Care.com acquires Besser Betreut GmbH

July 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Care.com, an online service in the U.S. used by families seeking high-quality care providers,  has acquired Besser Betreut GmbH, an online destination for care and service providers in Europe.  Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Based in Berlin, Germany, Betreut will become an operating unit of Care.com and will continue under its current name, while also serving as Care.com’s European hub under the Care.com Europe banner.  Steffen Zoller, Founder and Co-CEO of Betreut and Manuel Nothelfer, Co-CEO of Betreut, will continue to manage the organization, reporting to Ted Preston, General Manager, International and SVP of Operations for Care.com.

In making the announcement, Sheila Lirio Marcelo, Founder and CEO of Care.com, said, “We have always believed that care is a global issue.  By bringing together Betreut and its extensive international operations with Care.com, our leadership position in the U.S., and our new operations in the U.K. and Canada, we are creating a dynamic portal for families around the world that provides best-in-class services to help families find the local care they need.”

Founded in 2006, Care.com currently counts close to 5 million families and providers in the U.S. and its recently launched operations in the UK (April 2012) and Canada (July 2012).  Betreut, which was founded in 2007, has approximately 2 million members and providers across more than 15 countries, including Germany, Austria, Switzerland,  France, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, and Belgium.

Both Care.com and Betreut help families address the unique lifecycle of care needs that every family goes through – child care, including special needs; senior care, pet care; housekeeping, and tutoring.

USA, Waltham, MA & Germany, Berlin

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Berkery Noyes releases first half 2012 M&A Report for the Media and Marketing Industry

July 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Berkery Noyes, an independent mid-market investment bank, has released its first half 2012 mergers and acquisitions trend report for the Media and Marketing Industry.

The report analyzes merger and acquisition activity in the Media and Marketing Industry for the first half of 2012 and compares it with activity in the four previous six-month periods from 2010 to 2011.

Total transaction volume increased six percent during the last six months, from 784 transactions in second half 2011 to 834 in first half 2012. Meanwhile, total transaction value increased 27 percent, from $24.88 billion to $31.51 billion. Despite this uptick, median enterprise multiples in the industry decreased. The median revenue multiple fell from 1.8x to 1.2x and the median EBITDA multiple declined from 10.0x to 7.8x. However, three segments had median revenue multiples of at least 2.0x: B2B Publishing, Broadcasting, and Exhibitions, Conferences, and Seminars.

Marketing was the most active industry segment for first half 2012, accounting for 262 transactions and surpassing Internet Media in transaction volume during the last twelve months. Although Internet Media activity declined two percent compared to second half 2011, it remained 19 percent above its second half 2010 levels. In the Marketing segment, 47 percent of deals were Digital Marketing transactions, which represented a 10 percent improvement on a half-to-half year basis. WPP Group was the largest acquirer in the Digital Marketing sub-segment as well as the overall Media and Marketing Industry.

The segment with the largest rise in volume in first half 2012 was Exhibitions, Conferences, and Seminars with an 85 percent increase. The median revenue multiple in the segment also increased 26 percent relative to first half 2011, from 1.9x to 2.4x.

Consumer Publishing M&A rose 13 percent, improving for the third consecutive half year period. The segment was led in first half 2012 by Berkshire Hathaway’s acquisitions of Waco Tribune Herald, The Bryan College Station Eagle, and 63 daily newspapers from Media General. In addition, the B2B segment was responsible for three of the top nine deals by value and underwent a 10 percent increase in transaction volume.

M&A volume in the Entertainment segment increased for the fourth straight half year, growing 24 percent in first half 2012. The largest related transaction in first half 2012 was Lionsgate’s acquisition of Summit Entertainment for $700 million. Video games, a sub-classification of Entertainment, rose 30 percent in first half 2012 and accounted for 62 percent of the segment’s deals. There was also a 50 percent increase in social gaming transactions during the last six months. The most notable social gaming deal by value was GREE International’s announced acquisition of Funzio, a mobile game developer, for $210 million.

“As we predicted in the press release for our first quarter report, there has been an impressive increase in M&A pertaining to social gaming,” said Evan Klein, Managing Director at Berkery Noyes. “Of the many possible means of monetizing social games, enticing users to purchase virtual currency and other rewards continues to be the most lucrative model for generating revenue.”

