Max Media Group to acquire www.BB2Live.com

March 28, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Max Media Group is to acquire majority control of the assets of www.BB2Live.com and the company’s technology applications including Internet Radio Protocol, Internet Television, VOIP and SMS text messaging.  Additionally, Max Media Group will be acquiring BB2’s movie library. The assets include BB2’s approximate 15 million subscribers and users of its various services.

In the last 3 years over $3.5mm has been invested in developing BB2’s technology and building its subscriber/user base.

Max Media Group operates a network of web sites including http://www.babelation.com, http://www.hotautoweb.com, http://www.hotrvweb.com, http://www.hotboatweb.com and http://www.hotcharityweb.comwww.smallcaptube.com among others. Additionally, the Company owns the Maximum Motoring Radio Show.

It is the intent of MXMI and BB2 management to immediately integrate the marketing resources and business model of MXMI with the content, services and subscriber base of BB2 to create several revenue steams. The assets of BB2 as a part of the Max Media Network (“MMN”) leaps MXMI’s business plan forward several years. Management believes that the BB2 assets, MXMI marketing resources and the MXMI web properties will prove to be an extremely successful combination.

James Grady President & CEO of Max Media Group, Inc. stated, “This is an opportunity of a lifetime for Max Media! If one was to look at the valuations of The Huffington Post, Facebook, and Groupon based on users, our valuation should be immediately impacted! Groupon reportedly turned down $6 billion from Google, based on 27 million registered users comes out to be over $200 per user ! Huffington was just purchased by AOL for $315 million. In terms of content producers that values each writer at over $5,000! Facebook at $65 billion works out to be a $1000 per user. I know there are obviously many different metrics that make up a valuation other then these. Combine our advertising model and niche markets with a value of just $10 per user I think you can see why we are so excited! ”

USA, Palm Harbor, FL

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Schneider Electric acquires energy procurement and sustainability services business Summit Energy

March 25, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Schneider Electric is to acquire Kentucky based energy procurement and sustainability services business Summit Energy Services.

Summit Energy provides its clients with services including energy procurement, risk management, market intelligence, data management and sustainability consulting. It employs around 350 staff based in 11 international offices across North America and Europe and serves client. The business is expected to generate sales of approximately $65 million for the current year with an EBITA margin above the Schneider Electric average.

The total purchase price for the company is $268 million (~ € 190 million) on a debt-free cash-free basis, subject to certain adjustments. The completion of the transaction is subject to regulatoryapprovals and customary closing conditions. This acquisition is expected to be accretive on earnings per share from year 1 and to meet Schneider Electric’s Return on Capital Employed criteria in 2014.

According to Schneider Electric, Summit Energy will be an excellent complement to Schneider Electric’s demand-side capabilities in the fields of energy audits, energy monitoring and energy efficient solutions.

Chris Curtis, Schneider Electric’s Senior Executive Vice President, North America, commented: “The acquisition of Summit Energy allows Schneider Electric to broaden our energy management services and solution portfolio, offering customers the ability to manage and optimize their energy consumption from the supply side through the demand side, while also growing our energy and environmental online reporting capabilities.”

“By joining with Schneider Electric, we will be able to deliver Summit’s unique service offering to Schneider Electric customers,” said Steve Wilhite, Summit Energy’s President and CEO. “In recent years, we have invested heavily in people and technology to serve our clients. In combining our strengths with Schneider Electric’s resources, Summit Energy will be even better positioned to lead our clients to cost-effective and sustainable energy.”

Summit Energy and Schneider Electric have issued an Open Letter about the acquisition, as follows:

Today we are excited to announce that Summit Energy has agreed to be acquired by Schneider Electric.

This is an expansion and growth strategy for both companies:

Schneider Electric will benefit by expanding into the energy procurement and sustainability services space, broadening its energy management solution portfolio through the acquisition of a leader in this regard.

Summit Energy benefits from access to Schneider Electric’s global reach, technical capabilities and financial resources enabling continued expansion in terms of services and technology-related tools for our clients, as well as increased geographic growth opportunities.

