Pearson to sell 50% stake in FTSE to the London Stock Exchange for £450 million

December 15, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson has agreed to sell its 50% stake in FTSE International Limited to the London Stock Exchange Group for £450 million in cash.

FTSE is a world-leader in the creation and management of more than 200,000 equity, bond and alternative asset class indices. With offices in London, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Madrid, Milan, Mumbai, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Sydney and Tokyo, FTSE works with partners and clients in 80 countries worldwide.

Marjorie Scardino, Pearson’s chief executive, said: “FTSE is a bellwether of global financial markets and a world-class business. We have enjoyed supporting the company’s excellent and highly professional team to build the business. Proud as we are of that long association, FTSE’s strategy is different from our own. We wish it every success as we continue to build our digital business information services around the Financial Times.”

Pearson and London Stock Exchange Group currently each own 50% of FTSE. Under the terms of the agreement, London Stock Exchange Group will acquire from Pearson the 50% of FTSE that it does not own and continue to use the FTSE name. The transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of 2012.

In 2010, FTSE reported total revenues of £98.5 million and total EBITDA of £40 million. At 31 December 2010, FTSE had gross assets of £100.8m.

Pearson expects FTSE to make a total post-tax contribution to Pearson’s adjusted earnings of approximately £18 million or 2.2p per share in 2011.

The transaction follows the sale of Pearson’s stake in Interactive Data last year for $2bn. It marks Pearson’s exit from companies that are primarily providers of financial data and strengthens the FT Group’s focus on global business news, analysis and intelligence, increasingly delivered through subscription models and digital channels.

Pearson intends to use the proceeds of the sale to support and accelerate its strategy, investing in its businesses both organically and through acquisitions of companies with complementary content, technology and geographic exposure. In recent years Pearson’s organic investments have enabled it to gain share in many of its markets. The company has also made a series of bolt-on acquisitions (including vocational training companies in the UK, global business intelligence through Mergermarket, universities in South Africa, online learning businesses in North America, language schools in China and school systems in Brazil) which have rapidly enhanced Pearson’s earnings and return on invested capital.

UK, London

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SAY Media Acquires ReadWriteWeb

December 15, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

SAY Media has acquired ReadWriteWeb. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, according to TechCrunch Say Media paid around $5 million.

Founder and editor-in-chief Richard MacManus will continue to lead ReadWriteWeb as part of SAY Media’s editorial team. In addition to ReadWriteWeb’s current staff, new writers will contribute to the technology publication, starting with Dan Frommer, founder and editor-in-chief of SplatF, who will serve as editor-at-large.

“ReadWriteWeb has established itself as a leading news and analysis source for the tech community, reaching high-level business influencers and decision makers. Its editorial team is frequently sourced and considered to be one of the best in the business,” said Matt Sanchez, CEO, SAY Media. “As we looked to acquire a property that would further strengthen our technology channel, ReadWriteWeb naturally rose to the top of the list. Richard and his team are extremely passionate about the content they create and have worked very hard to develop a deeply engaged and informed community of tech enthusiasts.”

As part of SAY Media’s portfolio of owned and operated media properties, ReadWriteWeb will take advantage of the Say Media’s proprietary technology platform, experienced ad sales team, and design expertise to scale its business to reach more technology enthusiasts and decision-makers. This acquisition will strengthen SAY’s Tech channel offering. Current sites in SAY Media’s Tech channel include: Android and Me, Gear Patrol, gdgt, SplatF, TechDirt and more.

USA, San Francisco, CA

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Redpoint to merge with Baringa Partner’s Energy Advisory practice

December 13, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Redpoint Energy and Baringa Partners are planning to merge to create an organisation in the European energy space.  Baringa is a management consultancy that specialises in the energy, financial services and utilities markets in the UK and continental Europe. Redpoint is a specialist energy consultancy, advising clients on investments, strategy and regulation across Europe’s power, gas and carbon markets. The merger, likely to happen in Spring 2012.

Explaining the decision to merge, Phil Grant, Director at Redpoint said: “Redpoint Energy and Baringa Partners share a common set of internal and external values, have worked closely together since Redpoint’s foundation in 2004, and already have an element of cross-ownership.”

Mohamed Mansour, Managing Partner at Baringa, said: “The energy landscape in Europe is changing dramatically, with policy responses to environmental and security of supply concerns, evolving supply and demand side technologies, and dramatically changing global market dynamics. Our clear shared vision is to be the advisor of choice in helping our clients shape, define and deliver change in European Energy markets.”

UK, London

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MITIE acquires access and disability consultancy Direct Enquiries

December 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

MITIE, the strategic outsourcing and energy services company, has acquired a majority stake in access and disability consultancy company Direct Enquiries Holdings Ltd.

