Online video distribution network goviral acquired by AOL Europe

February 4, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

AOL Europe has completed the purchase of goviral for $74.1 million. In addition, $22.6 million of consideration will be deferred and paid over two years following completion. goviral is set to join other strategic acquisitions made by AOL in 2010 including StudioNow, 5min Media, TechCrunch, Thing Labs, Pictela and most recently, about.me.

goviral distribute branded video content across the Internet for some of the world’s largest brands, media agencies, creative agencies, and content producers. The company will retain its offices in the UK, Germany, France, Denmark, Sweden and Spain – and further global expansion is planned.

goviral’s current video content distribution network includes more than 18,000 publishers1 across 24 verticals, allowing its clients to reach well over 350 million2 global Internet users and generate more than 60 million video views monthly.3 Specialising in the distribution of viewer-activated videos it has delivered unique campaigns for some of the world’s most progressive and well known brands including: Nike, LG, Unilever, Paramount, Nokia, Hyundai/Kia, Audi, Nintendo and Gucci.

UK, London

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US entertainment and media M&A activity has outpaced the overall US deal market in 2010

January 31, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet
  • Content developers remain attractive investments
  • Expect increased activity in video games and social media sectors ample cash available to fuel future M&A

US entertainment and media (E&M) merger and acquisition activity outpaced the overall US deal market in 2010, according to PwC US. With the industry’s fast-paced shift to digital – and attractive levels of corporate cash reserves and private equity dry powder, PwC believes the catalysts are in place for more E&M deal activity during 2011.

In 2010, completed E&M deal volume increased slightly by 3% to 804 transactions, while total completed and disclosed deal value fell from $37.2 billion in 2009 to $33.5 billion in 2010. A primary driver of the increase in deal volume was Internet software & services (B2C) deals. PwC notes an increase in the percentage of announced transactions that did not disclose value, which could have an impact on the actual 2010 value trends. However, despite the decrease in announced deal value, the pipeline for E&M deals in 2011 points to continued improvement and a strong outlook, with more than 200 deals and $24 billion of deal value already announced and pending (including the recently approved NBC Universal joint venture between Comcast and GE).

Total entertainment & media deals by sector

Corporate deal activity remained at the forefront in 2010 with strategic buyers contributing 83% of total deal volume. However, with the decline in reported and completed corporate mega-deals (deals greater than $1 billion), total corporate E&M deal value decreased from 81% of disclosed deal value in 2009 to 59% in 2010.

Private equity solidified its presence within certain E&M subsectors with acquisitions of platform and strategic bolt-ons throughout 2010 (particularly within casinos and gaming, recreation and leisure, publishing and broadcasting). The number of private equity-backed deals increased from 126 in 2009 to 140 in 2010, while their announced value nearly doubled from $6.9 billion in 2009 to $13.7 billion in 2010. PwC sees the potential for an increased appetite for mega-deals by private equity firms.

“With almost $1 trillion of untapped committed capital worldwide, private equity is still primed to make significant acquisitions in the future,” Spiegel continued. “Look for a selection of E&M companies to re-evaluate existing business portfolios and accelerate their divestiture plans, as valuations continue to rebound and interest from private equity intensifies.”

More detail of PwC’s Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2010–2014 is available here.

USA, New York, NY

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Hearst Corporation to buy the international magazine business of Lagardère

January 31, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Lagardère SCA has received a fully binding offer of €651 million from Hearst Corporation, for its non-French magazine business with an attached share purchase agreement. The business, which generated revenues of €774 million in 2010, includes 102 titles in 15 countries (The United States, Russia & Ukraine, Italy, Spain, UK, China, Japan, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Mexico, Taiwan, Canada and Germany). The deal includes a license allowing Hearst to continue publishing Elle magazine and Elle across other media for a fee of circa €8 million per year.

Lagardère will retain, in some European countries, real estate assets, currently used by the international magazine business, worth around €30M.

Closing of the transaction is expected by Q3 2011.

France, Paris

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Oversee.net acquires ShopWiki

January 28, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Oversee.net has acquired ShopWiki Corp. The acquisition is the first in the consumer retail space for Oversee’s expanding Vertical Markets division, which is further developing the company’s contextual search and comparative results capabilities to create site experiences that help consumers make purchase decisions.

