Tribune Media Services acquires internet video search and indexing company CastTV

December 18, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Tribune Media Services (TMS), a provider of entertainment information databases, has acquired video search platform CastTV.

The acquisition will enhance TMS’ entertainment metadata, widely used by 4,000 media and technology companies in 40 countries.  TMS customers will now have access to all the metadata necessary to create entertainment-discovery guides that direct consumers to programs available on linear, on-demand and online video platforms.

CastTV has developed search technology that aggregates, indexes and presents data on millions of TV shows, movies, music videos, news and sports clips, and viral videos from more than 1,000 web-video sources.

The CastTV technology automatically matches online video to professionally edited, structured databases such as TMS’ TV, movie and celebrity data, allowing for deep integration with existing TMS products.  The CastTV system also allows for “device-aware” content-discovery products that can be limited or expanded to include only access to videos that address a customer’s device limitations or the business needs of a video provider. 

The acquisition includes all of CastTV’s technology, products, intellectual property and staff, including CEO Edwin Ong and president Alex Vikati, who founded the San Francisco-based company together in 2006.

“We are thrilled to bring the best-in-class innovations that our talented team has developed to industry leader TMS,” said Ong. “By combining our technology with TMS’ industry-leading entertainment data, we can offer media and technology customers comprehensive, ‘one stop watching’ solutions for today’s connected consumers,” added Vikati.

Combining CastTV’s capabilities with TMS’ deep databases of TV shows, movies and celebrities, will give media and technology companies a one-stop solution for guiding consumers through the rapidly growing array of video platforms.  TMS will link the CastTV index of online programs to TMS metadata to enable customers to easily direct consumers to programs regardless of where they are offered.

CastTV also operates a consumer website (www.CastTV.com), which provides more than four million consumers with a comprehensive resource to find what video they want to watch online.  TMS will operate the CastTV.com site as part of its Zap2it.com entertainment network, which currently reaches eight million Web visitors and four million mobile app users monthly.  TMS will offer advertising packages that combine the entertainment-hungry audiences of both sites.

“With over 50 million Americans watching shows online each week, online video consumption is now mainstream,” said Jay Fehnel, Chief Operating Officer for TMS Entertainment Products.  “Most consumers have a hard time finding all the online content they would enjoy — and have no way to see all their viewing options in one place.   By adding CastTV’s expertise, TMS will be able to help our clients deliver one guide to all the video a consumer can view, regardless of where the program comes from and what device they are using to view it.”

“The addition of CastTV provides TMS customers fully integrated capabilities that are essential to building professional, reliable and structured video-discovery experiences.  It also gives TMS significant additional data-management and technology expertise that is uniquely valuable across our increasingly complex metadata business,” added John Zelenka, Senior Vice President of Business Development for TMS. 

USA, San Francisco, CA

Posted in Broadcasting, Content Media, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Livewire Mobile acquires FoneStarz Media Group

December 18, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

US mobile music and content company Livewire Mobile, has acquired FoneStarz Media Group, a UK based mobile digital storefront and mobile content supplier.

The combination of the two companies provides a broad content-offering that includes application distribution, ringback, full-track music, video, advertising, ringtones, images and games. Furthermore, the acquisition expands Livewire Mobile’s market reach to more than 400 million subscribers at over 40 mobile operators in nearly 30 countries, providing one of the most comprehensive one-stop digital content solutions for carriers, handset manufacturers and other media companies entering the mobile content market.

Based in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, FoneStarz has a successful track record of retailing mobile entertainment content for mobile network operators. It manages cutting edge digital content services, from its proprietary merchandising and delivery platform for 11 mobile operators in eight countries around the world.

FoneStarz services are currently deployed with premier operators including Vodafone, Hutchison 3 and O2 in countries including the U.K., Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, New Zealand, South Africa and Egypt. It works with a number of other Tier 1 and 2 operators and has content aggregation agreements with handset manufacturers including Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Samsung and LG, and content licenses with more than 140 media companies, including Disney, Playboy, Turner, American Greetings and Manchester United.

