Renren sells online travel booking business eLong to Expedia

November 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Chinese social networking internet platform Renren has sold its investment in online travel booking business eLong to Expedia for approximately $72.4 million, or $23 per ADS.

“We’re pleased to have an opportunity to increase our investment in eLong as we see China as a key market in our efforts to expand internationally,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, President and Chief Executive Officer of Expedia. “We have been very happy with the strategic and operational progress made by eLong and look forward to many more years of success.”

“Our early investment in eLong helped us build mutually beneficial commercial ties as well as generate strong returns for our shareholders. Renren and eLong will continue to work on a number of joint initiatives, including Nuomi hotel group-buy, one of the largest hotel group-buy sites in China. We will continue this strong relationship with eLong and deliver more popular products together moving forward,” commented Joseph Chen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Renren.

“Renren will continue to be a valued business partner to us, and we look forward to future cooperation with Renren,” said Guangfu Cui, eLong’s Chief Executive Officer.

China, Beijing

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The world’s richest man buys 3.2 pct stake in Spain’s Prisa

November 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Carlos Slim, the world’s richest man, has bought a 3.2 percent stake in Promotora de Informaciones SA (Prisa), Spain’s largest media company whose shares have slumped by about 50 percent this year.

The purchase of 14.7 million shares of Prisa was made through Slim’s investment arm Inmobiliaria Carso SA, according to an exchange filing made in Spain on Friday. The statement did not specify how much Slim paid.

Based on the price of Prisa shares at Thursday’s close, the stake would have been worth 11 million euros. The shares jumped 12 percent on Friday to 0.84 euros, helped by the news of Slim’s investment.

Prisa’s business spans radio and TV assets in Spain and Latin America, as well as Spain’s best-selling newspaper El Pais. The company is trying to shed assets and cut its debt after borrowings topped 4 billion euros in 2010.

Slim is the chairman and chief executive of telecommunications companies Telmex and América Móvil and has extensive holdings in other Mexican companies. As of early October, Slim held 8.1 percent of Class A shares of New York Times.

Mexico, Mexico City & Spain, Madrid

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Ebix acquires online health exchange HealthConnect Systems

November 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Ebix, a supplier of On-Demand software and E-commerce services to the insurance industry, today announced that it has acquired Connecticut based HealthConnect Systems, an online Exchange for buyers and sellers of health insurance and employee benefits. Ebix also announced that HealthConnect would be immediately integrated into its EbixHealth Division.

Ebix expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to Ebix Earnings per Share (EPS). Ebix disclosed that it funded this transaction completely in cash using its bank debt line. No Ebix shares were issued and no investment bankers were involved in the transaction.

Ebix Chairman of the Board, President & CEO Robin Raina said, “Ebix has always been focused on providing end-to-end solutions in every industry segment. With the acquisition of HealthConnect, Ebix now is the only Company in the industry who can take a health insurance transaction across diverse entities like Employers, Brokers, General Agents, Third Party Administrators, Insurance Companies etc. while providing a wide variety of services like CRM, enrollment, online quoting, benefit portals, content management, claims handling, claims accounting, claims adjudication, COBRA, FSA administration to these entities.”

“The HealthConnect online quoting solution and network provides us the missing piece in our Health product portfolio. It brings in top rated insurance companies like Aetna and Horizon to Ebix, providing both sides an opportunity to cross-sell complementary services to each other’s client base.” Robin Raina added, “With 85% plus recurring revenue streams, good history of profitability, consistent margins, low customer attrition rates, proven management record, complimentary technologies and SaaS based architecture, HealthConnect met all the criteria of a good acquisition target for Ebix. This deal is a strategic step forward to establish Ebix as a Health Information Exchange and is likely to be followed by other strategic steps in coming months and years.”

USA, Atlanta, GA

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The Walt Disney Company acquires online parenting platform Babble Media

November 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

The Walt Disney Company, through its wholly owned subsidiary Disney Online, has acquired Babble Media, an online parenting platform featuring more than 200 influential “mom bloggers”. The acquisition of Babble further strengthens the position of Disney Interactive Media Group’s Mothers and Family portfolio as a leading online resource for mothers and families. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Babble was founded in 2006. Its stable of bloggers contribute daily to parenting topics including pregnancy, child care, health, food, family activities as well as lifestyle topics such as home, fashion and family products. Babble attracts a broad and engaged audience with its nearly constant stream of posts, written for and by mothers.

