Research In Motion, acquires social mobile gaming business Scoreloop

June 9, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Research In Motion, makers of the Blackberry, has acquired social mobile gaming business Scoreloop.

Scoreloop was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in Munich, Germany with offices in the US and Asia. The company was funded by European VCs Target Partners and Earlybird.

Tyler Lessard, VP Global Alliances & Developer Relations at RIM, said on the Blackberry blog, “We’re excited that the Scoreloop team is joining the BlackBerry® Developer team and bringing their expertise in creating social and collaborative gaming toolkits for mobile developers to the BlackBerry platform. We have recently enabled our developers to create social app experiences through our BBM™ Social Platform and have seen some very innovative applications result from that. We look forward to working with the team at Scoreloop to provide tools that will further enable our developer community to take gaming to a new level of social integration on the BlackBerry platform.”

Canada, Ontario & Germany Munich

 

 

 

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Montgomery Worldwide to acquire 100% of Fresh RM

June 9, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Montgomery Worldwide is in the final stages of a deal to acquire Reed Exhibitions’ shareholding in the 50:50 Montgomery:Reed joint venture, Fresh RM, for an undisclosed amount. The deal is expected to complete on 1 July 2011.

The joint venture set up in 1999 brought together Montgomery’s food and drink events and Reed’s hospitality portfolio into a single company.

Fresh RM’s portfolio of shows includes Hotelympia, IFE, Pro2Pac, Speciality & Fine Food Fair, Speciality Chocolate Fair, Hospitality, Careers in Hospitality, and ifeproductsearch.com.

“During the course of the joint venture, Fresh has developed into the largest and most respected UK exhibition organiser in the food, drink & hospitality sectors” commented Sandy Angus, Chairman of Montgomery Worldwide. “The company has not only developed the initial portfolio of shows but has expanded its business with a number of launch events that are now well established within the marketplace.”

Commenting on the sale, Reed Exhibitions UK’s CEO Andrew Fowles said “The Fresh RM JV has been a great success for Montgomery and Reed Exhibitions.  We believe now is an appropriate time for the business to be managed under one owner and the sale of our shares to Montgomery allows continuity for the staff. We plan to complete on 1st July 2011 and thereafter wish Montgomery and the Fresh RM team every success for the future.”

Fresh RM will continue to operate out of the Montgomery Worldwide offices in London.

“We have enjoyed our joint venture with Reed Exhibitions, they have been excellent partners”, says Sandy Angus. “However both parties felt that Fresh can grow faster under the control of one company and we are delighted that it will be Montgomery Worldwide taking the business forward.”

Uk, London

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Clarion events take over Scotland’s Speciality Food Show from The Guild of Fine Foods

June 9, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Clarion events bought Scotland’s Speciality Food Show from The Guild of Fine Foods. For the last four years Clarion Events and The Guild of Fine Food have jointly owned the Show, which has been co-managed by Springboard and The Guild.

In their announcement The Guild of Fine Foods say the reason for the sale is “they are keen to commit more time and resources to their many other interests within the UK speciality food and drink market.”

Scotland’s Speciality Food Show is co-located with Scotland’s Trade Fair and the two fairs attract 4800 key buyers and retailers from the gift and food sectors in Scotland.

Springboard Events, as well as organising Scotland’s Trade Fair, have been very involved in the marketing and operations of the Food Show in the past and are planning the transition from the current management.

Springboard Director Mark Saunders said: “This new arrangement will allow Clarion and Springboard to channel more resources in terms of management, sales and marketing into this Show. The show will remain co-located with Scotland’s Trade Fair as this is popular with both sets of buyers. We will maintain separate identities and marketing campaigns for both shows and we will be looking to grow both the exhibitors and visitors to increase the appeal of the show.”

UK, London & Glasgow

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Clarion Events Boosts Telecoms Portfolio with Acquisition of Avren Events

June 9, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Here is one we missed in May.

Clarion Events has purchased expert network telecommunications event organisers Avren Events. The acquisition supplements Clarion Events’ existing telecoms applications and services confexs.

Clarion Events CEO Simon Kimble commented: “We are delighted to welcome the Avren team and portfolio of network telecommunications events to the Clarion family, and look forward to fulfilling the potential of the fast growing markets they serve. Clarion’s investment boosts the existing Avren team’s capacity to scale existing events and launch into new markets. Clarion Events has a reputation for allowing its partners and brands across many market sectors and localities to have maximum control, keeping them responsive to market needs.”

UK, London

 

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Geneology website MyHeritage.com has acquired Bliscy.pl from Wirtualna Polska S.A.

June 9, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Geneology website MyHeritage.com has acquired Bliscy.pl from Wirtualna Polska S.A.

The move follows the company’s acquisition of several other leading family networks in 2010, including Polish site MoiKrewni.pl and its parent network OSN GmbH. Merging Bliscy.pl with MyHeritage.pl, the Polish website of MyHeritage.com, unites Poland’s competing family history sites.

