Lockerz Acquires Fashion Sharing Site Chick Approved

May 30, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Social commerce business Lockerz has acquired Chick Approved, an online fashion community enabling users to share and receive instant feedback on personal style. The acquisition includes a partnership with YouTube star Megan Parken (MeganHeartsMakeup). Ms. Parken will join the recently-launched Lockerz Style Council, as well as its new “Tastemakers” community, in which Lockerz members engage with image collections from their favorite actors, musicians and stylists.

“Acquiring Chick Approved and working with one of YouTube’s biggest stars is a great way for Lockerz to continue to build its fashion experience for members,” said Kathy Savitt, founder and CEO of Lockerz. “Coming on the heels of our new Lockerz Tastemakers program, we’re giving members even more ways to get rewarded for doing what they love online.”

Launched just over a year ago, Chick Approved was founded by entrepreneurs Jeff Turnbull, Brett Miller and David Dripps. Together with Megan Parken, they grew their influence rapidly in content, fashion and beauty through Parken’s millions of YouTube fans.

The Lockerz Style Council provides insight on trends and merchandise assortments, as well as provides their own picks to Lockerz members through boutiques in the Lockerz store. In addition to Ms. Parken, Council members include Lockerz chief fashion editor Stacy Igel and various other fashion bloggers and stylists.

USA, Seattle, WA

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KBM Group to acquire a majority stake in digital data agency Predictys SAS

May 29, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP’s wholly-owned operating network KBM Group, is to acquire a majority stake in Predictys SAS in France.

Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Grenoble, Predictys is a marketing company specialising in digital data and campaign technology. Predictys’ cooperative database includes information from 140 million opted-in consumers from among more than 25 co-op partners. The majority of Predictys’ clients are affiliation networks which use Predictys as a third party provider to supply their own clients with direct marketing services.

Predictys’ revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were EUR 3,360,685, with gross assets of EUR 3,090,853.

WPP’s digital revenues currently total around US$4.8 billion, representing over 30% of the Group’s total revenues of over U$16 billion. WPP has set a target of 35 – 40% of revenue derived from digital in the next five years. Collectively, WPP companies employ nearly 5,000 people in France (including associates) with revenues of approximately US$850 million. On this basis, France is WPP’s seventh largest market.

UK, London & France, Grenoble

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Hearst Magazines UK sells Coast Magazine and transfers Psychologies licence to Kelsey Publishing

May 29, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet
Hearst Magazines UK is sell  CoastMagazine and transfer its licence with Groupe Psychologies to publish Psychologies in the UK, to Kelsey Publishing Ltd

Coast Magazine, which has a circulation of 40,464, is solely owned by Hearst Magazines UK and is edited by Clare Gogerty. Psychologies UK, which launched in 2005, is published by Hearst Magazines UK under licence from Groupe Psychologies in France. The UK magazine is edited by Louise Chunn and has a circulation of 104,491.

Kelsey Publishing Ltd, a family-owned business based in Kent, publishes specialist magazines and books including Period Home and Interiors, Jaguar World Monthly and Grow it!

Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Chief Executive, Hearst Magazines UK, says: “The decision to sell Coast Magazine and transfer our Psychologies UK licence to Kelsey Publishing Ltd is part of our overall strategy to focus on our core print titles and digital expansion. This move will enable both brands to grow and succeed under new ownership and we wish the team at Coast and Psychologies the very best for the future.”

Steve Wright, Managing Director of Kelsey Publishing Ltd, says:“We are proud to take on these two upmarket publications. Coast complements our portfolio of home interest magazines, while Psychologies, which is a prestigious international brand, will be our biggest title. This is a new and major strategic step in the development of Kelsey Publishing.”

After a short period of consultation, the Psychologies and Coast teams will move to the Kelsey HQ in Kent. There will be no interruption to the publishing schedule of either title.

UK, London & Kent

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Pearson acquires GlobalEnglish for $90M

May 25, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson has acquired GlobalEnglish for $90 million in cash.

