Comverge to be acquired by Peak Merger for around $49M

March 29, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Energy management/demand response business Comverge is to be acquired by Peak Merger Corp., an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, LLC, a global private investment firm, for $1.75 per share in cash, or around $49 million in equity value.

The offer price represents a premium of approximately 18 percent over Comverge’s average closing price of $1.48 over the last 30 days. Affiliates of H.I.G. Capital will provide debt financing to Comverge in the amount of $12.0 million, which is not contingent on the closing of the acquisition by H.I.G. Capital.

“Today’s announcement is the culmination of an extensive review of financing and strategic alternatives available to Comverge,” said Alec Dreyer, Comverge’s Chairman of the Board of Directors.

“We are pleased to have found a solution to the Company’s immediate need for capital to fund ongoing operations that not only preserves value for stockholders but also provides immediate cash value to stockholders. The transaction addresses the risks associated with the Company’s liquidity position, provides for our financial viability going forward and allows Comverge to continue to execute on its business plan with the financial backing of H.I.G. Capital.”

Further, pursuant to the definitive agreement, Comverge is permitted to solicit alternative proposals from third parties during a go-shop period of 30 days following the date of the definitive agreement, with the potential for a 10 day extension.

UPDATE: At least two legal firms have announced that they have commenced investigations into possible breaches of fiduciary duty to current shareholders of Comverge and other violations of state law by the board of directors of Comverge relating to the proposed buyout of the company by Peak Merger. 

USA, Norcross, GA

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Hearst Corporation acquires 20% stake in Stylus Media Group

March 28, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Hearst Corporation has acquired a 20 percent stake in Stylus Media Group, which provides business intelligence to consumer companies. The announcement was made jointly by Frank A. Bennack, Jr., CEO of Hearst Corporation, and Marc Worth, CEO and founder of Stylus. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Stylus tracks consumer behavior and cultural shifts across consumer industries, including automotive, technology, media, retail, fashion and hospitality. Stylus is used by design, marketing, branding and business development departments inside companies to stimulate new ideas about consumer products and services.

As part of the agreement, Kenneth A. Bronfin, president of Hearst Interactive Media, will join the Board of Directors of Stylus. The Interactive Media group will manage Hearst’s stake in Stylus as it does with its numerous portfolio businesses.

Since its launch in September 2010, Stylus has grown to cover 20 sectors across 50 countries with a worldwide staff of 100. More than 200 major corporations have subscribed to Stylus data, including Saatchi & Saatchi, Starwood Hotels, Mulberry, Sony, Ford, Colombia Sportswear, The Container Store, Marks & Spencer and Interbrand. Its mission is to become a global leader in primary research, tapping into opportunities in emerging markets and meeting demand from business and design professionals for research and information.

Commenting on the acquisition, Bennack said, “For all businesses to be competitive, spotting the next trend can mean success or failure. We believe that Stylus offers information that no company should be without. The growth potential is very promising, as is the benefit to our own brands and businesses.”

“This strategic partnership signals a wealth of new opportunities for Stylus,” Worth said. “Hearst’s global presence will help drive Stylus’ business forward in Asia and Latin America as well as its core markets of U.S. and Europe. Hearst’s investment in both technology and new media businesses makes it an ideal partner and will allow us to meet demand for cross-sector, cross-country design intelligence.”

“We have been quite impressed with the tremendous amount of progress that Stylus has made since its launch in terms of content development and brand-name client acquisition,” Bronfin said. “We look forward to working with Stylus as it expands its reputation as an authoritative business intelligence resource for design and creative professionals.”

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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Access Intelligence acquires LeadsCon trade show along with Daily Deal Summit

March 28, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Access Intelligence, a B2B media and information company and a portfolio company of Veronis Suhler Stevenson, has acquired LeadsCon. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

LeadsCon is an educational and networking conference dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of those operating in the online lead generation industry. LeadsCon is held twice a year. It has just completed its February event in Las Vegas, and will hold its East coast event in New York this July. Other products in the LeadsCon portfolio include the membership-based LeadsCouncil, the Daily Deal Summit conference series taking place this April 17-18 in New York, an e-newsletter, and other soon-to-be announced marketing conferences and product offerings.

