BlogWorld & New Media Expo acquire Travel Blogger Event TBEX

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

BlogWorld & New Media Expo has acquired TBEX, (Travel Blog Exchange), the world’s largest travel blogging conference. TBEX ’12 presented by BlogWorld will take place at the Keystone Resort & Convention Center in Keystone, Colorado, June 15-17. TBEX is an interactive event where travel bloggers can meet each other, learn more about the art of travel writing, blogging as a business, cross connect on other platforms, and locate new audiences and vendors for their blogs. BlogWorld will take over production and operations immediately. Kim Mance, founder of TBEX and editor of GoGalavanting.com, will maintain her role as an advisor and TBEX evangelist.

Rick Calvert, CEO and co-founder of BlogWorld & New Media Expo said, “BlogWorld’s mission has always been to help all bloggers, podcasters and WebTV producers succeed and grow their businesses. We approached Kim about making TBEX a part of the BlogWorld family because it’s the largest and best travel blogging event in the world. We think it is a perfect fit and we think we can help TBEX continue on its amazing growth path here in the United States and around the world.”

USA, San Diego, CA

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Tarsus Group plc – Final results for the year ended 31 December 2011

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Tarsus Group plc, the international business-to-business media group, has published final results for the year ended 31 December 2011. Adjusted pre-tax profits are up 77% and net debt has been halved. Tarsus also continued to implement rapidly its strategy of developing businesses in the Emerging Markets, with these operations now contributing approximately 38% of Group revenues.

Financial highlights

  • Revenue up 42% to £61.7m (2010: £43.6m)
  • Like-for-like revenues up 8%
  • Adjusted profit before tax up 77% to £16.8m (2010: £9.5m)
  • Adjusted earnings per share up 63% to 17.0p (2010: 10.4p)
  • Proposed final dividend of 4.2p, total for year up 5% to 6.3p (2010: 6.0p)
  • Net debt halved to £13.7m (31 December 2010 £28.6m) – ahead of expectations

Operational highlights

  • Emerging Markets continued to grow strongly – 38% of proforma Group revenues
  • Major strategic expansion into Turkey – acquisition of IFO
  • Medical Division achieved 23% organic revenue growth
  • Labelexpo Europe and Asia (China) both produced record results
  • Dubai Airshow, the Group’s largest event, grew revenues by 3%, attendance up 7%

Outlook

  • Forward bookings represent approximately 53% of anticipated full year revenues (2010: 49%).
  • Off Price February 2012 revenues up 7%

Financial Results

 

2011

2010

2009
Revenue (£m)

61.7

43.6

57.5
Like-for-like* revenue growth

8%

6%

1%
Profit before tax (£m)

3

5.3

6.8
Adjusted profit before tax* (£m)

16.8

9.5

14.6
Adjusted EPS* (pence)

17

10.4

17.4
Dividend (pence)

6.3

6

6
Net Debt (£m)

13.7

28.6

30.8

Neville Buch, Chairman of Tarsus, commented, “2011 was a record year with the Group achieving a strong financial performance, both on a year-on-year and biennial basis, and we have halved our debt level. “We are on course to achieve our target of securing 50% of our revenues from the Emerging Markets by 2013 with revenues currently at 38% on a proforma basis. This was achieved alongside a stronger than expected performance by the US business. “We have now established strong positions in the US, China, Turkey and the Middle East and are focused on continuing to build our portfolio in these markets through a combination of organic and acquisitive growth. Our increasing exposure to the higher growth opportunities across these markets, in the short to medium term, should drive earnings and dividends. In the current year we are encouraged by the momentum in both our US and Emerging Markets businesses, where bookings are tracking ahead of their comparative events.”

