CNN acquires Zite

September 5, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

CNN has acquired technology company Zite, a news app for the iPad that gives users a personalised magazine-like experience. Zite is being added to CNN’s portfolio of digital products as a separate, stand-alone business.

CEO Mark Johnson will continue to run Zite’s day-to-day operations out of headquarters in San Francisco and will report to KC Estenson. Founder Ali Davar will stay on board as Executive Director. Mike Klass will continue to lead Zite’s technology R&D as CTO. Zite will be a wholly owned subsidiary of CNN.

“Zite represents the next generation of content discovery and personalised publishing and CNN wants to help lead in that space,” said KC Estenson, general manager of CNN Digital. “We think we can advance the industry in a meaningful way that helps content creators grow their businesses while growing the distribution of a product that people already love. Zite’s technology can also be used to help CNN’s Websites and apps serve more personalised content, making our current digital services even better.”

USA, Atlanta, GA & San Francisco, CA

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Mobile Apps, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

BuyWithMe acquires Scoop St

August 27, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

BuyWithMe has acquired Scoop St., a social commerce company focused exclusively on New York City. BuyWithMe has already acquired LocalTwist, DealADayOnline, Groop Swoop and Edhance this year. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Scoop St. was founded in 2009 and has grown organically as one of the pioneers of the group buying space. Since its inception, Scoop St. has developed deep relationships with local merchants across New York City and has introduced a number of product innovations for merchants and consumers, including unique events called Experiences and a membership loyalty program called Perks.

“As the leading merchant-centric daily deal site, BuyWithMe’s focus on creating long-term success for merchants aligns perfectly with the mission of Scoop St. since its founding two years ago,” said Jim Crowley, CEO of BuyWithMe, Inc.

USA, Boston, MA & New York, NY

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Bloomberg to acquire BNA for $990M

August 26, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Bloomberg and BNA have entered into an agreement for Bloomberg to acquire all of the outstanding shares of BNA for $39.50 per share in a cash tender offer followed by a merger for a total purchase price of approximately $990 million. The transaction is expected to close in 2011.

BNA, which is wholly owned by current and former employees, provides legal, tax and regulatory research and analysis and would become a stand-alone subsidiary of Bloomberg.

This acquisition would strengthen Bloomberg’s offerings in the legal information market by complementing Bloomberg Law. In addition, the combination would enhance Bloomberg’s coverage and analysis of tax and accounting, labor and employment, healthcare, intellectual property, and telecommunications issues.

The acquisition would significantly grow Bloomberg’s presence in the Washington, DC area through its multiple operating units, Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Government, Bloomberg Law and BNA — which would work together to provide coverage and analysis of U.S. policy and regulatory issues for customers.

“BNA’s employees have built a superior franchise and we are enthusiastic about a Bloomberg-BNA combination that will deliver more premium content to our professional audiences,” said Dan Doctoroff, CEO and President of Bloomberg. “BNA research and analysis will make Bloomberg’s products even more valuable, and BNA would benefit from our data and technology expertise.”

“For more than eight decades, we have provided our subscribers with quality products that allow them to do their jobs more effectively and efficiently,” said Paul N. Wojcik, Chairman and CEO of BNA. “We believe this is the start of a new day, where we will join forces with Bloomberg to extend our premium content to an expanded audience.”

“Bloomberg and BNA share many of the same values, including a commitment to deliver high-quality content to customers, employing highly skilled and experienced workers and offering superior customer service,” said Peter Grauer, Chairman of Bloomberg. “We look forward to welcoming them to the Bloomberg family.”

The tender offer is expected to commence by September 8, 2011. If the tender offer is completed, untendered shares of BNA are expected to be converted in the subsequent merger into the right to receive the same US$39.50 per share price paid in the tender offer.

USA, New York, NY & Arlington, VA

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Market Data & Information, Publishers, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Webtrends acquires real-time analytics company Reinvigorate from Media Temple Ventures

August 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Webtrends has acquired real-time analytics company Reinvigorate from Media Temple Ventures. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“As the leader in unified analytics, we are always evaluating the market to ensure we are providing our clients with the most comprehensive and robust product offering available,” said Alex Yoder, CEO, Webtrends. “With the acquisition of Reinvigorate, and the addition of real-time analytics capabilities to our portfolio, we are once again leading the pack in breadth of product. In addition, we’re adding a talented team led by Sean McNamara that has rich experience in digital analytics and product development.”

