Fusion Corporate Partners

SAY Media has secured $27 million in funding led by new investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA), Shea Ventures and Correlation Ventures, as well as participation from existing investors. The new funding will be used to help the company further develop its publishing platform, grow its portfolio of media properties and fund strategic acquisitions.

With this round of capital, NEA’s Paul Hsiao will be joining SAY’s board of directors. The appointment of Hsiao, a recognized leader in venture capital who led investments in companies like Evernote and Gaikai, follows the recent announcement that Kim Kelleher, currently publisher at TIME Magazine, will join SAY Media as its new president in September.

“The intersection of Madison Avenue and Silicon Valley is really where we see the future of media and we are well-positioned to lead the publishing industry into a digital world,” said Matt Sanchez, CEO, SAY Media. “This funding round is a validation of our strategy and I’m delighted to have NEA as a partner to support continued investment in the strategy and the right acquisitions.”

In addition to the appointment of Kelleher, SAY strengthened its executive team, adding Christina Cranley, former senior vice president at Martha Stewart and publisher of “Everyday Food and Whole Living,” as its vice president of sales for eastern U.S., CBS’s Sam Parker as chief operating officer and David Richter as chief strategy officer. Former Condé Nast executive Kourosh Karimkhany also joined the leadership team as head of integration. SAY currently has 400 employees working in offices across the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.

Over the past several months, SAY acquired ReadWriteWeb and Remodelista. The company owns and operates six properties and has 13 exclusive partnerships with sites including Fashionista, Gear Patrol and Food52. The company now represents 500 sites and reaches a global audience of 400 million.

USA, San Francisco, CA

Related articles:

• SAY Media Acquires ReadWriteWeb Posted on December 15, 2011
• SAY Media acquires Dogster Posted on April 20, 2011
• VideoEgg to acquire Six Apart and create SAY Media Posted on September 27, 2010

The Weather Channel Companies (TWCC) are to acquire Weather Underground, a provider of Web based weather data. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Everyone in the weather space is familiar with the strength of Weather Underground and its innovative method of presenting weather data. Weather Underground will add a great complementary, brand to our portfolio, a brand with a distinct, loyal, and active user base that will enable us to reach a unique segment of users,” said TWCC chairman and CEO David Kenny. “Most importantly, this acquisition will grow the weather expertise that is central to everything we do and will result in better forecasts and weather data for users on all of our platforms.”

Weather Underground’s site wunderground.com and its portfolio of mobile applications will continue to operate and its employees will become a part of TWCC. In addition, Weather Underground’s San Francisco headquarters will become a regional office for TWCC. Blackstone Advisory Partners L.P. served as TWCC’s financial advisor in the transaction and Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP acted as legal advisor. Weather Underground was advised by Digital Capital Advisors, LLC.

USA, Atlanta, GA and San Francisco, CA

Zimbio Inc., parent company of entertainment news website, Zimbio.com, and fashion and beauty website StyleBistro.com, announced today it has acquired Lonny, a monthly online magazine that focuses on home decor. Zimbio gains the founding editorial team, the Lonny website, its library of past issues, and an archive of thousands of original photographs.

Launched by designer and editor Michelle Adams and photographer Patrick Cline in October 2009, Lonny has featured the work of design luminaries including Bunny Williams, Kelly Wearstler, Albert Hadley, Vicente Wolf, and Cath Kidston. In just two-and-a-half years, Lonny has developed a passionate following of young, affluent professionals with a special affinity for design. By supplying dynamic, accessible interiors, and consistently unearthing new products and resources, the magazine has introduced a broad range of exciting style discoveries to an enthusiastic readership.

“Lonny’s combination of category-leading editorial and stunning photography has attracted an incredibly loyal and passionate audience. They’ve become hugely influential in a very short time,” said Tony Mamone, CEO of Zimbio. “We plan to leverage our technology platform and publishing tools to grow the content, reach a larger audience, and give Lonny fans more ways to access and interact with it.”

Zimbio plans to invest in the Lonny team and technology, both to grow the existing publication and enhance the web experience with easy access to back issues and a fully searchable image collection. Zimbio also intends to bring Lonny content to more platforms including tablets and smartphones.

Founders Michelle Adams and Patrick Cline will continue to run Lonny. Adams, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Lonny, also started Rubie Green, an organic textiles company.

USA, San Carlos, CA