“Parents’ relationships with Disney are founded in stories, and Disney’s best stories are about families. We believe that Babble and Disney can harness the power of storytelling to inform, entertain and empower parents everywhere,” said Brooke Chaffin, SVP of Moms and Family, Disney Interactive Media Group. “With more than 3.9 million mom blogs in the US alone, Disney Interactive recognises and values the important and powerful role moms have taken on in new media.”

Babble will remain headquartered in New York. Rufus Griscom and Alisa Volkman will join the Disney Interactive Media Group.

USA, Burbank, CA

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Moody’s Corporation acquires majority stake in Copal Partners

November 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Moody’s Corporation has acquired a majority stake in the companies of Copal Partners. Copal’s companies are among the world’s leading providers of outsourced research and analytical services to institutional customers. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Copal’s analytical resources support front-line professionals at financial institutions and corporate enterprises worldwide. With expertise in a wide range of disciplines, including financial modeling, industry and company research, capital structure analysis and market surveys, Copal deploys a flexible staffing model to meet the specific requirements of its customers.

“Copal is highly regarded in the global financial services industry as a leader in high quality research and analytical services for bankers, financial analysts and institutional investors,” said Mark Almeida, President of Moody’s Analytics. “This acquisition extends Moody’s Analytics’ capabilities, enabling us to better help financial institutions manage risk. In addition, Copal’s expertise and resources will allow us to accelerate innovation across Moody’s Analytics.”

The acquisitions do not alter Moody’s 2011 earnings per share (EPS) guidance, and are expected to be accretive to Moody’s EPS in 2012. Moody’s funded the purchases from cash on hand.

Moody’s was advised on the transaction by Citi and Slaughter and May. Copal Partners was advised by Centerview Partners and Macquarie Capital. Proskauer Rose served as legal advisors for Copal.

USA, New York, NY

 

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Vivendi and Universal Music Group to acquire EMI Music

November 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Vivendi and its subsidiary, Universal Music Group have agreed to purchase EMI’s recorded music division from Citigroup for a total consideration of £1.2 billion representing 7 x EBITDA prior to synergies.

EMI Group is one of the world’s most prominent music companies. Its recorded music division, EMI Music, operates around the world and represents artists spanning all musical tastes and genres through record labels including Angel, Astralwerks, Blue Note, Capitol, Capitol Latin, Capitol Records Nashville, EMI Classics, EMI CMG, EMI Records, EMI Records Nashville, Manhattan, Parlophone, Virgin Classics and Virgin Records.

Jean-Bernard Lévy, CEO of Vivendi, stated: “We are very proud to welcome EMI into the Vivendi family. We all respect the labels within EMI as well as the artists and employees who contribute to its success. They will find within our Group a safe, long-term home, headquartered in Europe.” He then added: “We plan to acquire EMI’s recorded music division on attractive terms, adhering to our principle of total financial discipline. We are confident that we will be able to create additional value for our shareholders thanks to our knowledge of the industry and our proven track record of successful integration. Lucian Grainge’s personal experience and heritage will be a major asset in making the combined entity a great success.”

Lucian Grainge, Chairman & CEO of Universal Music Group, added: “This is a historic acquisition for UMG and an important step in preserving the legacy of EMI Music. For me, as an Englishman, EMI was the preeminent music company that I grew up with. Its artists and their music provided the soundtrack to my teenage years. Therefore, UMG is committed to both preserving EMI’s cultural heritage and artistic diversity and also investing in its artists and people to grow the company’s assets for the future. As a result, we will be better positioned to fully capitalise on the many new and exciting opportunities in the current marketplace, and also able to better serve our artists, songwriters and business partners, while offering fans even more choice.”

Vivendi will finance the transaction from its existing credit lines. Concurrently, Vivendi and UMG will also sell 500 million euros worth of non-core UMG assets.

Vivendi and UMG have been advised by Allen & Co. and SJ Berwin on this transaction. Citi Global Banking acted as financial advisor to Citi and EMI. Clifford Chance LLP, Shearman & Sterling LLP and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP acted as legal advisors to Citi and EMI.

UK, London & France, Paris & USA, New York, NY

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UBM TechWeb acquires Online Marketing Summit

November 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM TechWeb has acquired digital marketing event Online Marketing Summit.

“We are delighted to add Online Marketing Summit to UBM’s portfolio of global digital marketing brands and services, which include Technology for Marketing and Advertising in India, China and the UK, Internet World in the UK, and E-Commerce Expo in the UK,” said Kathy Astromoff, UBM TechWeb Executive Vice President and Group General Manager. “This acquisition also accelerates our mission of delivering high quality content and Marketing-as-a-Service for digital marketers and marketing tools, applications and service providers worldwide.”

