The Economist Group acquires TVC Group

March 14, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

The Economist Group has acquired TVC Group. TVC is a communications agency, based in London, which specialises in a content-driven approach to public relations and creative services. TVC will continue to provide a stand-alone offer to its existing clients that include major brands across the consumer, government and luxury sectors. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Nigel Ludlow, UK managing director at The Economist Group, said: “This is a great move for The Economist Group. In a rapidly-changing media landscape, one consistent factor is our clients’ desire to communicate across a range of platforms and reach audiences in innovative ways. With TVC on board we will further advance the conversation with our partners and build relationships that reflect diverse and evolving requirements.”

TVC Group employs over 50 people in London serving a range of broad clients including Coca-Cola, British Gas, Aviva, Louis Vuitton and Jaguar Land Rover. Principal executives who will join The Economist Group include Nicky Minter-Green (managing director), Adam Clyne (commercial director), James Myers (broadcast director), Sarah Harris (strategy director) and Greg Lappage (creative director).

UK, London

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Mecom Group announces 2011 results

March 14, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Mecom Group PLC has announced its results for the year-ending 2012

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Adjusted EBITDA from ongoing operations down €7.2 million to €113.6 million
  • Non-advertising revenues up 1 per cent to €594.4 million, representing 56 per cent of total revenue
  • Advertising revenues down 7 per cent to €461.5 million
  • Net debt reduced by €52.2 million to €258.5 million. Net debt : EBITDA ratio of 1.8 times 2011 (2010: 2.0 times)
  • Group earnings per share increased to 46.2 euro cents per share
  • Final dividend of 9.9 euro cents per share; full year dividend of 15.4 euro cents per share
  • New strategy based on implementation of pay model across all platforms, including mobile, and €70 million cost reduction programme
  • Agreement on purchase of Wegener minority announced separately today – simplifies Group structure, provides operational and commercial efficiencies and will enhance earnings per share

Notes

  1. From ongoing operations, that is excluding Mecom Norway and Presspublica; stated before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.
  2. Excluding results of Presspublica, which was sold during 2011; stated before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.
  3. For total Group, that is including Mecom Norway and Presspublica; stated before exceptional items and amortisation of acquired intangibles.

Tom Toumazis, Chief Executive Officer, said, “The 2011 financial results emphasise again the value of our 1.2 million subscribers that deliver over 80 per cent of our EBITDA, particularly in an environment where advertising revenues continue to be under pressure. The announcements we have made on the purchase of the minority shareholder in Wegener and the termination of the De Pers contract will greatly simplify the ownership structure and management of our Dutch operations and, in the case of De Pers, will remove a considerable, and growing, operating and financial risk.  We can now focus unambiguously on the modernisation plan that we set out in our Strategy Update on 24th January. Early indications are that 2012 will be another tough year economically.  Our new strategy based on paid platforms, our cost cutting plans across our three markets and the strength of our non-advertising revenues, position us well to address the challenges that this will bring.”

More information is available here.

UK, London

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Aegis Group acquires Hungarian out-of-home agency PPI Central Europe

March 14, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Media and digital communications group Aegis Group plc has acquired the Hungarian Out-of-Home agency PPI Central Europe Ltd (“PPI”). PPI will be rebranded to become part of the Posterscope EMEA division of Posterscope Worldwide. The value of the gross assets of PPI at the end of 2011 was €1 million. The acquisition follows a long working relationship between Aegis Hungary and PPI.

Established in Budapest in 2001 PPI is a leader in the Hungarian outdoor specialist market serving a strong list of domestic and international clients. Its expertise lies in using the latest technology for enhanced capability in campaign planning, site selection, buying and campaign appraisal to deliver distinct competitive advantage in the central European Out-of-Home market.

Commenting on the acquisition Annie Rickard, Global CEO, Posterscope says: “We extend a very warm welcome to PPI and are excited to be bringing Posterscope to Hungary where Out-of-Home plays a central role in advertising. PPI’s innovative methods and extensive experience, knowledge and professionalism are driven by an accomplished management team. The new operation will add further strength to our comprehensive European network and bring new client opportunities into play by opening up central Europe.”