Jay Weintraub, president and founder of New York-based LeadsCon, will continue in his role as President of LeadsCon, Daily Deal and the other products serving the customer-acquisition sector. Michelle Troop, LeadsCon co-founder and executive vice president of operations, and Weintraub will be part of the newly created Access Intelligence Customer Acquisition Board which will also include Don Pazour, AI’s President & CEO; Diane Schwartz, senior vice president of the Media/Communications Group; and Jenn Heinold, vice president of healthcare and aerospace events.

“I am particularly pleased to be working with a visionary like Jay Weintraub, who will lead our efforts in serving the customer acquisition professional community,” said Don Pazour, president and CEO of Access Intelligence. “The ability to round out our position in the marketing and technology sectors with highly engaged brands like LeadsCon and Daily Deal Summit is an exciting prospect for Access Intelligence, our employees and customers.”

In 2011, Access Intelligence completed acquisitions in the media/marketing and healthcare sectors, including that of Red7 Media (which includes Event Marketer and Folio); OR Manager, which presents one of the largest trade shows serving operating room executives; and Cynopsis Media, with advertising-driven e-letters serving the TV and digital communities.

USA, Rockville, MD

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Zynga acquires social game developer OMGPOP

March 22, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Zynga has acquired New York-based social game developer OMGPOP, makers of the popular cultural hit mobile game, Draw Something, and over 35 additional social games. As a part of the Zynga group, OMGPOP will focus on building new mobile IP and strengthening its existing portfolio of fun and creative social games. It is being reported that Zynga paid $200 million plus for OMGPOP.

“The OMGPOP team has created a game that’s fun, expressive and engenders real social interaction,” said Mark Pincus, founder and CEO of Zynga. “Draw Something has captured the imagination of millions of people around the world. We love the way they’ve worked playful and relevant culture into their games from Devo to Daft Punk, from Lin to Beckham. We’re honored to have the opportunity to partner with and support such an innovative team of creative inventors.”

“At Zynga we’re committed to building brands that we’re proud of and that our players absolutely love,” said David Ko, Chief Mobile Officer of Zynga. “We want people to play our games and feel a fun and valuable social connection to their friends and family. We think Draw Something is one of the most social, most expressive mobile games ever built with its unique social competition and unmatched player generated content. We’re excited about the brands OMGPOP has developed to date and we look forward to supporting the team’s creativity and helping scale their incredible games to an even bigger global audience.”

OMGPOP began as iminlikewithyou, a social network for people to meet and play games. The company soon after launched its social gaming website, OMGPOP.com in 2009. OMGPOP is best known for Draw Something, one of the fastest growing word games of all time.

OMGPOP will remain headquartered in New York and report to David Ko, Chief Mobile Officer of Zynga.

USA, San Francisco, CA & New York, NY

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Scripps Networks Interactive is acquiring Travel Channel International for £65M

March 22, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Scripps Networks Interactive  is acquiring Travel Channel International Limited (TCI), an independent company headquartered in the United Kingdom that distributes the Travel Channel brand in 20 languages across Europe, Africa, Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.

The company produces and commissions original travel programming for distribution in 91 countries.

Scripps Networks Interactive will pay £65 million to acquire TCI. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2012 pending regulatory approval.

“We are looking forward to integrating Travel Channel International into Scripps Networks Interactive’s portfolio of popular lifestyle networks,” said Kenneth W. Lowe, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Scripps Networks Interactive. “TCI brings unique value to us as we establish our brands in the global media marketplace. We’re enthusiastic about sharing our lifestyle programming expertise internationally, engaging a new set of passionate media consumers overseas, and increasing our footprint in Europe and Asia, building on the solid foundation we’ve established for the continued international growth of our brands.”

Formed in 2004, TCI has affiliate agreements with approximately 850 distributors. The company’s 46 full-time employees in London will join Scripps Networks Interactive at the completion of the transaction.

USA, Cincinnati, OH & UK, London

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IHS Acquires IMS Research for $46M

March 22, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

IHS Inc. has acquired IMS Research, an independent provider of market research and consultancy to the global electronics industry, for approximately $46 million.

“The acquisition of IMS Research will help us expand our products and services in the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) value chain, and better position IHS to deliver a more robust product offering to our customers in the global technology marketplace,” said IHS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerre Stead. “The annual delivery nature of the IMS Research business is also an excellent fit for our subscription-based model.”

IMS Research provides research with proprietary data and market insight to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), component manufacturers and systems suppliers in the global electronics industry. The company’s products and services include syndicated market studies, custom research, consultancy services and events that deliver comprehensive, value-add data and in-depth actionable market intelligence, across the technology spectrum. It serves diverse industries across the technology spectrum, from semiconductors and wireless to industrial systems and alternative energy, helping clients in more than 50 countries better understand markets and shape strategies.

