Cengage Learning to acquire National Geographic’s digital and print school publishing unit

June 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Cengage Learning has signed a strategic partnership agreement with the National Geographic Society (NGS) including the acquisition of the NGS school publishing unit and extended use of the NGS brand.

Specifically, under the terms of the agreement, Cengage Learning will acquire National Geographic’s digital and print school publishing unit, which includes the National Geographic Science series, an innovative core elementary science curriculum, National Geographic Explorer! Magazines, and Hampton Brown’s literacy and language programs – resulting in the formation of a global literacy, English language learning and content publishing brand.

“Cengage Learning is very proud to partner with the National Geographic Society, one of the most recognized and respected organizations in the world,” said Ron Dunn, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cengage Learning.  “This expanded partnership teams Cengage Learning with the National Geographic global brand and content assets in a powerful way that further strengthens our existing English language learning business and enriches our full range of educational solutions.”

NGS assets include over 11 million images, 100,000 hours of NGS video, maps and illustrations and more than 120 years of articles from the Magazine and its other properties.  Building on Cengage Learning’s strong position in both the classroom and the library market, National Geographic’s brand and content will add tremendous value across new and existing products.

“Cengage Learning has been an extraordinary partner to date, and we are delighted to expand our relationship, making Cengage our premier partner in education.” said John Fahey, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, National Geographic Society.

USA, Stamford, CT

 

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UK: RBI’s Variety Group to acquire TVtracker

June 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Variety Group, a division of Reed Business Information US,  has signed off a deal to buy online information provider, TVtracker. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

TVtracker is a premium entertainment research and data tracking service covering TV, film and the digital entertainment business for more than 250 leading brands in entertainment and media.

Variety Group president Neil Stiles said: “This is a major step forward for the organisation’s expansion, with research and data services a centrepiece of Variety’s online strategy.”

Neil added: “Variety aims to provide business information that is integrated into the desktop of industry executives.”

TVTracker’s founder Mark Hoebich will continue to oversee the operation, reporting into Neil.

Variety digital general manager Jennifer Collins said: “We anticipate being the market leader for not just TV, but also film data and information in the next year.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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bNET Communications acquires GoMo News

June 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet
bNET Communications has acquired the mobile-industry online blog site, GoMo News. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“The acquisition of GoMo News brings together two well-known, respected brands in mobile to create a content powerhouse,” said Tony Sklar, COO and Host of bNET Communications. “Strategically growing the bNET brand required a daily mechanism to deliver content, which we have with GoMo News, and our goal now will be maximizing the value of both brands.”

GoMo News was founded in 2006 to provide news and analysis on the mobile industry, with an emphasis on mobile search and social networking, mobile advertising, and mobile barcodes. It has more than one million readers, a daily newsletter, and a mobile application.

USA, New York, NY

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Energy Efficiency business Scientific Conservation to acquire Servidyne

June 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Scientific Conservation, a leading provider of energy efficiency solutions for the commercial building market, is to acquire Servidyne, an energy management and demand response company, for a price of $3.50 per share in an all-cash transaction.

The transaction is expected to close on or before Q4 2011. The combined company will be renamed SCIenergy.

SCIenergy will combine Servidyne’s extensive experience in Energy Efficiency, Demand Response and Facilities Maintenance with SCI’s core competency in cloud-based energy management.  Servidyne also has deep domain knowledge in Retro Commissioning, LEED for Existing Buildings and is the nine-time recipient of EPA’s Energy Star Partner of the Year Award.

“We’re very impressed with the Servidyne team and reputation, and are excited about their customer base and long term relationships with commercial building owners and operators.  The new company will have solid customer contracts and partnerships with many Fortune 50 companies, and is well positioned to be a recognized leader in next generation cloud-based energy management,” said Russ McMeekin, CEO, SCI.

“We are delighted to become part of the SCI family. The newly formed company will have tremendous capabilities in serving global customers using a scalable platform,” said Todd Jarvis, President, Servidyne.

San Francisco, CA &  Atlanta, GA

 

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LivingSocial acquires Ensogo, DealKeren and GoNabit

June 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Social commerce site  LivingSocial has acquired Ensogo, a shopping deal site in Thailand and the Philippines; DealKeren, an Ensogo company based in Indonesia; and GoNabit, a daily another deal business with a presence in four Middle Eastern countries. Terms of the deals were not released.

These three acquisitions bring the total number of countries in which LivingSocial operates to 21. Ensogo, with members in the Philippines, Thailand and Indonesia, marks the first LivingSocial acquisition in Asia.

“As with previous acquisitions, LivingSocial has again chosen to align with local companies that possess similar values and ways of doing business,” said Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and co-founder, LivingSocial. “We are excited to enter the dynamic Asian market and our presence in the Middle East and the Netherlands further strengthens our strategic global efforts to bring LivingSocial values to members across the globe.”

