded in 2004 by Alex Barder, is a global film sales company involved in motion picture financing, production and distribution. Strategic Film Partners attends all major film markets and festivals, representing films for sale to a worldwide distribution marketplace including theatrical, home entertainment, digital, television and emerging media outlets.

Barder, a partner in Inception Film Partners, will assume the role of president of the new company and will spearhead and manage all aspects of its day-to-day operations including business development, strategic planning, acquisitions, film financing and sales.

“The acquisition of Strategic Film Partners further diversifies our company’s efforts and creates new revenue streams that will help drive growth,” said David Borshell, co-founder of Inception Media Group, LLC. “Alex brings with him years of diverse industry experience and the passion and leadership necessary to not only build a bigger and more robust film sales company but also to expand all aspects of our consolidated companies.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA & France, Cannes

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Legacy.com acquires iAnnounce

May 16, 2013 — Fusion DigiNet

legacyLegacy.com, a provider of online obituary solutions in the U.S., has acquired Web Announcements Ltd. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Web Announcements Ltd was founded in 2006 and is the parent company of iAnnounce, the UK provider of online obituaries and family announcements solutions.

The combined company will have partnerships with more than 1,300 newspapers around the globe, from Legacy.com’s base in North iannounce_logoAmerica to Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Web Announcements’ iAnnounce platform for online obituaries in Europe will continue to be available.

Stopher Bartol, CEO of Legacy.com, said, “We’ve been impressed for some time with the company that Web Announcements Ltd has built. We are thrilled to be working with them and to welcome their affiliates into the Legacy.com network. Customers of both Legacy.com and iAnnounce will be the winners from this merger. ”

Alex Stitt, CEO of Web Announcements Ltd., said, “iAnnounce newspaper partners across Europe will enjoy access to new opportunities to serve readers and create value. Legacy.com brings over a decade of innovation in the online obituary category to what will be a truly exceptional combined company. My team is thrilled to join the team at Legacy.com.”

USA, Evanston, IL

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