As you may know, Schneider Electric is a global specialist in energy management with operations in more than 100 countries. Headquartered near Paris, France and with North American headquarters in Palatine, Illinois, Schneider Electric has been in operation for nearly 175 years and is widely recognized as the global specialist in energy management.

In recent years, Summit Energy has invested heavily in people and technology to serve its clients. In combining Summit Energy’s strengths with Schneider Electric’s knowledge and resources, we will be even better positioned to lead customers to cost-effective and sustainable energy.

This is a very positive step for both organizations. This partnership of two leaders will only serve to strengthen our service offering as well as provide customers with additional energy management related resources. We look forward to sharing more information with you on the new opportunity this acquisition presents in the near future.

Signed

Steve Wilhite, President and CEO, Summit Energy
Jeff Drees, US Country President, Schneider Electric

France, Rueil-Malmaison & USA, Kentucky

Posted in B2B Services, Consultancy, Energy & Environmental Services, Procurement, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Gilt Groupe acquires Decorati

March 25, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Gilt Groupe, an innovative online shopping destination, has acquired home decor site Decorati.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Decorati is a destination site for upscale interior design products and services as well as a community for the display of designer portfolios.  Decorati is a resource that enables interior design professionals to efficiently manage their projects and promote their businesses.  For consumers, Decorati offers a vast inspirational library of product images, along with the ability to connect with design professionals and research products from over 650 trade-only manufacturers.

“My vision for Decorati has always been to create a website to connect consumers with designers and provide broader access to the best interior design products and inspiration,” said Shane Reilly, Founder & CEO, Decorati.  “Marrying Decorati with Gilt’s shopping platform and vision for an expanded Home business will allow for an even stronger offering for our members.”

The Decorati acquisition will pave the way for Gilt to launch a broader Home business. Gilt plans to unveil its new Home offering later this year, which will be a mixture of full-price merchandise, one-of-a-kind items and antiques, daily flash sales, community and social tools, and will include a channel specifically for the designer.

Gilt Home currently offers 30 sales per week from over 400 brands including Baker, Kravet, Jonathan Adler, Stark, Lignet Roset, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Frette, and Soicher Marin. By incorporating a selection of products from additional trade-only brands, Gilt will create an assortment of home décor products shoppable online.

“The design community will be a key component of our expanded Home business,” said Kevin Ryan, Founder and CEO, Gilt Groupe.  “Decorati has done a fantastic job establishing a venue for high-end designers, knowledgeable consumers, and trade-only brands.  We are excited to combine those assets as we expand Gilt’s Home business.

USA, New York, NY

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Gilt Groupe acquires Decorati

March 25, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Gilt Groupe, an innovative online shopping destination, has acquired home decor site Decorati.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Decorati is a destination site for upscale interior design products and services as well as a community for the display of designer portfolios.  Decorati is a resource that enables interior design professionals to efficiently manage their projects and promote their businesses.  For consumers, Decorati offers a vast inspirational library of product images, along with the ability to connect with design professionals and research products from over 650 trade-only manufacturers.

“My vision for Decorati has always been to create a website to connect consumers with designers and provide broader access to the best interior design products and inspiration,” said Shane Reilly, Founder & CEO, Decorati.  “Marrying Decorati with Gilt’s shopping platform and vision for an expanded Home business will allow for an even stronger offering for our members.”

The Decorati acquisition will pave the way for Gilt to launch a broader Home business. Gilt plans to unveil its new Home offering later this year, which will be a mixture of full-price merchandise, one-of-a-kind items and antiques, daily flash sales, community and social tools, and will include a channel specifically for the designer.

Gilt Home currently offers 30 sales per week from over 400 brands including Baker, Kravet, Jonathan Adler, Stark, Lignet Roset, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, Frette, and Soicher Marin. By incorporating a selection of products from additional trade-only brands, Gilt will create an assortment of home décor products shoppable online.

“The design community will be a key component of our expanded Home business,” said Kevin Ryan, Founder and CEO, Gilt Groupe.  “Decorati has done a fantastic job establishing a venue for high-end designers, knowledgeable consumers, and trade-only brands.  We are excited to combine those assets as we expand Gilt’s Home business.