UK, London

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Progressive Digital Media Group Plc announces preliminary results for 2011

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Progressive Digital Media Group Plc has announced preliminary results for the year ended December 31, 2011. Progressive Media Group Plc provides premium business information, research services and marketing solutions for senior level decision makers

Highlights

Key achievements in 2011

  • Delivery of revenue and earnings growth
  • Renewed our focus on the Consumer and Technology Business Information markets
  • Plans in place for International expansion in 2012
  • Infrastructure in place for future growth

Financial performance

  • Group revenue increased by 13.3% to £54.4m (2010: £48.0m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA increased by 91.2% to £7.3m (2010: £3.8m)
  • Adjusted EBITDA Margin increased to 13.5% (2010: 8.0%)
  • Reported EBITDA increased by 143.5% to £5.7m (2010: £2.3m)
  • Reported loss before tax of £7.9m (2010: Loss £4.6m) inclusive of a non-cash impairment charge of £9.4m.

Mark Meek, CEO of Progressive Digital Media Group plc, commented, “These are a strong set of results delivered during a period of substantial change and investment. Moreover, this has been achieved in a period of relatively weak economic conditions. We are beginning to benefit from the significant investments in business information content, staff and delivery platforms and to reap rewards from the efficiencies we have achieved through the introduction and integration of common processes and systems.”

Read the announcement

UK, London

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UTV Media plc to acquire Simply Zesty

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Radio, Television, New Media and Publishing company UTV Media plc is to acquire Simply Zesty Limited. The initial consideration is £1.7 million, which is being satisfied from the Company’s existing banking facilities, with further tranches of deferred consideration totalling a maximum of approximately £5 million, payable depending upon Simply Zesty’s future trading performance. The initial consideration equates to four times the anticipated 2012 EBITDA.

UTV is acquiring the business from Simply Zesty’s shareholders, including the founders of the business, Niall Harbison and Lauren Fisher, and the independent market research company, SPA Future Thinking. Following completion the founders will continue to develop Simply Zesty as part of UTV’s New Media division. Simply Zesty’s clients include blue chip brands such as Sony, Vodafone, Volkswagen Group, News International and ebookers.com.

Simply Zesty was set up in 2009 and employs 22 staff at its Dublin offices and specialises in providing social media marketing services to assist businesses in creating innovative social media campaigns. Simply Zesty is also building its international presence, which now represents more than 15% of revenues and is growing strongly.

John McCann, Group Chief Executive, UTV Media plc said, “The acquisition of Simply Zesty is part of our strategy to create a diversified multi-media business. Simply Zesty is a very successful Irish business with an international presence in the fast-growing social media sector. This acquisition strengthens our existing New Media division and adds further impetus to our multi-media strategy.

UK, Northern Ireland, Belfast & Ireland, Dublin

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M&C Energy Group acquire Coleman Hines

March 7, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Just months after global energy consultants M&C Energy Group opened their first US office in Atlanta, Georgia, it has moved quickly to expand its USA footprint and strengthen its market position with the acquisition of energy consultancy service Coleman Hines, headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona.

Coleman Hines, founded in April 2000, provides energy consultancy services to many National Fortune 500 clients at nearly 35,000 sites covering all US states and Canada, particularly in the retail, restaurant, and commercial sectors. They will become part of M&C Energy Group’s growing worldwide organisation which already has 18 offices in 13 countries and clients in 40 countries.

Mark Dickinson, CEO M&C Energy Group, said: “Bringing M&C Energy Group and Coleman Hines together now creates an exciting prospect within the energy consultancy sector in North America. Not only will they increase our reach in North America, but Coleman Hines provides M&C with a number of exciting products and services specifically developed for the local markets, which will strengthen our portfolio of services. While M&C is a well-known industry-leader around the world, the North American market is relatively new to us and bringing Coleman Hines on board will strengthen our foothold and market position there.”

UK-based mid-market growth investor, Lyceum Capital, acquired M&C Energy Group for £22 million in 2010 and, since then, has implemented a rigorous programme of operational enhancement and supported a number of strategic acquisitions.

Dan Adler, Partner at Lyceum and M&C board member, said: “Coleman Hines is a well-established energy advisory firm of scale with an outstanding client retention rate and a highly progressive management team. The company’s services are closely aligned to those of M&C and so it presents the ideal platform for the wider Group to develop its North American proposition and gain market share in the country’s growing energy consultancy sector, which remains highly fragmented. The US is a key market for M&C’s services and, with a number of significant contracts already in the pipeline for the enlarged business, there is a compelling case for the firm’s North American expansion.”