The merger adds more than half a million Bliscy.pl users to the global MyHeritage.com network, resulting in a user base of more than 2.6 million Polish users.

“Having established ourselves as the leading international destination for families to connect to their past and to one another – acquiring Bliscy.pl is a natural step that enriches our global family network” said Gilad Japhet, founder and CEO of MyHeritage.com. “Our service and flagship Smart Matching™ technology enjoy a network effect, providing more value as more people use them. For this reason, this acquisition delivers great value both to the Bliscy.pl users and to the users of MyHeritage.com. Our international network of users consists of millions of families with roots in Poland, who will now find it even easier to connect to long-lost relatives and discover more about their unique family histories”.

The acquisition of Bliscy.pl marks the third major acquisition by MyHeritage.com within the last 18 months, following the acquisition of European family network OSN GmbH and its network of 10 family sites including verwandt.de, moikrewni.pl and verwant.nl, and Dutch Family Network ZOOOF. By merging the family networks into one international platform, MyHeritage.com is building a worldwide Family Graph that has grown to more than 18 million family trees and 760 million profiles.

Poland, Warsaw & UK, London & Israel, Tel Aviv

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ITG acquires Ross Smith Energy Group

June 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Investment Technology Group (ITG), an agency research broker and financial technology firm, has acquired Ross Smith Energy Group (RESG) a Calgary-based independent provider of research on the oil and gas industry for $38.5 million in cash.

RSEG, a privately held firm, was founded in Calgary, Alberta in 1998.  RSEG revenues for the trailing twelve months ending in April 2011 were approximately US$15 million.  Adjusted pre-tax margins, excluding non-operating expenses that will not continue beyond the acquisition, were approximately 25% for the trailing twelve months.  Going forward, RSEG will be rebranded as ITG Investment Research and the research offering will be an integrated part of the ITG platform.

RSEG provides detailed technical and financial analysis of North American resource plays, public and private corporations, as well as coverage of international and macroeconomic energy issues, for more than 200 clients in North America and Europe, including more than 60 equity fund managers who are new clients for ITG.  RSEG’s team of approximately 40 staff includes professional engineers, technologists and financial analysts.  With the addition of RSEG, ITG Investment Research will provide differentiated views into the exploration and production activities of North American and international energy companies.

“This acquisition marks a significant expansion for the ITG Investment Research platform,” said Bob Gasser, CEO and President of ITG.  “With the addition of energy sector coverage, ITG is even better positioned to offer alpha-generating insights to our clients and to work towards our goal of being a leading partner in both research and execution on a global scale.”

Jim Jarrell, President of Ross Smith Energy Group, said, “ITG’s focus on providing differentiated research and building relationships within the institutional investment community make it a natural fit for us.  We share a vision.  My colleagues and I are excited about bringing the ITG platform to our existing clients and our collective expertise and service to a broader set of investors.”

USA, New York, NY & Canada, Calgary, Alberta

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Batanga is acquiring two Latin American online media companies, Adfunky and I-Network

June 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Batanga is acquiring two Latin American online media companies, Adfunky and I-Network. The new acquisitions will exponentially increase the company’s audience and publishing partners in the US, Mexico and Latin America as well as provide its existing sales organization with value-added product offerings for marketers looking to reach Hispanic consumers online. Headquartered in Miami, regional offices are located in Mexico City, Bogota and Buenos Aires as well as sales offices in nineteen cities throughout the globe. GroupArgent represented Adfunky and I-Network in the transaction and acted as their exclusive financial advisors.

Batanga, Inc. is now the largest independent digital media company serving U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets. By leveraging investments in technology, product and content, Batanga, Inc. creates significant value for its advertisers and publishers in both markets. These acquisitions represent a major commitment by Batanga, Inc. to the Hispanic online market.

“For almost twelve years, Batanga has consistently delivered the U.S. Hispanic online audience to hundreds of advertisers. These acquisitions will allow us to grow our U.S. Hispanic business as well as deliver audiences in some of the fastest growing emerging online markets in the world,” said Rafael Urbina, Chairman and CEO, Batanga, Inc. “Our commitment to the U.S. Hispanic online market has never been stronger and we are now poised to offer the same quality products throughout Mexicoand Latin America.”

Based in Argentina, Adfunky is a fast growing ad network and digital media company founded by Internet veterans to boost the results of advertisers, agencies and publishers. “Uniting Adfunky’s audience and expertise, both in the U.S. and abroad, with Batanga’s sophisticated products will create impactful opportunities for advertisers,” said Mariano Burstein, Co-Founder, Adfunky. “We are thrilled to be part of such an innovative team,” echoed Matias Charas, Co-Founder, Adfunky. “Collectively, we have much more insight and understand Hispanics online better than anyone else.”