ShopWiki, founded in 2005 and majority-owned by growth equity firm Generation Partners, has shopping comparison websites serving 11 countries in North America, Europe and Australia.  The sites help users find places to purchase products for sale on the web by intelligently searching and organising nearly half a billion consumer offerings.Oversee establishes retail presenceOversee, which operates successful comparison sites in the travel and financial services sectors like LowFares.com and CreditCards.org, was attracted to ShopWiki because of its potential to serve as a cornerstone of Oversee’s retail presence.  “ShopWiki is the most comprehensive shopping search engine in the market,” said Oversee CEO and President Jeff Kupietzky.  “The acquisition is a perfect fit with our ability to apply our expertise in acquiring and managing Internet traffic to improve comparison and buying decisions for consumers.”

ShopWiki CEO Rory Cumming was attracted to Oversee for similar reasons.  “Oversee provides services for over 10 million domain names and has unique insight into consumer preferences and Internet traffic,” he said.  “Through contextual search, consumers who navigate through Oversee’s network of names will see relevant offers more often with ShopWiki.”Terms of the deal were not disclosed.  Gridley & Company, a New York City-based boutique investment bank, provided ShopWiki Corp. with advisory services on the deal.  Portico Capital Securities LLC served as financial advisor to Oversee.net for the transaction.  Cumming will serve as Oversee’s General Manager, Retail, and will continue to run the property from New York as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oversee and as a section of Oversee’s Vertical Markets division.

Generation Partners, a $350 million private investment firm, was the company’s largest shareholder and only institutional investor.  “ShopWiki has been a great investment for our firm,” commented John Hawkins, Managing Partner at Generation Partners.  “The company’s proprietary technology proved to be a true differentiator in a competitive market and allowed ShopWiki to grow its top-line revenues at a rate several times that of the overall market.  ShopWiki is one of several successful investments Generation has made in the online advertising and media industries.  Others are Demand Media, an internet-based model for creating high quality, commercially viable content, which recently completed a public offering, and iCrossing, a leading global digital advertising agency which was recently sold to Hearst Corporation.  We continue to focus on this sector and look forward to making several additional investments in the space that capitalize on the same online advertising trends that made ShopWiki so successful.”

“The ShopWiki management team, led by CEO Rory Cumming, has done an outstanding job building the company,” said Louis Marino, Vice President at Generation.  He added, “ShopWiki is an example of Generation’s investment strategy:  we specialize in providing growth capital to exceptional entrepreneurs, focus exclusively on high-growth service businesses and generate our returns through core business growth, rather than through financial leverage.
USA, Los Angeles, CA & New York, NY

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Guild, Newsweek pact clears way for Daily Beast merger

January 28, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

The Newspaper Guild of New York today announced an agreement that will enable Newsweek magazine to complete its pending merger with the Daily Beast and include a wide range of editorial employees of the website under the existing Guild-Newsweek collective bargaining agreement.

Under the “Framework Agreement” between the Guild and Harman Newsweek LLC, non-supervisory editorial employees who produce the Daily Beast will be covered by the same contract that now covers many of Newsweek’s reporters, editors and other news employees, upon completion of the merger. The agreement was a necessary prelude to the completion of the merger of the two news organisations that was announced December 6, 2010.

“Newsweek’s Guild members are proud to be part of this exciting new venture that will combine the journalistic resources of a venerable news magazine and a cutting-edge news website in an editorial workplace in which all employees will have a voice,” said Guild President Bill O’Meara. “We look forward to working with the operation’s highly respected new editor, Tina Brown, and her team from the Daily Beast as they join with the Newsweek staff to produce high-quality journalism in the digital age.”

The parties agreed to meet within 90 days of the completion of the merger to explore “cost-effective solutions designed to ensure the viability of the Company.”

Under the agreement, Daily Beast employees whose pay is below the minimums set by the Guild-Newsweek contract will be brought up to scale and their seniority will be dovetailed with that of Guild-represented Newsweek employees. The agreement also calls for voluntary buyouts to be offered to certain classes of current Newsweek employees.  Details regarding the buyouts still have to be negotiated.

