Rauxa acquires digital firm ThoughtMatrix

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Rauxa, a full-service direct marketing agency, has acquired ThoughtMatrix, a San Francisco-based digital design and development firm. The deal will expand Rauxa’s portfolio of digital and integrated services.

“This acquisition will expand Rauxa’s service footprint and continues our growth and evolution in digital services,” Rauxa CEO Jill Gwaltney said. “We strive to make our clients’ marketing dollars more productive, and we’ll expand upon this by adopting and delivering the latest in digital marketing capabilities.”

The two agencies will operate in their current locations until mid-2012, when Rauxa’s San Francisco office will combine with ThoughtMatrix in a new location. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Founded in 2003 by Tony Rems and Trevor Fagerskog, ThoughtMatrix employs 44 people. Clients include Autodesk, Mattel, Levi’s, Dannon, Cisco, eBay, Expedia and PayPal. Rems, the former CTO of Razorfish, will assume the role of senior vice president of technology at Rauxa, while Fagerskog will become senior vice president of operations.

USA, Costa Mesa, CA & San Francisco, CA

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News Corporation acquires a stake in MOBY Group

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

News Corporation is to become a minority investor in MOBY Group, a media company headquartered in Dubai and active in Central Asia, principally Afghanistan, and the Middle East. Under the terms of the agreement, News Corporation will contribute its 50 percent shareholding in Broadcast Middle East, its Farsi-language TV joint venture with MOBY, for a minority shareholding in MOBY and will also provide growth capital to MOBY for its expansion plans. Broadcast Middle East will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of MOBY following the investment.

Through Broadcast Middle East, News Corporation and MOBY have launched two successful Farsi-language channels, FARSI1 and Zemzemeh, reaching millions of Farsi speaking audiences across Central Asia and the Middle East.

The agreement with News Corporation will enable MOBY to strengthen its leadership position across the regions in which it currently operates whilst working to expand its presence in new and emerging markets. MOBY will continue to be chaired by Saad Mohseni while Zaid Mohseni will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer of BME.

News Corporation will provide strategic guidance and input via representation on the MOBY Board of Directors.

James Murdoch, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Chairman and CEO, International, News Corporation said, “Merging our Farsi joint venture into MOBY allows us to expand our activities with what is surely one of the most dynamic and exciting media businesses in emerging markets anywhere. The Mohsenis are true pioneers and we are pleased to be able to invest alongside them in these challenging, yet very promising markets.”

Saad Mohseni, Chairman, MOBY Group said, “We are delighted to have in News Corporation both a partner with a long track record of growing entrepreneurial, innovative businesses and an investor that sees value in entering parts of the world which many media organizations have not traditionally looked to. Today’s agreement both recognizes the value we have created together in Broadcast Middle East and enables us to continue to grow MOBY for the future.”

UK, London & UAE, Dubai

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UK private equity investment in the £10M-£10OM market grows by 44%

January 18, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Data from the Lyceum Capital and Cass Business School UK Growth Buyout Dashboard shows that the UK has reinforced its position as the preeminent market for private equity investment in Europe, with activity in its lower mid-market having continued its strong recovery in 2011 to pre-recession levels of almost 100 deals.

Highlighting the segment’s robustness despite macro-economic challenges, the UK Growth Buyout Dashboard, revealed 44 per cent growth in the total number of transactions last year to 91, compared to 63 in 2010 and 34 deals in 2009.

The quarterly data, which analyses UK-headquartered private equity control deals in the £10 to £100 million enterprise value space, also shows that total deal value has more than trebled over the past three years, with aggregate values in excess of £3.4 billion last year compared to over £2.2 billion in 2010 and just above £1.0 billion in 2009.

Technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) was the stand-out sector – a trend which is likely to continue, driven by growth in innovative IT solutions such as cloud computing and mobile business applications. 26 TMT deals completed during 2011, contributing to 29 per cent of completed transactions, compared to 11 a year earlier and just four in 2009.

Click here to read the full UK Growth Buyout Dashboard.

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Future sells its US Music division to New Bay Media for $3M

January 13, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Future plc subsidiary Future US is selling its loss-making, New York based, Music Division to NewBay Media for a gross consideration of $3.0 million. The sale involves the US magazines Guitar World, Revolver and Guitar Aficionado and the related websites together with a licence to operate the Golden Gods Awards show in the US.

The gross consideration is payable as follows: $2.60 million in cash on completion; $0.15 million in cash on 30 September 2012; and $0.25 million in cash in the third calendar quarter of 2012 based on achievement of certain operational targets. In addition, NewBay will assume all subscription liabilities relating to the titles. The net sale proceeds will be used for the continued restructuring of Future US and to reduce the level of bank debt. The is made on a cash-free/debt-free basis.

Post completion of the sale, there will be a short transition period during which Future US will continue to support NewBay while NewBay integrates the US Music Division into its portfolio. Once this period is over, Future will market its New York property.