Founded in 1997 in California, GlobalEnglish is a leading provider of cloud-based, on-demand Business English learning, assessment and performance support software. It serves more than 450 corporate customers, including 20 per cent of the Forbes Global 2000 companies, including General Electric, HSBC, Tata Consultancy Services and Unilever. Its product suite is uniquely suited to serve the needs of global professionals with a comprehensive offering – formal Business English learning coursework, informal and social learning capabilities, performance support tools, an enterprise collaboration platform, a mobile app, assessments and a premium one-on-one coaching service. GlobalEnglish’s Business English content is also entirely focused on the application of Business English to real life business situations such as composing emails and participating in conference calls, and its efficacy is highly rated by global companies and their employees. Approximately 75 per cent of GlobalEnglish’s more than 200,000 active subscribers are in fast growing economies in Latin America and Asia.

GlobalEnglish complements Pearson’s adult English language training business, Wall Street English, by enabling Pearson to expand more rapidly into the corporate market with cost-effective and scalable cloud-based Business English software solutions and to offer the world’s pre-eminent companies a full suite of relevant products and services.

In 2011 GlobalEnglish generated revenues of approximately $42m with high renewal rates. The company has more than 200 employees across more than 20 countries and has product development offices in Silicon Valley (USA), India and Korea. Pearson will be expensing integration costs relating to GlobalEnglish in 2012 and expects the acquisition to enhance adjusted earnings per share and to generate a return on invested capital above Pearson’s weighted average cost of capital from 2013, its first full year.

John Fallon, Chief Executive of Pearson’s International education business, said, “The rise of English as a global language of business continues. This acquisition enables Pearson to play a much more systematic role in meeting the need of major companies around the world for quality, effective, scalable and relevant English language learning. We can combine services, technology, brands and content from across the Pearson family with the GlobalEnglish product portfolio to enrich the learning experience and enhance further the effectiveness of the teaching.”

UK, London &  USA, Silicon Valley, CA

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Bloomberg Acquires PolarLake

May 22, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Bloomberg LP has acquired Dublin-based software provider PolarLake.

“The PolarLake purchase is a strong signal to the marketplace that Bloomberg intends to be a leader in the enterprise data management business,” said Thomas Secunda, Bloomberg Co-Founder and Global Head of Bloomberg’s Financial Products and Services.

PolarLake, a leader in reference data management, distribution and integration, will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Bloomberg, but will operate as an independent business unit. It will have separate facilities and operations staff, so it can provide the highest levels of security, privacy and permissioning for the data it receives. Geller & Co. advised Bloomberg on the transaction.

USA, New York, NY & Ireland, Dublin

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H.I.G. Capital completes the acquisition of Comverge

May 22, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

H.I.G. Capital , a global private equity investment firm has completed  the acquisition of Comverge, Inc. by affiliates of H.I.G.”

Based in Norcross, GA, Comverge is a leading provider of intelligent energy management solutions that empower utilities, commercial and industrial users and homeowners to use energy in a more effective and efficient manner. The Company’s core demand response product offering includes hardware, software and services that enable the management of peak electricity demand and has a strong value proposition by providing enhanced grid reliability at a lower cost relative to power plants. With almost 30 years of experience in the industry, Comverge has a strong market position and broad customer footprint with over 500 utility and 2,100 commercial customers and having enrolled over one million residential participants in demand response programs.

Brian Schwartz of H.I.G. commented, “We believe that the intelligent energy management and demand response industries will continue to grow quickly supported by a rebounding economy, aging power infrastructure, more stringent environmental regulations and a strong value proposition. With the support and expertise available to it as an H.I.G. portfolio company, Comverge is well-positioned to take advantage of this growth with a leading market position and differentiated product offering. We are excited about this opportunity and look forward to working with Comverge’s executives and employees to help the Company reach its full potential.”

USA, Miami, FL & USA, Norcross, GA

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Ogilvy & Mather to acquire a stake in Today Advertising in Myanmar

May 21, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Ogilvy & Mather, a wholly-owned subsidiary of WPP, is to acquire a stake in Today Advertising, an advertising agency in Myanmar.  Based in Yangon, Today Advertising employs 60 people.

This investment continues WPP’s strategy of developing its services in fast-growing and important markets and sectors and brings the total number of countries in which the Group operates to 108. WPP’s businesses in the Asia Pacific region now generate revenues of over US$4 billion (including associates) and employ approximately 42,000 people, contributing to Group revenues of over US$16 billion (including associates) and total employees of over 158,000.

UK, London & Myanmar, Yangon

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UBM Aviation Routes Limited acquires Airlineroute.net

May 20, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM Aviation Routes Limited has acquired Airlineroute.net, an online blogging website for route development scheduled changes. Airlineroute.net is the airline network planning community’s top blogging site and it is used by thousands of airline network planners and airport aviation professionals each day.