Livewire Mobile plans to incorporate the FoneStarz platform into its InfuseTM integrated storefront solution for mobile operators, as well as its recently launched MediadromeTM direct-to-consumer music service.

Together, the companies bring extensive global experience and market-leading technical infrastructures, providing a platform for rapid strategic growth in new and existing territories and positioning them alongside firms such as Motricity, RealNetworks and Zed in the fast-growing mobile content market. The management team is headed up by Matthew Stecker, CEO, Livewire Mobile and Dave Moreau, CEO and founder of FoneStarz, who will become COO of the combined company. They intend to grow the combined business by exploiting its product set and extending services across six continents. 

“As we stated earlier this year, we refocused our company resources toward providing our global partners and customers with an innovative suite of products and end-to-end services,” said Mr. Stecker. “Now, with this combination of two complementary companies, we are creating an even stronger organization with a broadened product suite, improved service and support worldwide and increased cross-selling opportunities to an expanded customer base.”

Mr. Moreau added: “We spent some time looking for a partner that offered a strategic fit in terms of product roadmap and territorial expansion. Scale is vital in this fast moving, global market and we believe Livewire Mobile and FoneStarz together will be able to provide a preeminent digital solution for mobile network operators, handset manufacturers and media businesses.”

USA, Littleton, MA & UK, Cambridgeshire

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Internet Media, Mobile Apps, ~Europe, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Hellman & Friedman completes the acquisition of Internet Brands

December 18, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

It has been a complicated journey (see previous Fusion DigiNet stories listed below), but on December 16, 2010, Internet Brands’ stockholders approved the going-private transaction at a special meeting of stockholders. Pursuant to the definitive merger agreement among Internet Brands, Micro Acquisition Corp. and Micro Holding Corp., dated as of September 17, 2010, Internet Brands stockholders will receive $13.35 per share in cash, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes, for each share of common stock they owned immediately prior to the effective time of the merger (other than shares owned by Micro Holding Corp., Micro Acquisition Corp., Internet Brands and their subsidiaries, and by stockholders who have perfected and not withdrawn a demand for appraisal rights). Internet Brands’ Class A common stock will cease trading on The NASDAQ Global Select Market at the close of market today and will be delisted.

Investing alongside lead investor Hellman & Friedman is JMI Equity, a private equity firm focused on the Internet, software and business services industries.

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as counsel to Hellman & Friedman. Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP served as counsel to Internet Brands. Jefferies & Company, Inc. acted as exclusive financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP acted as legal advisor to the Special Committee of the Board of Directors of Internet Brands.

About Internet Brands, Inc.

Internet Brands, Inc. (NASDAQ: INET) is a unique and leading Internet media company. The company owns and operates more than 100 websites that are leaders in their vertical markets. In total, these sites organically attract (without paid marketing) approximately 70 million unique visitors per month. The vast majority of these sites have very strong community participation. Internet Brands is unique in its ability to monetize Internet audiences. The company’s proprietary platform optimizes yields from its more than 40,000 direct advertisers spanning seven vertical categories. The platform is core to the company’s acquisitions strategy, providing a cost-efficient and scalable approach to expanding the company’s online footprint. Internet Brands was founded in 1998 by Idealab, a creator and operator of technology companies based in Pasadena, California.

USA, Pasadena, CA

Related articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

AOL acquires Pictela

December 16, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

AOL has acquired Pictela, the provider of a global technology platform for serving and distributing high-definition brand content across online advertising and social media. Pictela will remain a separate group within AOL Advertising, based in New York, and will continue to provide its products and services to outside partners. Deal terms were not disclosed. Pictela joins other strategic acquisitions made by AOL in 2010 including StudioNow, 5min Media, TechCrunch and Thing Labs.