The Guild, Local 31003 of the Communications Workers of America, represents nearly 3,000 print, photo and video journalists and other employees at 18 New York-area companies, mostly news organisations, including The New York Times, Time Inc., Thomson Reuters, Consumers Union and Standard & Poor’s.

USA, New York, NY

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Publicis Groupe increases its stake in Wefcos

January 28, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has acquired Aude de Thuin’s remaining stake in Wefcos, the company that organises the Women’s Forum. Veronique Morali, President of Fimalac Developpement and of Terrafemina, has been appointed the President of Wefcos.

In September 2009, Publicis Groupe acquired a majority stake in Wefcos, the company responsible for organising the Women’s Forum, an event created and chaired by Aude Zieseniss de Thuin.After working closely with CEO Jacqueline Franjou for over a year, and following the success of the Women’s Forum in October 2010, Aude Zieseniss de Thuin has decided to focus on other projects both in France and abroad. She also decided to sell her remaining shares to Publicis Groupe.

“Over the past six years, the Women’s Forum has grown to become a prominent international event. I built this project and took it as far as I could. Now, the transition has gone well and the Forum’s future is in good hands. Publicis Groupe has everything it takes to take the Forum concept even further. The other minority shareholders who have helped me over the last six years will be keeping their shares. I now want to focus entirely on new projects,” said Aude Zieseniss de Thuin.

According to Olivier Fleurot, CEO of MSLGROUP, Publicis Groupe’s Public Relations & Events network, “Aude’s vision and determination are what made this Forum successful. Through this event she contributed to promoting the role of women in all sectors of society throughout the world. With the appointment of Veronique Morali, and building on the success of the last Forum, we can now work on the international development and enhancement of the concept. There is a lot to be done to further the cause and place of women in our societies.”

“I am very happy to be taking over as President of the Women’s Forum and am determined to make it even more of a center of discussion and progress for women in order to help them to play their rightful part in society. This commitment is perfectly in keeping with the activities and ambition of Terrafemina,” said Veronique Morali.Veronique Morali has served in the French civil service (Ministry of Finance), and is currently President of Fimalac Developpement, Terrafemina, Force Femmes, and a Director of The Coca Cola Company. She also serves on the supervisory boards of Cie Financiere Edmond de Rothschild and Publicis Groupe.

The Women’s Forum was created in 2005 to promote the viewpoint of women on the economic and social issues of our times, and has since taken on an international dimension unparalleled among comparable events. The purpose of the Forum is to organise thought, discussion and action at an event where women and men from all over the world address the most pressing issues of the moment. In 2010, the Forum was attended by 1300 participants from over 80 countries.

France, Paris

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Advantage IQ to acquire Building Knowledge Networks

January 27, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Advantage IQ, a provider of strategic energy management solutions has entered into an agreement to acquire Building Knowledge Networks, a Seattle-based real-time building energy management services provider.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Building Knowledge Networks will be fully integrated and operated as Advantage IQ.  The transaction has been funded by Advantage IQ and is expected to be neutral to earnings in 2011, as revenues are approximately $1 million for the 12 months ending Dec. 31, 2010.  Advantage IQ President and Chief Executive Officer Jeff Heggedahl will continue to lead the organisation, and Building Knowledge Networks founders Jay Marshall and Mike Willson will maintain leadership roles in furthering the development of this offering.

“Building management systems are rich with data, yet businesses are finding that this data is often difficult to acquire, aggregate, interpret and leverage toward actionable energy management,” said Heggedahl. “By acquiring Building Knowledge Networks, we are taking the next logical step to provide our clients with real-time connectivity to their building systems, empowering them with the data and analytics they need to make good business decisions that reduce costs while improving operations and reducing overall environmental impact.”

“Building Knowledge Networks was formed in 2003 to provide commercial building owners with analysis services that optimize building systems, reduce energy expenditures and improve operations management,” said Mike Willson, co-founder of Building Knowledge Networks. “There is a focus on technology to improve environmental design in the development of new buildings, yet there is a need for businesses to reduce energy use in existing, older buildings. We share Advantage IQ’s mission to provide businesses with the counsel and information needed to reduce energy consumption and costs.”The effective management of commercial building systems is a critical component of lowering overall energy demand in the United States and globally. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, there are 4.8 million commercial buildings in the U.S. that use $107.9 billion in energy annually. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program cites that 30 percent of the energy spent by commercial and industrial  buildings is being used inefficiently or unnecessarily.