The blog will be integrated into the news section of Routesonline, the online route development forum and official website of Routes, which has, since its re-launch in May 2008, been a central source of route development information to airports and airlines.

Routesonline also allows airports to promote their market opportunities and airlines to access one resource for all their market data and route development information, as well as being a key source of route development news and analysis through their HUB newsletter.

David McMullen, Business Development Director of Routesonline stated “Airlineroute.net is the most highly regarded source of airline route development news and is currently used by over 800 companies, the synergies between this site and the Routes brand are clear and we are delighted to offer our clients this tool to track changes in airline schedules.”

Routesonline has developed year on year since its inception in 2008, it now offers its 18,000 registered users not only industry and event news but also the unique Route Exchange facility which is where airports and airlines create profiles.  Airlines post available aircraft capacity and airports can send proposals direct to the airlines  Airline users also have direct access to Route Exchange airport profiles, which have full airport intelligence and allow contacts to be made before or after Routes events. The Route Exchange also facilitates an online Request for Proposals (RFP) process where airlines use the Route Exchange to request for proposals from airports to assist them in their network developments plans. This facility was only introduced last year and has already had Air Asia X, Scoot and Indigo airlines participate with further RFPs planned for later in the year.

UK, London & Estonia, Tallinn

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Pearson acquires Certiport for $140M

May 19, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson has acquired Certiport from Spire Capital Partners for $140m in cash.

Founded in 1997 in Utah, Certiport develops, markets and distributes certification exams and practice tests of IT and digital literacy skills. It is a leading provider of foundation-level certification programmes for Microsoft, Adobe, HP, Intuit and other renowned technology companies. Certiport sells its certifications and assessments through a network of 12,000 testing centres operated by 70 partners in more than 150 countries. The network delivers approximately 225,000 examinations in 27 languages every month.

The acquisition extends the product range and geographic reach of Pearson’s professional testing business, Pearson VUE. Certiport’s foundation-level services complement Pearson VUE’s strong position in certifications and assessments for established technology professionals. Certiport also supports Pearson VUE’s expansion in fast-growing international markets, generating more than 60% of its revenues outside North America with particular strength in Asia and the Middle East. By providing access to Pearson’s content, assessment and test preparation services, the two companies intend to develop and enhance the range of services that Certiport offers to its customers.

Certiport generated revenues of $48m in 2011. It is a fast-growing company, increasing revenues at a compound annual rate of more than 20% over the past three years. Pearson will expense integration costs relating Certiport in 2012 and expects the acquisition to enhance adjusted earnings per share and to generate a return on invested capital above Pearson’s weighted average cost of capital from 2013, its first full year.

Rona Fairhead, chief executive of Pearson’s professional education businesses, said, “Certiport is a high-quality company serving the significant demand for foundation IT skills. That need is growing fast and is truly international. The combination of Pearson VUE and Certiport will strengthen both businesses and will give us a unique portfolio of technology assessments and certification, serving everyone from a basic word-processing users to technology experts.”

UK, London & USA, American Fork, UH

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WPP’s Possible Worldwide acquires Grape LLC in Russia

May 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Possible Worldwide, a global interactive marketing agency and part of WPP Digital, is to acquire a majority stake in Grape LLC in Russia.

Founded in 2002 by Andrey Vinograd and Boris Ryss and headed by CEO Andrei Anischenko, Grape is a Moscow-based digital marketing services agency with a focus on website and social media strategies. The agency employs 124 people and major clients include Henkel, JTI, MTS and SABMiller.

Grape’s consolidated unaudited revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 were approximately RUB 425 million with gross assets as at the same date of approximately RUB 216 million.

This investment continues WPP’s strategy of developing its services in fast-growing and important markets and sectors and strengthening its capabilities in digital media.  WPP’s digital revenues totalled US$4.8 billion in 2011, representing approximately 30% of the Group’s total revenues of over US$16 billion.  WPP has set a target of 35-40% of revenue to be derived from digital in the next five years.

WPP companies, including associates, employ around 1900 people in Russia with revenues of well over US$200 million.  Across the Central and Eastern European markets collectively, WPP companies, including associates, employ almost 6,000 people with revenues of approximately US$600 million, underlining its leadership position in the advertising and marketing services sector in this important region.

UK, London & Russia. Moscow

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