For the year ended 30 September 2011, the revenue and pre-tax loss attributable to the US Music Division was £8.5 million and £3.8 million, respectively.  At 30 September 2011, the US Music Division had gross assets of £1.8 million.

Mark Wood, Future’s Chief Executive, said: “The sale represents a big step forward in our strategy to streamline our US business and return it to profitability by 2013. The merger of our mainstream US operations and our UK business is on track, and we are making good progress in reducing costs. We continue to accelerate our transition to a digital business model and to create a single global product line, selling our entire range of digital content to high-value audiences in all key markets.”

USA, New York, NY

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Immediate Media acquires You & Your Wedding and Prima Baby from Hearst Magazines UK

January 12, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Immediate Media Co has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the magazine and website assets of You & Your Wedding and Prima Baby & Pregnancy from Hearst Magazines UK for an undisclosed sum. All staff working on the titles within the deal are expected to transfer to Immediate Media’s London offices.

The deal marks the first acquisition by the newly-created Immediate Media Co, formed out of the merger of BBC Magazines, Origin Publishing and Magicalia in November 2011. The company already publishes a parenting portfolio including Practical Parenting and Pregnancy magazine and the MadeforMums digital network, as well as bridal brand Perfect Wedding.

Tom Bureau, CEO of Immediate Media Co, says: “I am delighted that we have acquired these strong assets. They are an excellent fit with our existing brands and this acquisition is in line with our strategy of developing strong cross-media opportunities. The deal also demonstrates our ambition to invest in Immediate Media Co in order to create a fast-growing, dynamic business, and we look forward to welcoming the new teams.”

Arnaud de Puyfontaine, Chief Executive, Hearst Magazines UK, says:  “This deal reinforces our overall strategy to focus investment on Hearst UK’s core business and digital expansion, and we are confident this move will allow both You & Your Wedding and Prima Baby to succeed within the Immediate Media stable.”

UK, London

 

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Ad Network and publishing company PK4 Media acquires JSFour Media and Technology

January 12, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

PK4 Media, an online video advertising network and publishing company, has acquired JSFour, a media and technology company. As part of the acquisition JSFour founder Jimi Smoot will join PK4 Media as the VP of Product Development. The two companies have been in collaboration to develop an advanced video distribution platform named Bishop.

The Bishop Video Platform is designed for the next generation of online video. At the core of Bishop’s DNA is JSFour’s Render platform, which was engineered for publishers to lower the cost associated with running video on their site. PK4 Media brings advertisers to the mix to offset any cost.

“When JSFour showed us their low cost and streamlined method for publishers to add video to their site, light bulbs went off instantly,” said PK4 Media CEO and Founder, Tom Alexander. “We knew that the publishers we have relationships with would benefit from this platform, and any costs would be offset through our brand partners. We acquired the technology almost immediately.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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Publishers Clearing House Acquires Liquid Wireless

January 12, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet
Publishers Clearing House, a multi-channel direct marketer, has acquired Liquid Wireless, a Portland, Maine-based company specialising in mobile lead generation, media buying and analytics.  The company’s mobile platform and services offering is a 360 degree approach to lead generation and customer acquisition.

“The Liquid Wireless team has built technology and processes that are unmatched by most larger mobile technology companies,” said Andy Goldberg, CEO of Publishers Clearing House.  “This enables Liquid Wireless to provide quality customer acquisition at a scale that has never been seen before on mobile. The business is a terrific complement to the multi-platform model that PCH has already created and continues to successfully execute on daily, delivering quality customer acquisition services to over 1000 marketers. We are excited to have them as part of the PCH family.”

The Liquid Wireless team will continue in Portland, Maine while becoming an extension of the Publishers Clearing House digital advertising sales organisation.

NEW YORK and PORTLAND, Maine

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Berkery Noyes Releases 2011 Year End Online & Mobile Industry Mergers and Acquisitions Report

January 12, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet
Berkery Noyes, an independent middle market investment bank, has released its 2011 Full Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trend Report for the Online & Mobile Industry. The report analyses the sector for 2011 and compares it with similar activity in 2009 and 2010.

Median revenue and EBITDA multiples increased from 2010 to 2011. The median revenue multiple went from 1.9x to 2.4x, a 26 percent rise, while the median EBITDA multiple increased from 11.4x to 12.5x. There were 1531 strategic transactions, an increase of 33 percent compared to 2010. Total volume in the Online & Mobile space increased 33 percent over 2010, from 1299 to 1723 transactions.

“M&A activity for social media and analytics companies continues to grow as a broader range of players seek to capitalize on this evolution in media and marketing communications,” said Kathleen Thomas, Managing Director at Berkery Noyes. “The world’s largest retailer, Walmart, entered the market in April with their $300 million acquisition of Kosmix Corporation, and Kosmix, now known as @WalmartLabs, has already completed four deals.”