Webtrends will continue to offer the Reinvigorate solution to existing Reinvigorate customers.

USA, Portland, OR & Culver City, CA

Posted in Marketing/Advertising, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Welsh Independent TV production company Tinopolis acquires BASE Productions

August 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Welsh Independent TV production company Tinopolis has acquired US production company BASE Productions.  The deal followings Tinopolis’s recent US acquisition, A. Smith & Co.  BASE Productions, founded by its joint CEO’s John Brenkus and Mickey Stern, is a vertically integrated production company with its own studio and production facilities at its headquarters in Burbank, California and offices in Washington DC.  BASE is a supplier of television to many networks.  Amongst its best known programs are Sport Science, a long-running series for ESPN, Known Universe and Fight Science for National Geographic, Police POV for Tru Tv with its innovative use of police actuality footage and Fact or Faked: Paranormal Files.

Tinopolis, backed by private equity firm Vitruvian Partners, owns Question Time producer Mentorn, sports production company Sunset+Vine, Pioneer and US network producer A. Smith & Co.  The company produces around 1,600 hours of drama, factual, entertainment and sports programming each year for more than 200 broadcasters worldwide.  The acquisition is part of its diversification and growth strategy and strengthens its already substantial US factual entertainment business.

BASE Productions will be able to tap into the company’s worldwide resources and enjoy enhanced access to the UK for its non-scripted productions.  It will continue to maintain its independence as a production company.  Mickey Stern joins the main board of Tinopolis and will continue to lead BASE alongside his co-CEO, John Brenkus.

Tinopolis Executive Chairman Ron Jones said: “We have admired the Company built up by John and Mickey for some time.  They have established a business based on great creativity and impressive business common sense.  BASE is a producer trusted and respected throughout the industry and alongside A. Smith & Co we now have a US business with depth and breadth of coverage. BASE has experience and formats with the potential to be successful world-wide.  This will be a major opportunity for our distribution company, MINT, and reinforces our plans to build a portfolio of brands and formats that work internationally.”

UK, Carmarthenshire & USA, Los Angeles, CA

Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Silver Spring Networks files for proposed IPO

August 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Silver Spring Networks has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a proposed initial public offering. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined.

The Form S1 statement

Silver Spring Networks provides a networking platform and solutions that enable utilities to transform the power grid infrastructure into the smart grid.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Goldman, Sachs & Co., and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering, and Jefferies & Company, Inc., Piper Jaffray & Co., Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated,  Robert W. Baird & Co., Canaccord Genuity Inc., Evercore Group L.L.C., and Pacific Crest Securities LLC are acting as co-managers.

USA, Redwood City, CA

Posted in B2B Services, Energy & Environmental Services, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Clean Urban Energy secures $7M Series A From Battery Ventures and Rho Ventures

August 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Clean Urban Energy (CUE), an energy storage and smart grid performance optimisation technology provider, has secured $7 million in Series A financing. The investment was co-led by Battery Ventures and Rho Ventures, and will be applied to rapid product development and a multi-city expansion within the United States.

CUE is headquartered in Chicago and plans to use this new capital to embark on a road show fueling strategic development in four new major U.S. cities, including: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Houston.

“This funding is an important and critical milestone for our business, and will enable us to accelerate product engineering and customer acquisition during this next phase of rapid growth,” said Rich Earley, CUE CEO. “The market knowledge and relationships that our new investors bring to the table will help us rapidly penetrate the property management and owner community to become a leading technology provider in the market.”

With this round, Jason Matlof from Battery Ventures and Joshua Ruch from Rho Ventures will assume seats on CUE’s board of directors.