Launched in June 2010, Ensogo is a social shopping website in Thailand, Philippines, and Indonesia and currently serves more than 800,000 members. Ensogo is backed by Rebate Networks, an international VC specialising in the social commerce space.

GoNabit was co-founded by Dan Stuart and Sohrab Jahanbani in January 2010 and is based in United Arab Emirates. The site also presents offers, suitable for children and parents alike, with Dubai Family, as well as travel-specific deals through GoNabit Getaways. In addition to being the first group-buying site in the Middle East/North Africa, GoNabit is the first company of its kind to offer deals in Arabic. It has members in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Dubai, Beirut, Cairo and Sharjah Ajman.

USA, Washington DC, Thailand, Philippines and Indonesia, & United Arab Emirates

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EMAP’s annual report for year ended 31 December 2010 – Highlights

June 28, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

EMAP International Limited, the media business jointly owned by funds managed by Apax Partners Europe Managers Ltd and Guardian Media Group plc, has published its annual report to year ending 31st December. During the prior period the Group changed its year-end from the 31 March to 31 December. Wherever possible this Fusion DigiNet article compares the 12 month performances of years ending March 2009 and March 2010.

Highlights

  • Operating profit before amortisation of intangible assets and exceptional items was £81m, (9 month period ended 31 December 2009: £58m)
  • Sales were £244m (9 month period ended 31 December 2009: £164m).

The group saw revenue and profit grow in its two largest divisions: online intelligence and exhibitions and festivals. It also saw strong growth in its smaller Middle East unit.

However, these gains were offset by reductions elsewhere relating to spending in the UK public sector, especially in health and local government. This impacted trading in the Group’s publishing division which saw a marked year on year reduction in spending in public sector recruitment advertising and in its conference unit which saw lower delegate attendees to its one day event programmes serving public sector interests.

The year on year revenue reduction from these two public sector related sources amounted to £10m. Growth in the rest of the business brought the Group’s total revenue back within 1% of the prior year total.

 Acquisition Activity

The Group made three acquisitions during the year. In September 2010 100% of the share capital of Best Energy Event Ltd and related magazines was acquired for £2.6m. The company runs the Energy Event and Water, Energy & Environment, a magazine in the same sector. In November 2010 the Group acquired the remaining stake in Broadcast Video Expo for £1.8 million, bringing ownership up to 100%. In December 2010 the Futuresource Event was acquired for £2.1m. Futuresource operates in the same sector as Recycling and Waste Management and the two exhibitions will be combined.

Emap sold its investment in its Professional Beauty assets to a new joint venture in which it retains a beneficial holding. A loss of £17m was realised on the disposal, however, Emap has retained the brand which is licensed to the new joint venture.

Cash flow and debt

The Group remains highly cash generative, generating £53m, (9 month period ended 31 December 2009: £45m) net cash inflow before financing activities. Cash generation accelerated in 2010, leading to a higher level of operating cash flows of £78m (9 month period ended 31 December 2009: £41m).

Performance of the five divisions

  • EMAP Inform – generated revenues of £53m (year ended 31 December 2009: £60m)
  • EMAP Data and Insight – generated revenues of £80m (year ended 31 December 2009: £78m)
  • EMAP Connect – generated revenues of £78m (year ended 31 December 2009: £77m)
  • EMAP Networks – generated revenues of £14m (year to 31 December 2009: £17m)
  • EMAP Middle East – generated revenues of £19m (year ended 31 December 2009: £17m)

Read the full report here.

UK, London

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Smart Metering Systems to float on AIM with a market capitalisation of £50M

June 27, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Smart Metering Systems has announced its flotation on AIM. Dealings in the Group’s shares will commence on 8 July 2011. The Group’s ticker symbol will be SMS.L. The market capitalisation of the Group at the Placing Price will be £50 million. The proceeds will be used to fund the organic growth of the business through investment in gas meter assets and the Group’s patent pending ADM smart metering device.

The company has already raised £10.0 million of new investment from a broad range of institutional and other investors at a price of 60 pence per share.

For the year ended 31 December 2010 Smart Metering Systems reported revenue of £12.4m and EBIT of £2.2m.

Alan Foy, Chief Executive Officer said: “I am delighted by the level of interest shown by our new shareholders to our flotation on the London Stock Exchange. The Placing has gone well and has been substantially oversubscribed in very difficult market conditions, demonstrating the strength of our business model”

Cenkos Securities plc is acting as Nominated Adviser and Broker to the Group.

UK, Glasgow

 

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Intent Media acquires UBM titles for £2.4m

June 27, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Independent business media specialist Intent Media is to acquire the UK entertainment and technology product portfolio of UBM plc for a total cash consideration of £2.4m.