“Pictela is an outstanding fit for AOL as we re-imagine the intersection of content, advertising and the consumer experience,” said Jeff Levick, AOL’s President of Global Advertising and Strategy. “Pictela’s product development team is best-in-class, and its beautiful, content rich, media display formats meet Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Online Publishers Association (OPA) standards that run across AOL Media properties and other publisher sites. We’ve taken one important step towards spotlighting quality ad content with Project Devil on AOL Media properties, and now we’re taking a second by bringing Pictela into the AOL Advertising family.”

Levick added, “Our goal is to create the highest quality ad content for the best user experience and monetization opportunities, and we’re excited to work with innovators who share our vision and excitement for what brand advertising on the Web should be.”

Formed in 2009, the Pictela platform delivers videos, photos and applications in real time across the Web in a range of formats that meet IAB and OPA standards. Pictela is certified by some of the world’s largest publishers and is distributed by AOL, Glam Media and Hearst, among others.

“We believe that joining AOL is an outstanding opportunity to combine with a company that is as committed to redefining brand advertising on the Web as we are,” said Greg Rogers, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pictela. “As one of the world’s premium publishers, AOL will not only be one of our biggest customers, it will also be our greatest resource with the scale, technology and commitment to world-class content to help realize the true potential of the online environment.”hare of voice and providing a large, multi-functional advertising canvas, early Devil ad campaigns have achieved significantly better Interaction Rates (ITR) than the industry average for rich media banners. Following advertiser demand, out these factors as they relate to AOL may be found in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in AOL’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AOL is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

USA, New York, NY

Relateds articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Marketing/Advertising, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

AutoTrader.com closes the Kelley Blue Book acquisition

December 16, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

 AutoTrader.com, the automotive marketplace and consumer information website, has completed its transaction to acquire Kelley Blue Book, the provider of new car and used car information. The deal was reported by Fusion DigiNet in October.

AutoTrader.com says it will be maintaining Kelley Blue Book’s independent and unbiased position in the marketplace.  Furthermore, AutoTrader.com is committed to maintaining and strengthening Kelley Blue Book’s role as The Trusted Resource® for vehicle valuation and other important information consumers, dealers, manufacturers, financial and governmental institutions rely upon.

“Kelley Blue Book has a wonderful history as an iconic brand and trusted provider of vehicle information to generations of car buyers and sellers,” said AutoTrader.com President and CEO Chip Perry.  “And as we look into the future we believe AutoTrader.com and Kelley Blue Book can together bring a host of new technologies and tools to market that will significantly improve the car shopping process for consumers and help auto dealers and manufacturers better capitalize on the fundamental marketing efficiencies provided by the Internet.”

Kelley Blue Book, founded in 1926, launched its top rated web site in 1995 and is now a leading provider of new and used vehicle pricing information to the auto industry. The company provides its values to dealers, banks, finance and insurance companies nationwide on a weekly basis. In the last few years, the company implemented a new multi-million dollar, state-of-the-art vehicle information management system, positioning the company to deliver the best market insights in the auto industry. 

USA, Atlanta, GA & Irvine, CA

Related Articles:

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Publishers. Leave a Comment »

Brazil: Publicis Groupe takes majority stake in Brazil’s Andreoli MS&L

December 16, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Publicis Groupe has taken a majority stake in Andreoli MS&L, one of Brazil’s top 5 full-service PR agencies. Part-owned by Publicis Groupe since 2001, the agency will be renamed Andreoli MSL Brasil, and will continue to align under MSLGROUP, Publicis Groupe’s leading specialty communications, PR and events network.