@WalmartLabs, which is now the retailer’s digital technology division, has been building what they call “the future of commerce” through their “Social Genome,” a database combining billions of tweets, YouTube videos, Facebook messages and more. They claim this will assist shoppers with making decisions through “a broad array of social commerce applications” and ultimately help Walmart achieve greater margins and sales.

Total acquisitions involving social media and analytics companies rose 39% from 116 transactions in 2010 to 161 in 2011. The median revenue multiple for this sector between 2009 and 2011 was 5.5x.

A copy of the Full Year 2011 Online & Mobile Industry Mobile Industry M&A Trend Report is available at the Berkery Noyes website.

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Elsevier acquires QUOSA

January 12, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

Elsevier, the  provider of scientific, technical, and medical information products and services, has acquired QUOSA a content management and workflow productivity solutions provider for researchers and information managers.

QUOSA’s current solutions and platform, including its Information Manager and Virtual Library, will continue to be supported. QUOSA’s technological capabilities will be developed into Elsevier-branded solutions, raising the efficiency of the search and discovery process. They will also allow researchers and information professionals to manage information more efficiently at the various stages of the research workflow including organizing, archiving and sharing.

“Elsevier is focused on delivering productivity enhancing tools to researchers and information managers to help accelerate and promote scientific discovery. Our acquisition of QUOSA ensures that we continue to deliver more value to our customers by improving the search, retrieval, management, analysis and sharing of the increasingly disparate types of information required to improve research outcomes,” said Alexander van Boetzelaer, Managing Director of Elsevier Corporate Markets. “QUOSA brings to Elsevier an innovative offering and technological expertise that align well with Elsevier today.”

Elsevier and QUOSA have collaborated successfully since 2007 when the latter’s PDF Download Manager was incorporated in SciVerse Scopus.  Later the feature was embedded in SciVerse ScienceDirect. Elsevier’s acquisition of QUOSA marks a continuation of this collaboration which has boosted research productivity for the users of both solutions.

Founded in 1996 and headquartered in Boston, QUOSA began by targeting the academic and government segments and now also serves a range of corporate customers, including more than half of the Top 25 pharma-biotech companies. Financial details of the acquisition are not being disclosed.

The Netherlands, Amsterdam & USA, Boston, MA

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The New York Times Co. to sell its16 regional newspapers to Halifax Media Holdings for $143M

January 11, 2012 — Fusion DigiNet

The New York Times Co. is to sell its group of 16 small,regional newspapers to Halifax Media Holdings LLC for $143 million.

The newspapers being sold include The Press Democrat in Santa Rosa, Calif.; the News Chief in Winter Haven, Fla.; and The Tuscaloosa News in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Halifax Media is based in Daytona Beach, Fla., and owns the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

“The sale of our Regional Media Group will enable The New York Times Company to continue our transformation to a digitally focused, multiplatform media company,” said New York Times Co.Chairman Arthur Sulzberger. Last year, the group accounted for 11 percent of The Times Co.’s $2.4 billion in annual revenue, according to the company’s annual report.

The Times Co., like many newspaper publishers, has struggled in recent years as advertisers shift from newspapers to cheaper alternatives on the Internet. It is trying to supplement its digital advertising push by charging readers for unrestricted access to its content on the Web, Apple Inc.’s iPad and mobile phones.

The company had said on Dec. 19 that it was in advanced talks to sell the regional newspapers to Halifax Media. That announcement came four days after the company said CEO Janet Robinson will step down at the end of the year.

The sale is expected to close in a few weeks, and The Times Co. will record an after-tax gain on the sale in the first quarter of 2012. It estimates that the net after-tax proceeds from the sale will be about $150 million, which it plans to use for general corporate purposes.

Other newspapers included in the deal are: Sarasota Herald-Tribune in Sarasota, Fla.; The Ledger in Lakeland, Fla.; Star-News in Wilmington, N.C.; Herald-Journal in Spartanburg, S.C.; Star-Banner in Ocala, Fla.; The Gainesville Sun in Gainesville, Fla.; The Gadsden Times in Gadsden, Ala.; The Courier in Houma, La.; Times-News in Hendersonville, N.C.; Daily Comet in Thibodaux, La.; The Dispatch in Lexington, N.C.; Petaluma Argus-Courier in Petaluma, Calif.; and North Bay Business Journal in Santa Rosa, Calif.

“The strong local news coverage these papers provide represents not only an important community service, but, in our eyes, a good investment,” Michael Redding, Halifax Media’s CEO, said in Tuesday’s announcement.

Privately held Halifax Media lists among its investors Stephens Capital Partners LLC and Redding Investments.

The New York Times Co. publishes its namesake newspaper as well as The Boston Globe and other newspapers. It also owns About.com.

Its shares added a penny to $7.77 in extended trading following the announcement. They had ended the regular trading session down 3 cents at $7.76.

USA, New York

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