Advantage IQ is a subsidiary of Avista Corp. (NYSE: AVA)

USA, Spokane, WA & Seattle, WA

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Ogilvy & Mather acquires majority stake in Ogilvy South Africa

January 27, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Ogilvy & Mather has agreed to acquire a majority stake in Ogilvy South Africa, subject to obtaining regulatory approvals.  Completed, the deal will increase Ogilvy & Mather’s ownership of the agency from a 49.9 to 59 percent stake. The deal comes on the heels of another recent deal completed last April  the formation of a joint venture with African marketing services giant Scangroup.

Established in 1984, Ogilvy SA employs over 700 staff across 12 companies, with offices in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban.  It is the No. 1 agency network in South Africa in both revenue and creativity, according to AdReview’s most recent agency ranking.  In 2010, it was awarded the AdReview Ad Group of the Year.  It provides a diverse range of services to clients including advertising, digital and interactive, activation, promotions, internal marketing, CRM, shopper marketing, PR, channel planning and relationship marketing.  Ogilvy SA clients include a mix of local and multinational companies including BP, Cell C, KFC, MultiChoice and SABMiller.

Miles Young, Global CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, said, “Obtaining majority share of our South African operations was an inevitable next step for our growth strategy in Africa, which I passionately believe is one of the last great frontiers in global communications.  While the acquisition has made our majority ownership official, I’ve always felt that Ogilvy SA has embodied the Ogilvy values and spirit no less so than any of our wholly owned offices.  It is one of our network’s strongest performers in terms of creativity and business growth.  I toast all my partners in Ogilvy SA and welcome them officially to the Ogilvy family with which they have been associated for so long.  They are the ‘best of the best,’ and as a full part of our network they will give to us much more than just geographic presence.”About Ogilvy South Africa

USA, New York, NY & South Africa, Johannesburg

 

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Ziff Davis acquires LogicBuy.com

January 27, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Technology media company Ziff Davis has acquired LogicBuy.com, a provider of tech deals and coupons. Over 10 million visited LogicBuy.com in 2010 seeking the best deals and coupons on a range of technology products and services, including laptops, cameras, TVs and software.

With the acquisition of LogicBuy.com, Ziff Davis websites, such as its flagship PCMag.com, will now be able to provide their audience of in-market buyers the best up-to-the-minute deals and coupons on the products they’re researching. At the same time, LogicBuy.com will tap Ziff Davis’ long-running relationships with tech manufacturers and retailers to bring even more high-quality deals to its audience.

“Between our owned-and-operated websites and our recently launched ad targeting platform, BuyerBase™, Ziff Davis reaches over 40 million tech buyers per month,” said Vivek Shah, CEO of Ziff Davis. “LogicBuy.com gives us the ability to introduce the best deals and coupons to those shoppers and further pursue our mission of informing and influencing tech buyers.”

Launched in 2007, LogicBuy.com was designed to cut through the clutter of overwhelming and often low-quality deals on the Web to present buyers with the best opportunities to save money. LogicBuy.com allows shoppers to find, share and rate every deal and coupon.

“We have saved consumers tens of millions of dollars since our founding,” said Thai Than, founder of LogicBuy.com. “By joining Ziff Davis, we will be able to reach even more buyers with the best possible deals and coupons in technology and consumer electronics.”

USA, New York, NY

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Sir Run Run Shaw sells control of Hong Kong’s TVB

January 27, 2011 — Fusion DigiNet

Sir Run Run Shaw,  founder of Hong Kong’s television station TVB, has sold control of the business.

Shaw has signed an agreement to sell his 26% stake in Shaw Brothers to an investment group controlled by Hong Kong business man Charles Chan, Taiwanese business women Cher Wang and Providence Equity Partners. The deal is expected to be completed on or before March 31.

Shaw will also sell a portion of the 6.3% he owns of TVB through his charity, The Shaw Foundation Hong KongShaw will remain as chairman, Cher Wang and Thomas Nelson, CEO of Providence Equity Partners, will join the board.

Hong Kong

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