The addition of Coleman Hines the latest in a line of acquisitions by M&C. In 2010 they acquired Utility Masters Ltd in the UK (a deal brokered by Fusion Corporate Partners), ETT GmbH in Germany, Creative Energy Solutions in Australia, and Encore International Ltd in the UK and in Hungary (also brokered by Fusion Corporate Partners).

Recently M&C added a Brisbane office to their Australian operation to complement their existing Melbourne office. A New Zealand office is expected to open in the Spring of 2012.

UK, Dunfermline & USA, Phoenix, AZ

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IHS closes three acquisitions:

March 5, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

IHS Inc. has closed three acquisitions:

  • Displaybank, a market research and consulting provider for the display industry,
  • the Computer Assisted Product Selection (CAPS) electronic components database and tools business from PartMiner Worldwide,
  • and the digital oil and gas pipeline and infrastructure information business from Hild Technology Services.

The combined purchase price of the acquisitions is approximately $45 million.

Displaybank delivers a portfolio of products and services focused on subscription-based market and planning advisory services, consulting-based business advisory services, conferences and events serving the global flat-panel display industry. Founded in 1999, Displaybank is headquartered in Seoul, Korea, with offices in the U.S., Japan, China and Taiwan.

“The acquisition of Displaybank will help to solidify our position as a world-leading provider of technology, media and telecommunications information and analysis,” said IHS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jerre Stead. “With its base of operations in Korea, Displaybank will also deepen our Asia Pacific research and analysis capabilities – an area that’s critical to our company’s growth.”

The CAPS database is a source for identifying specific electronic components based on engineering specifications. It combines information on more than 265 million physical devices, along with intuitive tools for integration into engineering design processes and applications. It includes comprehensive and current information for electronic and electro-mechanical components to support engineering selection and procurement decisions for military and commercial applications.

IHS President and Chief Operating Officer Scott Key said: “The acquisition of the CAPS family of products will significantly enhance our existing electronic parts information business to provide greater breadth and depth of content to our global customers. The CAPS content coverage, selection and list management tools, sourcing relationships and integration framework, along with the subscription nature of the CAPS business, makes it an excellent strategic fit for IHS as well.

Hild Technology’s digital oil and gas pipeline and infrastructure information business meets a need for energy producers and refiners in North America, offering pipeline infrastructure information for upstream strategic planners, gas marketers and refiners. The information is updated daily and available on a national, state and county level, and is delivered via shapefiles, geodatabase and secure data exchange, along with 11 years of historical data.

According to Key, the acquisition of Hild’s oil and gas pipeline and infrastructure information business “will help IHS meet a critical need for energy producers and refiners in North America by integrating it into the existing IHS Midstream Essentials product and creating an even more robust offering that adds tremendous value for our customers.”

USA, Englewood, CO & Korea, Seoul

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Aegis Group to acquire Beijing eLink Advertising Co.

March 5, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Media and digital marketing group Aegis Group plc has entered into an agreement to acquire Beijing eLink Advertising Co., Ltd, a digital agency in China. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012. eLink’s gross assets as of 31 December 2011 were £3.0 million.

Founded in 2007, eLink is a media-skilled full service digital agency specialising in marketing communications strategy, online media buying and online PR, as well as website design. eLink has grown rapidly, clients, include CMCC (China Mobile Communications Corporation), COFCO (China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation) and ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China).

eLink will become part of the Isobar network in China.

China, Beijing

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Intelligent Energy raises £22 million

March 1, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Intelligent Energy, the clean power technology company, has completed its latest round of funding, raising in excess of £22 million from existing and new institutional shareholders. This investment, achieved through a placement at £2.30 per share, values the company (on a fully diluted basis) at over £300 million and will enable Intelligent Energy to increase its pace of commercialisation within the consumer electronics and stationary power markets.

“Intelligent Energy’s growth continues to gather momentum as we see firm traction for our clean and efficient power technology in each of our key market sectors: motive, consumer electronic and stationary power,” said Dr. Henri Winand. “Hot on the heels of our landmark joint venture announcement with Suzuki, this latest round of funding is firmly aimed at reflecting this success within our consumer electronics and stationary power divisions. Partners and customers are ready to take advantage of our scalable power cores in these markets, worth around $410bn and $150bn respectively, so it’s an incredibly exciting time for us.”