Founded in 1993 by Paulo Andreoli, Andreoli MSL Brasil employs 45 communications specialists. The agency provides consumer PR, corporate communications strategy, public affairs and crisis management for major clients including Sodexo, Hydro, OHL, BlackRock, Danone, Royal Bank of Scotland and Louis Dreyfus. As well as being a leading player in Brazil’s dynamic communications market, Sao Paulo-based Andreoli MSL Brasil will now also be a flagship hub agency for MSLGROUP’s network of 14 affiliated agencies across Latin America and Central America, with Paulo Andreoli at the helm of those businesses. Following the increase to majority ownership, Paulo Andreoli will report to Jim Tsokanos, President of MSLGROUP Americas.

In its global adspend forecast, ZenithOptimedia earlier this month predicted Latin America would be the world’s best-performing region in 2010, with ZenithOptimedia expecting growth of nearly 14 percent this year, with projections of up to 25.5 percent growth in the Brazilian market alone.

The Andreoli MSL Brasil transaction comes two months after Publicis Groupe took a stake in Brazilian advertising agency Talent. Publicis Groupe also recently acquired leading PR companies Eastwei in China, as well as both 20:20 MEDIA and 2020SOCIAL in India in the last eight weeks, all three of which joined MSLGROUP. These moves are in line with the Groupe’s stated expansion plans for the high-growth BRIC markets.

MSLGROUP CEO Olivier Fleurot commented, “Increasing our foothold in the Brazilian market means our global clients now have seamless access to one of Brazil’s star speciality communications agencies. It also positions MSLGROUP well for expansion in the South America region as a whole – this is a deal we’re naturally very excited about.”

France, Paris & Brazil, Sao Paulo

Related articles

Posted in Marketing/Advertising, ~Europe, ~Latin America and Caribbean. Leave a Comment »

Market America to acquire Shop.com

December 15, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Market America, an Internet marketing and product brokerage company, announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the business of online comparison shopping comparison business Shop.com. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

MarketAmerica.com and Shop.com will continue to operate as separate websites through a transition period.  Market America’s headquarters will remain in Greensboro, NC, while Shop.com’s facilities in Monterey and Pasadena, CA and London, UK will continue without disruption.  The combined entity will have in excess of 650 employees. The transaction is expected to be completed by year-end 2010.

“Together, Market America and Shop.com are creating a new ‘social shopping’ movement,” said James Ridinger, President and CEO of Market America.  “To date, no one has truly harnessed the power of technology to provide a high touch, personal shopping experience combined with the depth of selection available through instant search of the more than 43 million products in our database.  Our business model rewards customers at every stage – by making their shopping easier and more efficient, and rewarding them with cash back for shopping with us.  This unique strategy positions us for explosive growth and to compete head-to-head with the biggest, most dominant shopping sites on the Internet.”
“Market America and Shop.com are online shopping pioneers with distinct areas of expertise,” added Ken Goldstein, Chairman & CEO of Shop.com who will depart his current role and become a strategic advisor to Market America as part of the transition.  “By bringing our companies together, we are creating a game changing shopping experience with transformative potential to our customers, retailers, consumer brands and business partners.”

USA, Greenboro, NC

Posted in Content Media, e-Commerce, Internet Media, ~North America. Leave a Comment »

Hi-Media Group is considering a sale of its micropayment platform

December 15, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

The on-line media group Hi-Media has announced that “given the tremendous opportunities offered by the e-payment market dynamism, it has asked the investment bank NIBC Bank to study different possible industrial and financial partnerships with respect to its leading micropayment platform Allopass and its e-wallet Hipay.”
 
Hi-media, is an online media group with more than 50 million unique visitors per month on its proprietary websites. Hi-media is a large leading European player in online advertising and electronic payment. Its business model relies thus on two different sources of revenues: online advertising via its dedicated ad network Hi-media Advertising and online content monetization via its micropayment platform Allopass. The group which operates in 9 European countries, USA and Brazil employs more than 500 people. In 2009 Hi-Media achieved €206 million in sales.

France, Paris

Posted in Content Media, Internet Media, Marketing/Advertising, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »

Itron to acquire energy information business Asais

December 15, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Itron is to acquire Asais, an energy information management software and consulting services provider, headquartered in France, for an undisclosed sum. The transaction is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2011.