UK, London & Hungary, Budapest

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Reed Elsevier results for 2011

March 13, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

 

Reed Elsevier has published its Annual Reports and Financial Statements 2011 for the Reed Elsevier Combined Businesses, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV

2011 highlights ƒƒ

  • Underlying revenue up 2% (3% excluding biennial exhibition cycling) ƒƒ
  • Underlying adjusted operating profit up 5%; up 4% at constant currencies ƒƒ
  • Adjusted EPS up 8% to 46.7p for Reed Elsevier PLC; up 6% to €0.83 for Reed Elsevier NV ƒƒ
  • Reported EPS up 19% to 32.4p for Reed Elsevier PLC; up 16% to €0.59 for Reed Elsevier NV ƒƒ
  • Full year dividend up 6% to 21.55p for Reed Elsevier PLC and €0.436 for Reed Elsevier NV ƒƒ
  • Net debt of £3.4bn; 2.3 times adjusted EBITDA (pensions and lease adjusted)

The following documents are avaialable at www.reedelsevier.com:

  • Annual Reports and Financial Statements 2011 for the Reed Elsevier Combined Businesses, Reed Elsevier PLC and Reed Elsevier NV (the “2011 Financial Statements”);
  • Reed Elsevier NV Corporate Governance Statement 2011;
  • Agenda with explanatory notes for the Reed Elsevier NV 2012 Annual General Meeting (the “NV 2012 AGM Agenda”) to be held in Amsterdam on 24 April 2012;
  • Notice for the Reed Elsevier PLC 2012 Annual General Meeting (the “PLC 2012 AGM Notice”) to be held in London on 25 April 2012; and
  • Corporate Responsibility Report 2011.

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World Energy Solutions achieves record results

March 9, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Energy management services firm World Energy Solutions has announced financial results for the year ended December 31, 2011.

Financial Highlights

  • Annual revenue grew 17% to $21.1 million
  • Adjusted EBITDA was $2.9 million for the year
  • Gross margins for the year increased 2% to 81%
  • Cash from operations $3.6 million for the year
  • Cash and cash equivalents at year end were $1.8 million, with no bank debt
  • Subsequent to year end, expanded credit facility to $5 million

Acquisitions in the year

Three acquisitions:

“2011 was a transformational year for World Energy,” said Richard Domaleski, CEO of World Energy Solutions. “We posted record revenue and record net income – a full year of profitability – and completed our 9th consecutive quarter of positive adjusted EBITDA. We exit the year with our highest levels of both annual and total backlog. Additionally, we advanced our leadership in energy management and seeded future growth through a series of strategic moves, culminating in the acquisition of three companies in late 2011, which together have brought us new customers, capabilities and revenue streams.

“Looking across the business today, World Energy has never been stronger. We are gaining market share with a differentiated offering that is clearly resonating with customers; successfully renewing contracts with, and deepening our penetration of, existing accounts; and continuing to expand our network of regional and national channel partners. And now with our newly acquired teams rapidly gaining traction in their respective markets, we reiterate our expectation to grow revenue by 40-60% in 2012, with profit increasing at an even faster rate.”

USA, Worcester, MA

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Publicis Groupe acquires King Harvests and Luminous

March 8, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has acquired two specialty marketing agencies in Asia: King Harvests and Luminous.  Both agencies will be integrated into MSLGROUP, the flagship strategic communications network of Publicis Groupe. Founded in 2002, with 360-degree marketing capabilities across Tier-one and Tier-two cities in Mainland China, King Harvests’ staff of more than 100 offer particularly strong expertise in both events and experiential marketing to local and international clients including Bosch, Haier, Sanyo and Siemens.

Established in 2005 and with more than 40 employees, Luminous is an award-winning experiential marketing consultancy with offices in Hong Kong, Singapore and Macau. Luminous produces live marketing events for clients including Cathay Pacific, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Prudential.

Agency heads Laura Lee and Antony Spanbrook – founders of King Harvests and Luminous, respectively – will report to Isabelle Chouvet, the founder of Emotion, MSLGROUP’s high-end and luxury events communication agency in Asia. King Harvests’ and Luminous’ experiential marketing expertise will enrich the scope of Emotion’s service offering.

“We have made our development in fast-growing markets in general, and China in particular, a top priority for the Groupe,” explained Jean-Yves Naouri, Publicis Groupe COO and Chairman, Publicis Groupe China. “The acquisitions of King Harvests and Luminous are important milestones, and further testimony to our commitment to China. We will continue strengthening our capabilities and footprint in China for the benefit of our clients and employees.”

Olivier Fleurot, MSLGROUP CEO, commented “Experiential marketing is today viewed by both agencies and clients as one of the biggest marketing opportunities for the next few years, alongside social/digital. We’re therefore very excited to have King Harvests and Luminous join us to expand our Asian offering in this space.”

“People today want the chance to experience a brand‘s promisesfor themselves,“ Isabelle Chouvet added. “‘Experiential‘ is a huge growth area globally, and by bringing King Harvests and Luminous into the fold we can offer more of what our clients are increasingly asking for in Asia today.” Chouvet will now oversee a network of 280 people in Asia, across Beijing, Hong Kong,Macau, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

King Harvests and Luminous are the latest in a series of acquisitions in Greater China by Publicis Groupe, including Eastwei Relations, Interactive Communications Ltd (ICL), Dreams, Genedigi, Wangfan, Gomye and most recently UBS. It is in line with Publicis Groupe’s strategy to increase its presence in fast growing markets, with China at its core and where Publicis Groupe has set an objective to double its size.