USA, New York, NY

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CrowdGather acquires digital scrapbooking community DigiShopTalk.com

March 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

CrowdGather has acquired the domain names and assets related to DigiShopTalk.com.

DigiShopTalk was opened in August 2006 as a simple message board and has since grown to become one of the largest (non-store / product sales related) digital scrapbooking sites on the internet. DigiShopTalk has approximately 40,000 members with over 2.7 million posts. The site’s gallery contains over 1,000,000 layouts with close to 9,000,000 member comments. According to Google Analytics, DigiShopTalk.com generates approximately 2 million pageviews per month.

“We believe DigiShopTalk.com is a terrific site comprised of some amazing resources and very talented members,” said Sanjay Sabnani, CrowdGather’s Chairman and CEO. “With the completion of our recent financing, we are very focused on our strategy of identifying and acquiring the leading forum based communities on the Internet and DigiShopTalk definitely fits into that category.”

USA, Woodland hills, CA

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UK Budget – entrepreneurs’ relief doubled

March 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has announced today in his 2011 budget statement that from 6 April 2011, the Government will increase from £5 million to to £10 million the lifetime limit on capital gains qualifying for entrepreneurs’ relief. The requirement to hold 5% of ordinary share capital in qualifying companies remains unchanged.

UK, London

2011 UK Budget details

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Plasco Energy Group raises C$140 million

March 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Plasco Energy Group has raised C$140 million in equity financing led by funds managed by Soros Fund Management LLC. Proceeds from the financing will be used to fund commercial projects in development in Canada, the United States (California), the United Kingdom, Poland, the Caribbean, and China. The new financing follows a C$110 million equity commitment led by Ares Management LLC in July 2010.

“The new round of capital bolsters our balance sheet and puts us in a position to execute on multiple projects that have emerged since our last round of financing,” Plasco CEO Rod Bryden said. “The performance of the company’s existing Ottawa plant and a strong pipeline of contract opportunities have allowed us to demonstrate to investors that our technology is proven and ready for commercial delivery.”

Plasco uses its proprietary technology to convert municipal solid waste (MSW) into PlascoSyngas, clean water and construction aggregate. PlascoSyngas is then used to fuel engines to produce electricity with a low emissions footprint, leaving less than two percent of the MSW processed for disposal to landfills.

“We are delighted to deepen the support for Plasco and to add an investor of the caliber of Soros Fund Management,” Jeff Serota, Senior Partner at Ares Management, stated. “The additional capital will allow Plasco to execute on a number of new opportunities, and we look forward to working with our new partners to build the market leader in the waste-to-energy industry.”

Canada, Ottawa

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Shutterfly to acquire Tiny Prints

March 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Shutterfly, an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Tiny Prints, a privately-held company based in Sunnyvale, CA. Tiny Prints operates tinyprints.com and weddingpaperdivas.com, two fast growing ecommerce brands offering stylish cards, invitations, personalized stationery and photo books. Upon the closing of this transaction, the three co-founders, together with the entire Tiny Prints team will join Shutterfly.

Shutterfly will acquire all of the outstanding stock of Tiny Prints in exchange for approximately $141 million in cash and approximately 3.9 million shares of Shutterfly common stock. In addition, Shutterfly will reserve approximately 1.4 million shares of common stock as consideration for the vested and unvested Tiny Prints employee equity awards assumed by Shutterfly. The structure of the transaction includes a fixed exchange ratio for the equity component of the consideration and provides for certain adjustments, including for working capital and net cash and debt balances at closing.

The deal is expected to close in approximately 30 to 60 days. Tiny Prints stockholders will own approximately 12% of the pro forma combined company. Tiny Prints outside investors will be subject to a six-month lock-up on the sale of Shutterfly shares received in the transaction and the Tiny Prints founders will be subject to a staggered 18-month lock-up. In addition, approximately 9% of the acquisition consideration will be held in escrow for 12 months.