Online Marketing Summit is taking place February 6-10, 2012 at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. Online Marketing Summit focuses on empowering a global community to learn and share best practices in digital marketing. The event features over 100 sessions and case studies, an Expo show floor, a full day Online Marketing Boot Camp, rich networking opportunities and influential speakers including executives, authors, marketers and social media experts at Adobe, Best Buy, Bing, Cisco, Dell, DuPont, Eloqua, GM, Google, HP,IBM,  Intel, SAP, Salesforce, SEOmoz and more. Topics to be covered include: social media, mobile marketing, search, email, marketing automation and more.

Online Marketing Summit was acquired by UBM TechWeb, while the Online Marketing Institute will continue to run independently. Aaron Kahlow will continue to serve as the Conference Director for Online Marketing Summit focusing on content programming and sales and marketing partnerships.

USA, San Francisco, CA

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BlueStar Energy Solutions acquires TruBrite Energy Management

November 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

BlueStar Energy Solutions has acquired TruBrite Energy Management.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This acquisition brings together BlueStar’s and TruBrite’s energy management expertise to meet businesses’ needs with energy efficiency projects that deliver savings and environmental benefits,” said Troy Hammond, President of Demand Side Management for BlueStar. “Working with the TruBrite team as our West Coast office, we can more effectively conduct facility audits and perform installations nationally.”

The acquisition builds upon BlueStar’s energy management offerings, which includes lighting controls, design and retrofits, energy monitoring and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) controls.

Based in California, TruBrite provides energy-efficient solutions for national business chains, commercial customers, schools and municipalities. TruBrite works with major utility energy efficiency programs to install state-of-the-art energy-efficient lighting and control systems to lower customers’ energy usage and reduce their energy costs. TruBrite has been the preferred supplier on more than 30,000 energy management projects.  In so doing, it has built an enviable reputation in California and nationally for cost effectiveness and quality and its brand name will continue to be used for BlueStar’s West Coast operations.

Guy Morgan, CEO of BlueStar, said, “With BlueStar’s dual role as a retail electric supplier and energy efficiency advisor, we are equipped to provide businesses with the necessary insights and innovations to get the most value out of their energy management programs.”

USA, Chicago, IL & Marysville, CA

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PA Acquires Globelynx “TVready” Network

November 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

The Press Association has acquired Globelynx, the fixed-camera network which enables corporate executives, financial analysts and commentators to be interviewed on TV news programmes from their offices.

The acquisition of Globelynx, whose network is widely used by the BBC, Sky News, ITN, Bloomberg, CNBC, Reuters and many of the world’s major broadcasters, marks the latest move in PA’s strategy of diversifying its core news and information business into corporate markets, and adding value to its existing services for media customers.  Under the terms of the deal announced today, PA is immediately acquiring 50% of Globelynx and will acquire the remaining 50% over the next four years.

Globelynx, which was founded in 2001, has a growing number of blue-chip corporate customers across financial services, media, and industrial companies. The network carries over 6,000 live interviews a year and has grown rapidly in recent years as a result of increased interest in financial and business TV coverage.

Interviews are conducted via self-operated fixed cameras, located in offices and dealing rooms, which are connected to TV networks via Globelynx’ master control room and fibre network. Broadcasters can book interviews up to a few minutes before going on air – without the inconvenience or cost of using outside broadcast facilities, or transporting interviewees to a TV studio. Globelynx also enables corporate executives and spokespeople to be interviewed on live TV without leaving their offices.

Clive Marshall, Chief Executive of PA Group, commented: “Globelynx is a fantastic business which provides an invaluable service connecting spokespeople with news broadcasters. The explosion in 24 hour news channels has created a huge demand for live comment, a demand which Globelynx, with PA’s support, is ideally placed to capitalise on.”

UK, London

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RapidBuyr acquires BizDeals.com

November 19, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

RapidBuyr, the daily deal site catering exclusively to small and mid-sized businesses with discounts on B2B products and services, has acquired Los Angeles-based B2B weekly deal site BizDeals.com.

This acquisition adds hundreds of new national sellers to the RapidBuyr network, enhances the company’s business services category and expands the RapidBuyr customer base, community, social assets and distribution footprint.

“We are thrilled to welcome BizDeals and its member network into the growing RapidBuyr community,” said RapidBuyr co-founder and chief marketing officer Darr Aley.

USA, Concord, MA & Los Angeles, CA

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