Direct Enquiries provides a range of services to major companies and public sector organisations, allowing them to minimise their risk and maximise the benefits of embracing equality.   Direct Enquiries provides Part M and BS 8300 audits around access for disabled people, supported by compliance reviews covering fire risk and health and safety.

The company also operates free to use online directories, Directenquiries.com, Inclusivebritain.com and Inclusivelondon.com – the Mayor of London’s official information portal for the 2012 games and its legacy. These sites provide access information for people with specific access requirements such as disabled and older people and parents with children.

The acquisition provides a strong platform for growth in the compliance, risk assessment, disability and access industries, as well as providing significant cross-selling opportunities within MITIE’s existing service offering.

Direct Enquiries has an annual turnover of approximately £1.4m from a wide range of public and blue chip private sector clients, including John Lewis, Birmingham Children’s Hospital, Intercontinental Hotels Group and the Metropolitan Police. The initial consideration is £0.3m, paid in cash on completion, with further consideration payable in cash up to a maximum of £8.3m depending on financial performance over a five year period.

MITIE’s investment has been financed through its Entrepreneurs Fund and provides the management team with an incentive linked to future performance based on the MITIE model.  More information on MITIE’s Entrepreneurs Fund can be found at http://www.mitie.com/entrepreneurs.

Ruby McGregor-Smith, Chief Executive, MITIE Group PLC, commenting on the acquisition, said: “We are all delighted to have acquired a majority shareholding in Direct Enquiries through our Entrepreneurs Fund. This acquisition demonstrates our continued commitment to and interest in disadvantaged groups, whilst recognising the increasing importance of building compliance legislation and risk management to our clients.”

UK, Bristol & Bracknell, Berkshire

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Trinity Consultants acquired by Gryphon

December 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Trinity Consultants, an international environmental consulting firm that specialises in industrial air quality issues, has recapitalised with financial partner Gryphon Investors, a San Francisco-based middle market private equity firm. Trinity management and employees maintained significant ownership in the transaction. Gryphon bought a controlling interest in the firm from Sentinel Capital Partners, majority owner since 2007. John E. (Jay) Hofmann, Trinity’s President/CEO since 2001, will remain at the helm.

According to Hofmann, “Trinity’s management team is confident that Gryphon will make an excellent partner going forward. From the beginning, we were impressed by how well they understood our business and supported our growth objectives.”

Trinity Consultants was advised by investment banking firm MHT Partners. Gryphon was advised by investment banking firm Lincoln International.

USA, Dallas, TX

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Wolters Kluwer Health acquires Medknow

December 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Wolters Kluwer Health has acquired Medknow PVT Ltd., a Scientific, Technical & Medical journal publishing operation headquartered in Mumbai, India and one of the largest open access publishers in the world. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Research is changing in the developing world with clinicians and researchers looking for more access to locally-written content that is peer-reviewed and accessible via open platforms,” said Karen Abramson, President & CEO, Wolters Kluwer Health, Medical Research. “Our acquisition of Medknow aligns with our strategy of continuing to invest in providing the latest, most trusted information to our customers around the world to help them fuel discoveries and enhance patient care.”

Founded in 1977, Medknow has a strong portfolio of more than 155 journals and offers much of its content electronically. The company has strong market share among journals published in India and also has a growing presence in Asia Pacific and the MEA region. In addition to its print and electronic journal content, the company provides an electronic peer-review system for authors and editors, ensuring high quality clinical research. The deal will enable Wolters Kluwer Health to accelerate advances in the open access arena. It also furthers the company’s growth strategy of continued investment in international expansion in key emerging markets across the globe.

USA, Philadelphia, PA & India, Mumbai

 

 

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Mingle acquires Affinity Circles

December 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Mingle, a career-focused software and services company and parent company of Climber.com, has acquired Affinity Circles, an affinity group-focused recruiting network based in Sunnyvale, Calif. Climber.com provides professionals hands-on, proactive career management and access to hundreds of thousands of recruiters. The transaction was completed on November 18, and is a merger deal with Climber.com buying shares of existing shareholders. Affinity Circles will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Mingle LLC.

“Adding Affinity Circles to the Climber.com network allows us to reach millions of talented professionals looking for career opportunities in the high-paying category,” said Michael C. O’Brien, CEO of Mingle LLC. “Our recruiters and clients will now be able to target potential hires by campus, location, specialty and other affinity groups to reach a highly desirable group of job seekers.”

Affinity Circles began in 2002 as a way for Stanford University students to stay in touch with their friends and colleagues. What quickly developed was the Web’s first private and completely secure online social network.