Dr. Mark Lawson-Statham, Director of Corporate Finance, commented, “This funding round, and the recently announced Joint Venture with Suzuki, further underlines Intelligent Energy’s rapid transition from a world class developer of power technologies to a company that is, through its relationships with key global OEMs, taking products deep into high volume markets.”

UK, Loughborough

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Meredith Corporation completes the acquisition of Allrecipes.com from The Reader’s Digest Association

March 1, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Meredith Corporation has completed the acquisition of the Allrecipes.com business from The Reader’s Digest Association.

Digest Association will use the net cash proceeds from the sale, after estimated taxes and transaction fees, of approximately $150 million, primarily to repay debt and related fees.

“The sale of Allrecipes accomplishes two important strategic objectives for Reader’s Digest Association – the deleveraging of our balance sheet and the continued transformation of the Company as we refocus our resources on our core media and direct marketing businesses in our North America and International divisions,” said Robert Guth, Reader’s Digest Association president and CEO. “We are grateful to the Allrecipes employees for their contributions to our Company and wish them well in their new home.”

USA, Des Moines, IA & New York, NY

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A Fusion Deal: International grain trading conferences, Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia, sold to Euromoney Institutional Investor

February 29, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Fusion Corporate Partners are pleased to announce our third deal of 2012. The sale of international grain trading conferences, Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia  to Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.

Global Grain Geneva is the world’s leading event for international grain traders. It has been held every November since 2003 in Geneva, the main European location for the trading of grain, oilseeds and soft commodities. The event has grown every year since its launch and in 2011 attracted nearly 1,000 delegates from over 50 countries. Euromoney is acquiring all the issued share capital of Global Commodities Group Sàrl whose sole asset is Global Grain Geneva.

Global Grain Asia is a new event for grain and oilseed trade and industry professionals operating in Asia-Pacific. It launches in March in Singapore. Euromoney is acquiring 50% of the issued share capital of GGA Pte. Ltd whose sole asset is Global Grain Asia. Euromoney has an option to acquire the remaining 50% of GGA Pte. Ltd in 2014.

The prospects for grain trading are good. Agricultural prices move over long cycles and prices today are under-pinned by a rising global population, greater affluence especially in Asia where meat consumption is growing rapidly (for instance, every pound of beef requires seven pounds of grain to produce), and less farmland: by the year 2020, the farmland available per person is forecast by the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to be less than half that of 1950.

Global Grain Geneva has been organized by James Dunsterville, a commodity trader in Geneva who also publishes the respected grain price newsletter AgriNews (www.agrinews.ch) and by Andrew Osborne, an event and conference specialist. Global Grain Asia was recently set up by G Seelan, Managing Director, and Ms Sarasija Raman, Executive Director, of the Centre for Management Technology (CMT) in Singapore, and Messrs. Dunsterville and Osborne. All four of them expect to remain involved in the business until at least 2014.

“We are delighted to acquire Global Grain Geneva and Global Grain Asia,” said Padraic Fallon, Chairman of Euromoney. “Euromoney has a successful record of acquiring conferences and developing them into fast-growing global event businesses. Coaltrans Conferences and Metal Bulletin Events are two striking examples and we look forward to doing the same with the Global Grain conferences.”

James Dunsterville and Andrew Osborne of Global Commodities Group said: “Having successfully built Global Grain Geneva into a must-attend conference for the grain trade market, and more recently launched Global Grain Asia with CMT, we believe that Euromoney is ideally positioned to develop further the conferences worldwide. We are confident that their successful track record in acquiring and developing commodity conferences will add tremendous value to the international grain trade community. We look forward to using our know-how and experience to help them achieve this vision.”

Paul Slight, Director at Fusion, said, “We were delighted to work with James, Andrew, Seelan and Sarasija. These are two great trading events and will be an excellent fit with Euromoney’s commodities events businesses. It is the third Fusion transaction in the commodities area and we expect to continue to be active in the sector for some time to come.”

UK, London & Switzerland, Geneva & Singapore

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