IMS Research was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Wellingborough, U.K. The company employs more than 140 people in the U.K., U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

USA, Englewood, CO & UK, Wellingborough

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Beats to acquire MOG

March 21, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

According to AllThingsD, headphone maker Beats Electronics is buying online music subscription service MOG. They quote “multiple sources familiar with the deal”.

HTC invested $300 million in Beats last year for a 51-percent stake.

Read the full story AllThingsD

USA, Newburyport, MA

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LexisNexis acquires Law360

March 21, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

LexisNexis has acquired Portfolio Media, the parent company of Law360, an online provider of legal news and analysis for business lawyers, primarily in the United States.

“Breaking legal news and analysis are critical for legal professionals as they drive success for their businesses and clients,” said Bob Romeo, CEO of Research and Litigation Solutions at LexisNexis. “Law360 is a key element of our growth strategy because it adds legal news and analysis, a crucial part of an attorney’s workflow and a key entry point to legal research.”

Law360 publishes breaking news and analysis with a particular focus on high-stakes litigation across more than 30 practice areas. This content is distributed through online daily newsletters that are read by over 100,000 law firm and business professionals ranging from litigators, corporate counsel and transactional attorneys to law librarians and legal administrators.

“We are excited to have our premier legal news and analysis offering join the LexisNexis family. We see it as a great opportunity to extend our reach, expand our portfolio of content, and create new and innovative ways to deliver it to customers,” said Marius Meland, co-CEO and co-founder of Law360. Headquartered in New York City, Law360 was founded in 2004 by Meland and co-CEO Magnus Hoglund. They will continue to run the company as a stand-alone business, while leveraging the content and analytical resources and distribution of LexisNexis.

Law360 distinguishes itself through the unique combination of speedy delivery of more than 130 original legal news stories daily, the journalistic standards of its experienced editorial team, and its content generation platform that tracks in real-time dockets and regulatory filings – enabling reporters to break major developments in litigation, deal making and legislation before anyone else.

USA, New York, NY

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Twitter acquires Posterous

March 14, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Blogging platform Posterous has been acquired by Twitter. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Twitter released a statement saying that it will be bringing the Posterous team on board and continue to keep Posterous Spaces alive. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Posterous is backed by Y Combinator, Redpoint Ventures and Trinity Ventures, plus a group of angel investors. The business was founded by Sachin Agarwal  in 2005.

Posterous announcement:

The opportunities in front of Twitter are exciting, and we couldn’t be happier about bringing our team’s expertise to a product that reaches hundreds of millions of users around the globe. Plus, the people at Twitter are genuinely nice folks who share our vision for making sharing simpler.

Posterous Spaces will remain up and running without disruption. We’ll give users ample notice if we make any changes to the service. For users who would like to back up their content or move to another service, we’ll share clear instructions for doing so in the coming weeks.

You can find more information answers to other questions you may have here.

Finally, we’d like to offer thanks to all of our users, especially those who have been with Posterous since day one. The last four years have been an amazing journey. Your encouragement, praise and criticism have made us better.  Thanks for that. We look forward to building great things for you over at Twitter.

USA, San Francisco

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SCIenergy acquires energy saving retrofit business Transcend Equity

March 14, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

SCIenergy, Inc., a provider of cloud-based energy management solutions for building owners and operators, today announced it has successfully completed the acquisition of Transcend Equity, a business delivering energy saving retrofits for commercial buildings. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As part of the deal, SCIenergy will maintain a joint venture agreement with Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., a leading trade and investment company and committed capital partner of Transcend Equity.

Transcend’s proprietary solution—Managed Energy Services Agreement (MESA™)—pays for a landlord’s energy bill along with major capital investments needed to make buildings more energy-efficient.  In return, building owners pay a fee for a fixed period of time, preserving capital resources for their core business activities.

“We are excited to welcome the dedicated and experienced Transcend Equity employees to the SCIenergy team.  Transcend is the clear leader in providing sustained energy reductions for portfolio owners and we can’t wait to extend MESA to our key customers and partners,” said Russ McMeekin, president and chief executive officer, SCIenergy. “MESA will leverage applications in the SCIenergy cloud™ to make commercial buildings more digitally aware and to further outperform traditional energy management offerings”.

USA, San Francisco, CA


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