Asais is a leader in energy information management and multi-vendor data collection capabilities. For the past 25 years, the company has developed and implemented advanced energy information management solutions through state-of-the-art software and online services. Asais delivers competitive flexibility to every segment of the energy industry by providing customers with data collection, data analysis and smart grid management software solutions and services.

Itron has been partnering with Asais globally for the past four years. Joint projects include smart metering and smart grid initiatives with many major utilities across Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The acquisition enables Itron to offer integrated, end-to-end solutions with a strong expertise in energy information management and efficiency—fundamental components for success in today’s utility industry.

Asais’ leading data collection software will complement Itron’s field-proven meter data management and analytics systems, creating a platform for successful smart metering deployments in Europe and across the globe. In return, Itron will provide Asais opportunities for accelerated growth into international markets. Asais’ consultancy expertise will afford Itron’s utility customers expanded options to optimize the management of their resources.

Marcel Regnier, senior vice president and chief operating officer, Itron International, said: “We are delighted to welcome Asais to our team and are very excited about this acquisition, as it strengthens our position as the leader in end-to-end smart grid and smart distribution solutions. Utilities today prefer to rely on a single, trusted partner for their energy management solutions. Thanks to this union of highly skilled teams, Asais and Itron will deliver invaluable experience and expertise in energy information management and data collection software. Together, Itron and Asais can provide flexible, scalable solutions for customers worldwide.”

Thierry Poyatos, Asais managing director, commented, “This acquisition is the result of many years of working closely with Itron, a partnership that has already led to multiple major successes. Formally joining Itron is an exciting opportunity for our talented people, who now have the ability to demonstrate their smart grid and energy management skills on a global stage. Asais will continue to develop multi-vendor solutions in response to increasing demand for technologies that ensure interoperability. We are also committed to maintaining class-leading customer service for our existing clients who have put their trust in Asais for over a quarter century.”

USA, Liberty Lake, WA & France, Noisy le Grand

Posted in B2B Services, Consultancy, Energy & Environmental Services. Leave a Comment »

Schneider Electric acquires two software technologies for building management companies

December 15, 2010 — Fusion DigiNet

Global specialist in energy management, Schneider Electric, has acquired two French-based software technologies for building management companies: Vizelia, a software provider of real time energy monitoring of buildings, and D5X, a specialist in solutions to optimize commercial space utilization.

Vizelia employs 12 people and is expected to generate revenues in excess of €4 million for the current year. The innovative software of Vizelia allows customers to obtain real time data monitoring of energy consumption, maintenance planning and property management for both new and existing buildings, in particular for education, public and commercial building segments.

With 27 employees, D5X offers comprehensive solutions in 3 main areas: real time tracking of movement and building occupancy, room control systems (including lighting, blinds and ventilation) and data network management. The company is expected to generate revenues in excess of €4 million for the current year.

With these acquisitions Schneider Electric complements its solution offers for fully integrated building management and further reinforces its value proposition for end users and property owners.

Chris Curtis, Executive Vice-President, Buildings business, commented: “By acquiring Vizelia and D5X, Schneider Electric enhances its capability to offer complete solutions to improve buildings performance.  We will also be able to leverage our market position in some targeted countries and propose these technologies to our customers outside of France.”

“We continue to make innovative investments in France in order to offer unparalleled solutions to our customers. They clearly want to bring their installations under control”, said Frédéric Abbal, France Country President, “from an energy monitoring point of view but also from a performance optimization point of view”

These two acquisitions are expected to meet Schneider Electric’s Return on Capital Employed criteria.

Schneider Electric has around 100,000 employees and achieved sales of 15.8 billion euros in 2009

France, Rueil-Malmaison

Posted in B2B Services, Consultancy, Energy & Environmental Services, ~Europe. Leave a Comment »
« Older posts
Newer posts »