“Shutterfly and Tiny Prints share a common passion: providing customers with innovative, high quality premium products, stylish designs and exceptional customer service,” said Jeffrey Housenbold, President and CEO of Shutterfly. “Together, we will build on our portfolio of iconic brands and combine our passionate, entrepreneurial employees to truly transform the cards and stationery market. We believe the integration of our businesses will create near-term and long-term opportunities for enhanced merchandising, accelerated product innovation and significant scale efficiencies in manufacturing, customer service and marketing. We are excited to welcome the entire Tiny Prints team to Shutterfly.”

“Like Shutterfly, Tiny Prints has experienced rapid growth in recent years,” said Ed Han, Tiny Prints co-founder and CEO. “By merging with Shutterfly, we will benefit from the many synergies and efficiencies between our organizations, enabling Tiny Prints to continue delighting our customers with a broader array of stylish and innovative products and services while growing our brands and maintaining our talented team.”

Evercore Partners served as Shutterfly’s exclusive financial advisor on the transaction and Morrison & Foerster LLP served as its legal counsel. Fenwick & West LLP served as Tiny Prints legal counsel.

USA, Redwood City, CA & Sunnyvale, CA

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Publicis Groupe acquires healthcare advertising agency Watermelon

March 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe is acquiring a majority stake in a healthcare advertising agency in Mumbai, India-Watermelon Healthcare Communications Private Limited. On completion of this transaction, this entity will become part of Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG) and will be renamed Publicis Life Brands Watermelon. This transaction is subject to customary local closing conditions.

As one of the leading healthcare advertising agencies in India, Watermelon is a full-service advertising agency that has built its business around traditional and new media since its inception in 2003. Nearly 40 employees work to deliver strategic planning, digital and branding, creative, medical education, research, public relations, and healthcare professional and consumer communications. Watermelon has worked hard to boost its creative excellence and has received many awards, including 12 awards of excellence at the recent Rx Awards. Watermelon’s clients includes many of the top pharma and biotech companies-AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck Specialties, MSD Pharmaceuticals, and Novartis to name a few.

Watermelon’s founders, Abhijit Shitut and Kiran Pai, will be named joint Managing Directors at Publicis Life Brands Watermelon. “We are excited to be part of PHCG and believe this will help us change the landscape of healthcare communications in India” commented Abhijit Shitut and Kiran Pai. “Because PHCG is revered for its excellence in global communications in the healthcare sector, we look forward to working together in leveraging their knowledge and global network in our local market”;

Ash Kuchel, President, PHCG Asia Pacific region (APAC) said, “PHCG is delighted to welcome Watermelon to our network. Watermelon is the right fit and has the expertise to further develop our healthcare communications credentials in new media and best-in-class practices in this important and rapidly emerging market. PHCG will continue to expand its global presence throughout the region in the near future.”

France, Paris & India, Mumbai

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WPP acquires Who Digital in Vietnam

March 23, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

WPP announces that it has agreed to acquire the business of Who Digital, the leading full service digital agency in Vietnam, subject to regulatory approvals. Who Digital and OgilvyOne in Vietnam will form a joint venture in which WPP will take a majority stake.

Founded in 2005, Who Digital employs 25 people and is based in Ho Chi Minh City. Clients include Unilever, Megastar, HSBC, Baoviet and Sony Ericsson.

Who Digital’s unaudited gross assets as 31 December 2010 were VND 13.8 billion.

This investment continues WPP’s strategy of developing its networks in fast growing markets and sectors. Vietnam is a key market, where WPP has been operational through its companies for more than 10 years. Vietnam is one of the fastest growing markets in the world, identified by Goldman Sachs as one of the ‘Next 11’ world economies to watch. It has a population of 87 million and a forecast GDP growth rate of 7% in 2011, according to HSBC.

In 2009, Ogilvy acquired a majority stake in T&A Communications, a leading public relations and events agency in Vietnam. Prior to that, WPP acquired 20% of Smart Media, and GroupM, WPP’s media division, took stakes in three subsidiaries of the DacvietVAC Group Holdings.

Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh City

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