A copy of the FIRST HALF 2012 MEDIA AND MARKETING INDUSTRY M&A REPORT is available here.

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Guardian to make redundancies as losses increase

July 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Guardian News & Media, the publisher of the Guardian and the Observer, has asked journalists to consider taking voluntary redundancy after reporting an operating loss of £44.2 million for 2011. The newspapers are looking to save £7 million from the editorial budget this year as part of a five-year plan to save £25 million and to focus more on online publishing by 2016/17.

  • Operating loss grew 42 percent from £33.1 million to £44.2 million ($69 million)
  • Digital revenue growth of 16.3 percent to £45.7 million (making up for lost print revenue)
  • Overall company revenue stayed broadly unchanged from last year at £196.2 million
  • U.S. audience grew 80 percent to 20 million unique monthly readers
  • Total audience grew 38% to 67.8 million unique monthly readers

Editor-in-Chief Alan Rusbridger said: “Having the foresight to start exploring digital platforms as early as 1999 has given us a great foundation on which to build a secure future for the Guardian. This has been an extraordinary year for our journalism, all the more so for having the largest ever audience for our work.”

UK, London

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TiVo to acquire TRA

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

TiVo is to acquire TRA, a media marketing and analytics software company whose products help advertisers, agencies and television networks improve advertising targeting, accountability and return on media investment. TRA matches television exposures from 1.5 million TV homes with specific purchase transactions. The new unit will be known as TiVo Research and Analytics.

Tom Rogers, CEO and President of TiVo said, “TV has long been the best medium for advertisers to influence what consumers buy. TRA has proven its platform can determine the effectiveness of TV advertising by connecting the exposure of ads to actual purchases, helping advertisers identify the right audience and get the most out of their ad dollars. TRA has driven a substantial client list of advertisers, agencies and networks with this proposition. With this new level of unique audience insights and analytics, TiVo will be able to provide insights nobody else has in an industry increasingly seeking alternative ways to measure audience behavior accurately while increasing efficiencies in media spending.”

TRA has more than 45 brand clients and 27 network clients including CBS, A&E Television Networks, ION Media, Procter & Gamble, Oscar Mayer and Starcom MediaVest Group, among others.

TiVo will pay approximately $20 million for TRA. TiVo expects the transaction to close this month. TRA’s revenue is on track to increase significantly in 2012.

 

USA, Alviso, CA

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Kantar completes the acquisition of a majority stake in Press Index S.A. in France

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s wholly-owned operating network Kantar, the information, insight and consultancy group, has completed its acquisition of 1,446,139 shares, representing 87.76% of the share capital of Press Index. The deal was first reported on Fusion DigiNet on July 6, 2012.

As a next step, Kantar will launch a simplified cash public tender offer to purchase the remaining outstanding shares of Press Index. If, at the end of the public tender offer, the non-tendered shares represent less than 5% of the share capital of Press Index, Kantar intends to implement a squeeze-out procedure.

UK, London & France, Boulogne Billancourt

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Centaur Media year-end trading statement

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Centaur Media plc, the business information and events group, has issued a trading statement for the year ended 30 June 2012.

The Group expects to report profits in line with the Board’s expectations with underlying revenues 2% ahead of the prior year and EBITDA margins increased from 14% to 18%.

Trading in the last two months of the year has been in line with expectations. Digital revenues continue to show strong underlying growth rates and now account for 30% of overall revenues compared with 26% last year.  Events revenues also continue to show good underlying growth rates, with Marketing Week Live reporting revenues 23% ahead of last year.

Cash flow in the final two months of the year has been strong with net debt at 30 June lower than anticipated at £7.2m, and with leverage at approximately 0.6 times EBITDA.

Deferred revenues of approximately £11m are 20% ahead of the same period last year.

Geoff Wilmot, Chief Executive, commented, “FY12 has been a significant year of change for Centaur, culminating in the recently completed acquisition of Econsultancy. Our revenue mix has improved significantly, with a notable increase in the proportion of digital revenues. At the same time, we have delivered underlying revenue growth despite difficult trading conditions and have secured a significant improvement in margins. We look forward to building on this performance in FY13 and delivering the full benefits of our recent acquisitions.”

The Group expects to release its full year results on 13 September 2012.

UK, London

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Bglobal announces preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2012

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Bglobal plc, the leading provider of smart metering solutions to the energy market has announced its preliminary results for the year ended 31 March 2012.