France, Paris & Hong Kong & China, Shanghai

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Seren Photonics raises £1.8M in equity funding

March 8, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Fusion IP plc portfolio company Seren Photonics, has raised £1.8M in equity funding to enable Seren to transfer its technology to manufacturing partners around the globe. The first of these exploitation agreements was recently announced with an Indian manufacturer.

Seren’s new processing technique, developed by Professor Tao Wang from the University of Sheffield, has been shown in tests to greatly increase the efficiency at which a high brightness LED converts an applied voltage into light and significantly reduces heat generation under normal running conditions. Successful demonstrations of the patent pending technology have resulted in a significant increase of the light output compared to untreated devices, which means that either much brighter LED lamps can be manufactured or that the power consumption of LED lamps can be reduced.

Seren’s technology is targeted at the large and fast growing white light HB LED markets, such as back lighting for laptops and TVs, signs and displays, as well as domestic, architectural and street lighting.  Dr Godfrey Ainsworth, Seren’s Chairman said, “This market is currently worth an estimated $7bn in 2011 and is set to grow to $20bn by 2014.   HB LEDs are set to replace incandescent lamps as governments around the world bring in legislation banning the manufacture and sale of incandescents and concerns increase about the poor light quality and environmental contamination fears from compact fluorescents.  The rate of adoption will accelerate as the brightness of HB LEDs increases and the cost of manufacture reduces.”

Seren’s funding round raised a total of £1.8M from a number of investors, including I2BF Global Ventures (£1,100,000), Fusion IP plc (£300,000) and IP Group plc (£400,000).  The funding will be used to purchase key capital equipment for HB LED pilot scale development and create a specialist engineering team for the transfer of Seren’s processes to its commercial manufacturing partners.

Post funding Fusion will have a 40.2% undiluted shareholding in Seren.

UK, Sheffield

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Internet Brands acquires mobile app creator Forum Runner

March 8, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Internet Brands today announced the acquisition of Forum Runner, a mobile application that allows forum users to interact with online communities from mobile devices. Forum Runner will operate as part of Internet Brands’ vBulletin software division.

“Mobile is no longer the future; it’s the present,” said John McGanty, general manager of vBulletin. “It’s imperative for online forums to offer a good mobile user experience as they experience explosive growth in usage from mobile devices. Forum Runner gives forum sites an easy way of providing native iOS and Android mobile apps to their users.”

Forum Runner is free to forum owners and very simple to install. It provides native iOS and Android mobile applications to forum users.

Forum Runner supports websites running a variety of forum software options including vBulletin. Support for all platforms will continue going forward, and Forum Runner will continue to publish and support its paid, customised branded versions of its applications.

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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Marquard Media sells the rights to Olivia magazine to Bauer Publishing Poland

March 8, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

FIPP is reporting that Marquard Media has sold the rights to the monthly advisory magazine, Olivia, to Bauer Publishing Poland.

Bauer will take over the complete editorial staff of the magazine and will incorporate the title into its large advisories portfolio.

Tomazs Zieba, president, Marquard Media Poland said: “After the 2010 acquisition and successful re-launch of the fashion magazine Hot, we are excited to continue to strengthen our position and portfolio in the premium lifestyle segment.”

Poland, Warsaw & Switzerland, Zug

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Axel Springer achieves double-digit growth in revenues and earnings in 2011

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Axel Springer has announced full year results for 2011.

Highlights

  • EBITDA rises 16.2 percent to EUR 593.4 million
  • EBITDA margin improves to 18.6 percent
  • Revenues grow by 10.1 percent
  • Digital Media with significant increase in revenues and earnings
  • Proposed dividend of EUR 1.70

Axel Springer achieved record results in 2011. Group EBITDA rose by 16.2% and total revenues improved by 10.1% over the previous year. This was due to significant growth of earnings and revenues in the Digital Media and Print International segments as well as the continued high profitability of the national print media. The Magazines National segment even posted a record EBITDA. The company grew both organically and through acquisitions. The EBITDA margin rose from 17.6% for the previous year to 18.6%. The results slightly exceeded Axel Springer’s earnings guidance, which was issued in March and later revised upward due to the anticipated revenue growth. The dividend is expected to increase to €1.70 per share (PY: €1.60).

The 2011 annual report can be downloaded from www.axelspringer.de/fy11

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Germany, Berlin

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