I-Network, a Bogota-based online marketing company, is a clear leader in the markets it operates in. “We are eager to join forces with Batanga and work alongside U.S. marketers looking to reach a Latin American audience,” said Juan Carlos Samper, CEO, I-Network. “As the marketplace continues to evolve, Batanga is ready to deliver the Latin consumer in the U.S. and abroad.”

USA, Miami, FL & Colombia, Bogata & Argentina

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eBay is to acquire Magento

June 8, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

eBay is to acquire Magento Inc., the creator of Magento, a leading open source ecommerce platform. The deal follows eBay’s acquisition of a minority stake in the company in 2010. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. It is expected to close in the third quarter of 2011.

The Magento platform serves tens of thousands of merchants worldwide and is supported by a global community of solution partners and third-party developers. Magento is a feature-rich, open-source, enterprise-class commerce solution that offers merchants a high degree of flexibility and control over the user experience, catalog, content and functionality of their online store. Magento Go, the company’s hosted software-as-a-service solution, provides small and growing merchants with the tools to help them succeed online – from payments to inventory management. Magento is a Los Angeles-based company with more than 290 employees.

“Technology-driven innovation is blurring the lines between online and offline commerce, changing the way consumers shop, and enabling retailers of all sizes to benefit from the latest innovations from the developer community,” said John Donahoe, President and Chief Executive Officer, eBay Inc. “The feedback we’ve heard from external developers has been clear — they don’t just want payments or an ecommerce site; they want access to a full set of commerce capabilities to build complete shopping experiences for merchants. We believe the acquisition of Magento and creation of our X.Commerce group will enable us to meet developers’ needs and drive global commerce innovation for retailers and consumers.

USA, San Jose, CA & Culver City, CA

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Social media agency Big Fuel acquires digital marketing firm Apex Exposure

June 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Social media marketing and branded content agency Big Fuel Communications has acquired Apex Exposure, a Brooklyn-based digital marketing firm.

Founded by Ben Luntz and Josh Scheiner, Apex Exposure provided clients with innovative digital content for both traditional and social-media based outlets. Apex works with various clients including representatives from Warner Music, Nike, and Target.

Both Mr. Luntz and Mr. Scheiner join Big Fuel as Group Directors of the Distribution Group, and will manage 20 individuals from both Apex and Big Fuel. The six full-time employees at Apex have all taken positions with Big Fuel.

“By acquiring Apex, we can leverage its relationships and contacts in its distribution network, further cementing our status as the top social media agency,” said Mr. Bond. “Ben and Josh will play an integral role in Big Fuel’s continued success by providing the industry knowledge to help build a robust distribution network. The Big Fuel Network also aligns closely with the value proposition of earned media originating from Apex.”

USA, New York, NY

 

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Dentsu acquires Steak Group

June 6, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Beringea portfolio company, Steak Group, has been sold to media agency network Dentsu. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Steak will operate under the supervision of Dentsu Network West, reporting to its London office.

Steak is a digital media company, with offices in London, New York and Melbourne. Its reputation for consumer engagement and delivering measurable results is reflected in its diverse client roster, which includes such innovative brands as Virgin Holidays, AXA, Swiftcover, Debenhams and Comparethemarket.com.

Steak currently has 94 employees and is led by Oliver Bishop, Co-founder and CEO, and Duncan Parry, Co-founder and Head of Paid Search. Seb Bishop is non-executive Chairman.

Steak was Interactive Media Awards Agency of the Year after only three years trading in 2008, and has since maintained top fifteen status in Marketing and New Media Age league tables for digital search agencies in the UK.

Jim Kelly, CEO of Dentsu Europe said, “I have followed Steak’s progress since it started in 2005, and admire enormously what Ollie and his partners have achieved. Digital media is a cornerstone of Dentsu Network West’s growth strategy. This acquisition is a great step in offering class leading digital solutions to our clients in Europe”.

The partnership enables Steak to both work with Dentsu’s European offices, and to offer to its clients Dentsu’s media expertise throughout Asia. Steak is currently exploring opportunities for its clients in South East Asia.

The acquisition also doubles Dentsu’s size in the UK (alongside Dentsu London and Dentsu Sports), and follows on Dentsu’s acquisition in January of the Düsseldorf based digital creative agency, Social Thinkers, further substantiating Dentsu’s commitment to digital growth and success in Europe. Jim Kelly will join the Steak board of directors along with Tim Andree, CEO of Dentsu Network West, and Executive Officer, Dentsu Inc. Seb Bishop will remain as non-executive Chairman.

Steak’s operations will continue to be run from its headquarters in Shorts Gardens, Covent Garden, London.

As part of the transaction, Beringea the private equity investor, which invested in Steak in 2007 will fully exit the business and Trevor Hope, Beringea’s Chief Investment officer will step down from Steak’s Board.

Dentsu was advised by Clarity Capital Partners and Steak by Green Square Partners.

USA, New York, NY & UK, London

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