Highlights

  • Revenue of £18.41 million (2011: £28.99 million)
  • Recurring revenues increased by 29% to £9.21 million (2011: £7.14 million)
  • More than 175,000 smart meters now installed
  • DCDA revenues increased by 32% to £3.35 million (2011: £2.53 million)
  • Gross margins up to 60% (2011: 45%)
  • Adjusted EBITDA of £1.11 million (see note 1) (2011: £4.16 million) (see note 2)
  • Adjusted Operating profit £0.67 million (see note 3) (2011: £3.88 million) (see note 4)
  • Adjusted Profit before taxation of £0.62 million3 (2011: £3.81 million4)
  • Adjusted Profit after taxation of £1.18 million3 (2011: £3.10 million4)
  • Earnings per share 1.11p (2011: loss per share 1.51p)
  • Net cash generated from operations £1.87 million (2011: £2.32 million)

Notes

1 Before crediting £1.46 million contingent consideration adjustment and £0.04 million in relation to share based payments

2 Before charging £2.91 million contingent consideration adjustment, £0.19 million acquisition costs and £0.14 million in relation to share based payments

3 Before crediting £1.46 million contingent consideration adjustment, £0.04 million in relation to share based payments and before charging amortisation of acquired intangibles of £1.53 million

4 Before charging £2.91 million contingent consideration adjustment, £0.19 million acquisition costs, £0.14 million in relation to share based payments and amortisation of acquired intangibles of £1.28 million

Tim Jackson-Smith, Group Chief Executive of Bglobal, commented: “In the last 12 months the Group has focused on developing its Smart Meter Services Platform, including the ability to offer a SMETS compliant dual fuel metering system, and extending its reach into energy services. We have made great progress on both of these fronts and these initiatives have demonstrated the strengths that each part of our business has and how they set us apart from our competition.  The Group has maintained its market leading position in bringing new entrants into the UK energy market, having introduced three companies since the beginning of 2012. The Board is confident that the Group has the resources and ability to play a leading role in the foundation stage of the mass rollout of smart meters and, through the delivery of smart data, to work with our customers to help them use less and pay less for their energy.”

UK, Darwen, Lancashire

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JWT acquires majority stake in digital agency, Activeark Oy in Finland

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s wholly-owned advertising agency network JWT, has acquired a majority equity stake in Activeark Oy, a full service digital agency in Finland.

Activeark, founded in 2003, is based in Helsinki with operations in the UK and India. The agency employs more than 80 people. JWT Finland and Activeark will combine their businesses and partner in Finland in order to provide a comprehensive offering for both local and international clients.

Activeark’s audited gross revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately EUR8.1 million with gross assets as at the same date of approximately EUR3.4 million.

UK, London & Finland, Helsinki

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Aegis Group acquires W Garden

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Aegis Group, the media and digital communications group, has acquired six subsidiary companies owned by W Garden, Verbal Clint, Allin and others (collectively referred to as “W Garden”). In aggregate, the entities had gross assets of €5.0m as at 31 December 2011.

W Garden is a provider of search and performance marketing solutions, consultancy and software tools, with a particular focus on search engine optimisation. The business has also developed a specialist search capability in the area of social media. Founded in 2007, W Garden’s management team has established a strong network of offices across France and has built up a high quality local client base.

The integration of W Garden with iProspect France’s existing business is expected to be completed early in the third quarter of 2012.

Thierry Jadot, CEO Aegis Media France, commented:  “We are delighted to welcome the team from W Garden to Aegis Media France. This transaction ensures that iProspect will have the most comprehensive search and performance marketing capability in our market. A strengthened iProspect business will support Aegis Media France in continuing to seize the exciting opportunities the convergent media environment brings and will help us to further consolidate our leading position in the French market.”

UK, London & France, Paris

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Ogilvy & Mather acquires majority stake in Foster, a digital agency in Brazil

July 17, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s wholly-owned operating company Ogilvy & Mather, the global marketing communications group, has acquired a 70% stake in Foster Informatica, Ltda, a leading digital agency in Brazil.

Founded in 1993, Foster is based in São Paulo and employs 50 people.  Clients include Monsanto, Bayer, Metro, Danone and Goodyear.

Foster’s unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were R$5.0 million, with gross assets at the same date of R$4.1 million.

UK, London & Brazil, San Paulo

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