USA, San Diego, CA

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ePals to acquire Cricket Magazine Group, Cobblestone Publishing and Open Court Publishing

December 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

ePals Corporation is to acquire Carus Publishing Company in a combined cash and stock transaction. Carus Publishing Company includes the Cricket Magazine Group, Cobblestone Publishing and Open Court Publishing. Carus also publishes 14 magazine titles on a variety of subjects (fiction, science, history, culture), hundreds of books and a collection of Web and mobile applications.

The acquisition of Carus accelerates ePals’ entrance into the home subscription market by adding Carus’ subscriber base of more than 300,000 grandparents, parents and extended family members, as well as a broad array of publications for children across a variety of subjects.

Carus Publishing Company,  The acquisition will add to ePals:

  • significant gross revenue which in 2010 was approximately US$16 million with EBITDA of nearly US$1 million and a net loss of approximately US$270,000;
  • more than 300,000 consumer subscriptions (approximately 70% from grandparents) and approximately 80,000 institutional subscriptions;
  • customer relationships with an estimated 30% of US middle schools and 3800 libraries;
  • a recipient of 65 Parents’ Choice awards and more than half of all International Reading Association, Paul A. Witty awards ever given;
  • mobile applications, including Carus’ Ladybug App; and
  • a licensing business in China for three localised Chinese publications based on Carus content.

“Since public listing four months ago, we have focused on launching LearningSpace 2.0 to enable schools to build safe learning communities as part of their K-12 cloud solutions, announced integration of Microsoft Office365 and GoogleDocs into our learning communities so that teachers can let their students use state of the art tools in a safe and secure manner, and launched major initiatives to establish ePals China and ePals Europe,” said Miles Gilburne, Chairman and CEO of ePals.

USA, Washington, DC & Chicago, IL

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CompareNetworks acquires Russell Publishing

December 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

CompareNetworks a provider of online B2B marketplaces for the scientific and healthcare industries, has acquired Russell Publishing. Russell Publishing’s titles include American Pharmaceutical Review, Pharmaceutical Outsourcing and International Drug Discovery.

“By merging world-class content from the Russell Publishing publications with CompareNetworks’ online product marketplaces, we will create the ultimate online resource for technology and product information in the life science industry,” said Brian Cowley, CEO of CompareNetworks.

The addition of the content from Russell Publishing will expand the pharmaceutical industry information offered on CompareNetworks’ sites. The assets of International Drug Discovery will complement Biocompare.com, the CompareNetworks vertical serving the life sciences. Assets from American Pharmaceutical Review and Pharmaceutical Outsourcing will enhance Drugdevcompare.com, which targets the drug development industry.

USA, San Francisco

 

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Publicis Groupe acquires Gomye

December 7, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has acquired 100% of Gomye, a full service digital agency providing integrated and interactive marketing services, with offices in Beijing as well as Chengdu and Chongqing, two rapidly growing major cities in western China. Gomye will be rebranded to become Publicis Modem Beijing (the digital arm of Publicis Worldwide in Beijing) and Publicis Modem Chengdu. The agency’s 51 staff members will be folded into Publicis’ local team. Its CEO, Alan Yang, will become Managing Director of Publicis Modem Beijing and Publicis Modem Chengdu, and will report to the CEO of Publicis Beijing.

Coupled with the acquisition of Shanghai agency Wangfan earlier this month, the acquisition of Gomye, which remains subject to the approval of the relevant authorities, further emphasizes Publicis Worldwide’s strong commitment to building leading digital capabilities across China.

Founded in 2003, Gomye’s superior digital expertise, coupled with its leading position in Chengdu and Chongqing, ideally place the agency to benefit from the strong growth potential of China’s most important western cities. Following a period of investment in the coastal metropolises of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, China’s 2011-2016 Five Year Plan, approved inMarch 2011, gives priority focus to developing the country’s vast interior. Chengdu – the capital city of Sichuan province — and its sister city Chongqing are among the economic, transportation and communications hubs designated for massive investment and rapid growth. Gomye’s clients includes Vanke Real Estate (China’s largest residential developer), movie and media company Huayi Brothers Media Group, liquor company Wuliangye Yibin, China Mobile and China Telecom.

This is the latest in a series of China agency acquisitions for Publicis Groupe that includes Wangfan (November 2011), Genedigi (June 2011), Dreams (May 2011), Interactive Communications Ltd (February 2011), and Eastwei Relations (November 2010).

“Acquiring Gomye is a particularly important move for us. It not only further strengthens our digital capabilities in Beijing but also gives us the critical ability to offer our clients significant digital expertise in the booming cities of Chengdu and Chongqing” commented Jean-Yves Naouri, Publicis Groupe COO and Chairman of China Publicis Groupe.

France, Paris & China, Beijing

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