Intent specialises in entertainment, technology and leisure markets. Its portfolio already consists of over a dozen market leading online, print and event brands across video games, music, computing, mobile, toys, licensing and cycling.

The titles being acquired include Television Broadcast Europe, Music Week, Pro Sound News Europe and Installation Europe, plus additional websites, newsletters, conferences, show dailies and awards events. Last year this portfolio generated £5.4m of revenue.

Intent Media is headquartered in Hertford, England but is opening an additional office in Islington Green, London, this summer. Up to 36 staff will transfer on completion of the deal and total staff count will rise to around 90, with projected combined revenues of over £10 million for the financial year ending September 30th 2012.

“This is a significant move for Intent, essentially doubling the size of the company. We are heading into markets that fit our current landscape, whilst also continuing our policy of holding a leadership position wherever we operate. The brands we are taking over are well established, with experienced staff and impressive heritage,” said Intent Media managing director Stuart Dinsey.

“Intent has become the UK’s leading business media player in entertainment and technology. We are very excited to have added these new brands. Our policy of investment in online and events will continue, whilst ensuring longevity where possible for the core print titles.”

UBM is selling the portfolio on behalf of its UBM Connect division. The transaction is expected to complete in the next six weeks, subject to the conclusion of a TUPE consultation process.

“I am pleased we will pass stewardship of these well-established entertainment and technology titles to Intent Media, which focuses on serving specialist entertainment, technology and leisure markets,” said UBM Connect CEO Adrian Barrick.

Existing core Intent Media brands include MCV: The Market for Computer & Video Games, Develop, ToyNews, Mobile Entertainment, Bikebiz, PCR, Musical Instrument Professional, Audio Professional International and Licensing.biz.

Events run by Intent include The London Games Conference, MI Retail Conference & Expo, Monetising Mobile Conference and sundry trade awards.

Intent Media’s previous acquisitions:

  • MCV launched in September 1998 (when we were MCV Media Limited)
  • Develop acquired November 2000
  • ToyNews acquired June 2001
  • Management buy-out from German listed outfit Computec (and became Intent Media) March 2002
  • CTW acquired (from Highbury) and incorporated into MCV March 2002
  • CTO acquired (from Trinity Mirror) and incorporated into PCR 2006
  • BikeBiz acquired in February 2006
  • MI Pro acquired in March 2006
  • Audio Pro International acquired in March 2006
  • Music Trade News accquired (and incorporated into MI Pro) July 2008
  • All assets of Skep Media acquired January 2009
  • All assets of Prestige Media acquired January 2009

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The Economist Group achieves record profits

June 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

The Economist Group – Year end results for year-ending March 2011

  • Revenue grew by 9% to £347m
  • Advertising overall increased by 15%, with print advertising up 14% and digital advertising up 23%.
  • Operating margin improved to 18.2%. The year benefited from an additional four months of the CQ acquisition and was also helped by a stronger dollar.
  • Operating profit for the Group increased by 10% over last year to £63.3m.
  • Costs increased by 8% overall, but were also affected by acquisitions and disposals and the stronger dollar.
  • Underlying costs increased by 6%, partly driven by growth but mainly because of additional investments including marketing activity for The Economist, the development of digital editions and other initiatives.
  • Profit before tax at £59.5m was 19% higher than last year.
  • Interest costs increased by £1.0m, reflecting the full-year impact of borrowings taken out to finance the CQ acquisition, offset by the benefits of repaying other bank debt taken out to refinance earlier acquisitions.
  • Profit after tax increased by 16% to £44.2m.
  • Normalised earnings per share were 176.5p, an increase of 8% year on year.

The Board is recommending a final dividend of 78.5p, making the full-year dividend 112.6p. This is a 10% increase on the previous year, excluding the special dividend of 39.7p per share paid to shareholders in December.

According to Rupert Pennant-Rea, Chairman of the Economist Group, “This good result came mainly from three areas: an advertising recovery at The Economist; a full year’s ownership of CQ, the business we bought in August 2009; and tight control of overheads.”

The full annual report is available here.

UK, London

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Facebook acquires the Sofa team

June 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Facebook has acquired Sofa. Ot at least the Sofa team. Facebook is not acquiring Sofa’s Kaleidoscope and Versions software applications.

Sofa is Amsterdam-based software and design company, founded in 2006. They make web and Mac applications: and design icons and interfaces.

The Sofa team will be moving from Amsterdam to Palo Alto in the coming weeks – and according to the Sofa blog, they will “make sure to infuse some of our particular flavor of Dutch culture at Facebook.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

USA, Palo Alto, CA & The Netherlands, Amsterdam

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