USA, Chicago, IL


Posted in B2B Services, Energy & Environmental Services, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Mobile marketing company Augme Technologies to acquire Hipcricket

August 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Mobile marketing company Augme Technologies is to acquire the assets and the business of Hipcricket, a fellow mobile marketing  firm headquartered near Seattle, Washington. The acquisition is expected to close at the end of August 2011. The purchase price of $44.5 million will be comprised of $6 million in cash and $38.5 million in Augme common stock. In addition, the transaction calls for a twelve-month earn-out payment valued at up to an additional $27.5 million, which may be paid in cash or stock at Augme’s discretion provided that the transaction remains a tax-free reorganization.

On closing of the acquisition, Augme expects to hire all of Hipcricket’s employees and the current Hipcricket team will continue to service Hipcricket’s business. The combined companies’ client roster is expected to include over 300 customers.

“The agreement to acquire the assets of Hipcricket follows our previously announced acquisition of JAGTAG, which was completed on July 22, 2011,” noted Paul Arena, Chief Executive Officer of Augme Technologies, Inc. “We expect the complementary resources of Augme, JAGTAG and Hipcricket, when combined, will allow Augme to provide the most powerful best-of-breed mobile marketing solutions to global brand name leaders, backed by strong intellectual property portfolios, including patented technology and software-as-a-service, (“SaaS”) technology platforms.”

USA, New York, NY & Seattle, WA

Posted in Marketing/Advertising, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Sony Computer Entertainment acquires Sucker Punch Productions

August 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) has acquired Sucker Punch Productions, creators of the top-selling Sly Cooper and inFamous franchises. Sucker Punch Productions will join the global development operation of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios (SCE WWS).  Day-to-day operations will continue to be run by the current management team and company founders in conjunction with SCE WWS Foster City Studio. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Based in Bellevue, Washington, Sucker Punch Productions is the developer of the Sly Cooper series for the PlayStation®2 computer entertainment system and the inFamous franchise on the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, with combined franchise sales surpassing seven million units worldwide. Best known for signature creative talents, including award winning animation and art direction, visual style, immersive storylines, strong characters and highly interactive worlds, Sucker Punch has created some of the most successful games in PlayStation history.

Day-to-day operations will continue to be run by the current management team and company founders in conjunction with SCE WWS Foster City Studio.  Financial terms of this arrangement are not disclosed.

“Sucker Punch Productions is one of the most highly acclaimed development studios in the industry and we have enjoyed a wonderful relationship with the company for over 12 years. We are delighted to officially welcome them to the SCE family,” saidShuhei Yoshida, president, SCE WWS.  “The addition of Sucker Punch to SCE WWS reiterates our dedication to developing world class gaming experiences that can only be found on the PlayStation platform. With one of the strongest exclusive software lineups in the PS3’s history, combined with the diverse, innovate content in the works for PlayStation Vita, consumers have a lot to be excited about this year.”

USA, Foster City, CA & Bellevue, WA

Posted in Games, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

LivingSocial to acquire Korea’s TicketMonster

August 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

LivingSocial has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TicketMonster Inc., a social commerce website in South Korea.  Founded in 2010, TicketMonster offers daily and instant deals, travel packages, and events to more than 2 million members in Korea and Malaysia.

“TicketMonster is one of Korea’s most recognized and trusted brands in the nascent daily deal industry, and we are excited to bring them into the LivingSocial family,” said Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and co-founder of LivingSocial. “TicketMonster and LivingSocial share the same culture of innovation, customer focus and fun, and we believe that the benefits we bring to consumers can be extended to other markets in Asia and around the world.”

Following regulatory review and approval, the acquisition of TicketMonster will bring the total number of countries LivingSocial operates in to 23.  Other countries in Asia with LivingSocial operations include the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, through the Ensogo and DealKeren acquisitions announced earlier this summer.

“Like LivingSocial, TicketMonster has always focused on providing great values to our members while helping our merchant partners reach new, loyal customers,” said Daniel Shin, CEO of TicketMonster.  “Joining LivingSocial will give TicketMonster the resources, scale and reach to bring our business to the next level across the region while providing even better services for our customers.  We believe that this deal will advance the interests of our merchants, our members, and all Korean consumers.”

Terms of the deal were not released.  After closing, TicketMonster’s 600 employees will become part of the LivingSocial team.

USA, Washington & South Korea

Related links:

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Internet Media, ~Asia, ~North America. Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »