ValueClick acquires Greystripe for $70M

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

ValueClick has acquired Greystripe for approximately $70 million in cash. Greystripe is a leading brand-focused mobile advertising network. Greystripe’s management team and employee base have been retained by ValueClick, and the business will be run as a wholly-owned subsidiary within ValueClick Media.

For the remainder of 2011, Greystripe is expected to contribute to ValueClick’s consolidated results approximately $24-$26 million in revenue and $2-$3 million in adjusted-EBITDA.

Greystripe’s proprietary advertising platform serves billions of rich media impressions to over 30 million users of touch-driven devices through more than 3,500 application titles and mobile websites across all major mobile platforms.

“Greystripe accelerates ValueClick’s move ‘up the marketing funnel’ with brand advertisers and gives ValueClick Media immediate scale and expertise in the large and fast-growing mobile ad market,” said Jim Zarley, chief executive officer of ValueClick. “We see great traffic and revenue synergies between ValueClick and Greystripe, and we’re looking forward to working closely with the Greystripe team to take full advantage of the opportunities that this combination offers.”

Montgomery & Co. acted as financial advisor to Greystripe. Steamboat Ventures, Monitor Ventures, Peacock Equity, and Incubic Venture Capital were investors in Greystripe.

USA, Westlake Village, CA & San Francisco, CA

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Publicis Groupe to acquire GP7

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe is to acquire GP7, a Sao Paulo-based advertising agency focused on emerging social classes as well as travel and tourism. The agency will be renamed Publicis Red Lion (a unit of Publicis Brazil), and will be aligned with Publicis Worldwide. The CEO of GP7, Joao Fernando Vassao, will become Managing Director of Publicis Red Lion and will henceforth report to Orlando Marques, CEO of Publicis Brazil.

GP7 was established in 2004 and employs 40 communications specialists. The agency offers the full range of advertising and communications services including creative work, corporate communication, strategic planning, media buying and marketing services. Key clients include CVC Turismo (largest tour operator in Latin America), Car System (car satellite monitoring system), Yakult (dairy products), Webjet Linhas Aereas (airline company), GJP Hotels & Resorts, and GJP Participacoes (investment company).

This transaction follows Publicis Groupe’s acquisition of a majority stake in the Talent Group last week, as well as 2010 operations such as acquiring Taterka (minority share) and AG2. Bolstering its presence in Brazil remains a key strategic priority for Publicis Groupe.

Publicis Groupe has nearly 1, 200 employees in Brazil and is present through its global networks Leo Burnett, Publicis Worldwide, Saatchi & Saatchi, VivaKi, and MSLGROUP.

Jean-Yves Naouri, Executive Chairman of Publicis Worldwide, “GP7 is yet another step forward in Publicis Worldwide’s growth strategy in Brazil which is now its third regional market. This acquisition not only bolsters our teams but also broadens the range of services we can offer our clients at local and international levels.”

France, Paris & Brazil, San Paulo

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Travel Channel invests in Oyster.com

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Travel Channel has acquired a stake in hotel booking website Oyster.com. The size of stake has not been disclosed.

“This is a transformational event for the Travel Channel,” said Laureen Ong, Travel Channel president. “Entering into a strategic relationship with Oyster.com greatly broadens our position as a trusted source for information and allows us to go beyond the inspiration and entertainment we offer on television. Simultaneously, this partnership provides an incredibly meaningful way to connect with and improve the experience of travelers and adventure seekers everywhere.”

Founded in 2008, Oyster.com combines exclusive content and commerce all in one online location. The website publishes objective, in-depth hotel reviews written by trained journalists who document their visits through photographs, and provide expert editorial opinions. Based on a strict set of criteria and ratings, Oyster’s curated content is designed to give users a way to plan, research, and book their hotels.

Under terms of the agreement, Travel Channel and TravelChannel.com will have access to exclusive Oyster.com content. Each brand will also collaborate on future programming and cross-platform promotional opportunities.

USA, Chevy Chase, MD

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MyLife.com acquires CitizenLocal.com

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

MyLife.com, a people search service for both personal and business connections, has acquired CitizenLocal.com, a community-driven platform for local deals.

“MyLife.com’s unique proposition is to enable people to find and keep valuable connections they need in their lives, all in one place,” said Jeff Tinsley CEO of MyLife. “With the addition of Local Services & Deals, we aim to connect members searching for plumbers, real estate agents, contractors, lawyers, etc. with the appropriate provider in that field and in their locality, plus see their available deals.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA

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Changyou.com to acquire a majority stake in 7Road

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Changyou.com, an online game developer and operator in China, has entered into a definitive agreement with Shenzhen 7Road Technology Co. under which it will acquire 68.258% of the equity of Shenzhen 7Road Technology Co., Ltd. and its affiliates, a web-based game company in China. 7Road is a developer of Web-based games and the creator of DDTank, one of the most popular multiplayer Web-based shooting games in China.

Changyou will acquire 68.258% of the equity of 7Road for fixed cash consideration of approximately $68.26 million, plus additional variable cash consideration of up to a maximum of $32.76 million that is contingent upon the achievement of specified performance milestones through December 31, 2012. The acquisition is expected to be completed by June 30, 2011.

“Web-based games, which can be played in a browser without installation of a client application, are experiencing rapid growth and this is the right time to invest to and enter this space,” said Mr. Tao Wang, Changyou’s chief executive officer. “Changyou has been leading the market for massively multiplayer online games in China, and with the addition of a proven development team from 7Road, their successful game and wide network of partner websites, we are pushing forward in our plans to reach new audiences with the addition of quality products designed for different consumers.”

China, Beijing

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UBM Medica sells The Consultant Print Group

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

UBM Medica has sold The Consultant Print Group to HMP Communications.  HMP investors included Alta Communications and Susquehanna Private Equity Investments. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Consultant Print Group is a print publication unit of UBM Medica, LLC and focused on the primary care market. The Group includes the print magazine and custom publishing operations of two titles, Consultant and Consultant for Pediatricians.  Both titles are highly respected, independent journals for primary care physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners, and are known for their editorial excellence, strong readership, and respected brands.

Berkery Noyes acted as UBM Medica’s financial advisor in its negotiations with HMP Communications.

UK, London & USA, Norwalk, CT

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Pearson to acquire Schoolnet for $230M

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Pearson is acquiring Schoolnet, a fast-growing and innovative education technology company that aligns assessment, curriculum and other services to help individualise instruction and improve teacher effectiveness. Pearson will acquire Schoolnet for $230m in cash.

Schoolnet now serves more than 5 million US pre K-12 students through partnerships with districts and states, supporting about one-third of America’s largest urban cities.

Marjorie Scardino, Pearson’s chief executive, said: “Being able to offer a connective digital spine for learning has been Pearson’s goal for years. Schoolnet has shared our passion, and together we can make that spine more flexible and powerful for schools, teachers and students.”

Based in New York City, Schoolnet was founded in 1998 by Jonathan D. Harber and Denis P. Doyle, who developed the Schoolnet instructional management suite to help school systems use data to boost learning.

Jonathan D. Harber, Schoolnet’s chief executive, will stay on, along with his senior leadership team, and continue to serve as CEO of Schoolnet and as a senior executive at Pearson.

Will Ethridge, chief executive of Pearson North America, said: “We are excited to have Jonathan and the talented Schoolnet team join Pearson. We see an excellent fit between the capabilities of our two organizations, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to work together to improve learning and accelerate growth.”

USA, New York, NY

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Groupon buys Pelago

April 29, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Groupon has acquired the Seattle-based portfolio company Pelago from Reliance Venture Asset Management. Pelago was founded by former senior executives of Amazon.com. Pelago had developed social-media and location-based mobile and web apps that allowed end users to share real time information about their favorite places and their business partners to offer incentives to customers for visiting them.

It was a stock-for-stock swap deal and the entire Pelago team will be joining Groupon. Groupon will integrate the backend technology which will provide a social media location based capabilities to their current group buying infrastructure. The acquisition will improve its offering to its end users by bringing them together with local discount offers.

“Reliance Venture has received a premium of 80 per cent and additionally expects to receive an additional return of 4x-5x on its original investment on its holding if Groupon IPO is priced at a valuation of $25 billion” said Harshal J Shah, CEO of Reliance Venture Asset Management. Hence the effective return is slated to be 7.2 – 9.0x of its original investment when Groupon shares list after its IPO on New York Stock exchange or NASDAQ.

Along with Reliance Venture Pelago was also invested into by Jeff Bezos, Founder and CEO Amazon.com, Silicon Valley venture fund Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) — which also invested in Groupon last year. This was the first investment made by KPCB from their iFund, which funds ideas and products that build upon the iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad. Other investors include T-Mobile Ventures and DAG Ventures.

Jeff Holden, CEO of Pelago, had earlier said, “We valued Reliance as a partner in the wireless space and the global potential they could bring to the company”. He also mentioned in a blogpost, “You would be right to expect that the ideas underpinning its and many of the inventions contained within may emerge under the Groupon banner”.

USA, Palo Alto, CA & USA, Seattle, WA

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eBay to Acquire location media company WHERE

April 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

eBay has reached a definitive agreement to acquire WHERE, a leading location media company and local discovery mobile application. WHERE is expected to enhance the company’s position in local and mobile commerce and deepen its ability to connect retailers with consumers.

Founded in 2004, WHERE is a Boston-based business at the forefront of the intersection of local and mobile commerce. WHERE operates a leading local mobile discovery application – WHERE – and a leading location-based advertising network – WHERE Ads. Through these services WHERE provides personalised, hyper-local advertising, offers, and deals to millions of mobile consumers across North America. More than 120,000 retailers, brands and small merchants use WHERE daily to reach new audiences and deliver real-time foot traffic to their doorstep.

Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in the second quarter of 2011.

USA, San Jose, CA

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SunGame Corporation completes merger with Freevi

April 21, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Social game developer SunGame Corp. has merged with Nevada-based Freevi Corporation, a strategic fit for both companies. Freevi will utilize SunGame’s technical resources both for its expansion into the exploding virtual game market as well as its current product development, and will be trading as a reporting company on the OTC:BB market. SunGame gains from the massive potential exposure Freevi will bring when it launches Freevi.com on a wide scale in 2011.

The company will maintain a joint board and executive team led by Guy Robert, former CEO of SunGame, Ranulf Goss, IT Director and Director of SunGame, and Raj Ponniah, Director of Freevi and Director of SunGame, with Neil Chandran as CEO of SunGame.

USA, Los Angeles, CA & Nevada

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