SunGame to merge With Freevi

Social game developer SunGame Corp. has signed a letter-of-intent to merge with Nevada-based Freevi Corporation. The merged entity will be renamed Freevi Corporation.

The merger is 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 on a wide scale in 2011.

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

USA, Los Angeles, CA

WPP acquires consumer and business transaction data firm I-Behavior

WPP announces has agreed to acquire I-Behavior Inc through KBM Group, part of WPP’s Wunderman network.

I-Behavior is a privately-held database marketing business which provides direct marketing services to multi-channel merchants – retailers, financial services firms, catalogue sellers, consumer magazines, business-to-business companies – based on consumer purchase transaction data.

Based in Louisville, Colorado, I-Behavior’s projected full-year revenues for this year are expected to be approximately $25 million. It employs 83 people.

I-Behavior helps merchants market more effectively through its innovative co-operative database which includes over 8 billion purchase transactions. The database covers purchases by 171 million consumers from 110 million households. It also has information generated by 103 million online buyers and 35 million business-to-business purchasers. Collectively, this represents more than $320 billion in online and offline purchases. The database has more than 1,900 merchants who contribute data about customer transactions in exchange for highly qualified and modeled predictions about future buying behaviors.

This acquisition continues WPP’s strategy of investing in digital knowledge-based marketing solutions companies in fast growing markets and sectors. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and the approval of I-Behavior’s shareholders.

USA, Louisville, CO & Richardson, TX

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Cleantech startup SenseLogix raises £1 million

SenseLogix, a provider of retrofit energy reduction products, has secured a 1M series A investment round led by international venture capital firm, Beringea and regional equity company, North Star Equity Investment Partners. The series A funding round contains a mixture of private and public funding and was completed to accelerate company growth and support new technology developments.

The round also included support from the Welsh Assembly Government, which is directly linked to the creation of new jobs. SenseLogix plans to create more than 12 new jobs over the next 12 months.

Jonathan Luke, SenseLogix’s Chief Executive Officer, says: We are delighted to announce that to build upon recent successes the company has closed a series A investment round to accelerate company growth and support future technology developments. It is exciting times at the company, following our successful launch at SustainabilityLive earlier this year, our recent award win, and our securing a product partnership with Marshall Tufflex for a range of pre-wired, SenseLogix powered cable management solutions.

Luke continued: What is extremely encouraging is that the investment has been completed in difficult economic market conditions, which is a testament to our technology and business model. We have seen strong early stage market traction from both end users and service partners, and we are confident our technology will provide good energy savings to end users and assist our service partners in providing enhanced, low carbon energy services to their clients.

The investment round will see the appointment of Stuart Veale, Managing Partner, Beringea, as a non-executive board member.

UK, Conwy, North Wales

Intelligent grid software and clean energy solutions Nexant closes $50 Million Financing Round

Nexant, a global provider of intelligent grid software and clean energy solutions, announced today that Dr. Romesh Wadhwani of Symphony Technology Group has joined TeleSoft, Oak Investment Partners, Intel Capital, and Beacon in raising a total of $50 million to close the company’s latest investment round.

“We are delighted to welcome Romesh to Nexant,” said Arjun Gupta, Nexant Executive Chairman. “We are privileged to have Romesh’s participation—particularly his extensive experience building software companies—as we scale Nexant’s next-generation platform and applications, such as GridSmart®, TrakSmart®, and ChemSystems®.”

“My chief mission has always been to help build great companies over the long term by investing in transformative technology and exceptional talent capable of delivering breakthrough client value,” said Dr. Wadhwani. “I believe Nexant has the potential to be one of those great companies and I am excited to be working with Nexant’s team of energy and software experts to accelerate growth and help scale the company.”

Nexant’s software focuses on the sophisticated demands of next-generation electricity grid operations and energy markets—managing energy efficiency, demand response, and distributed generation; improving the efficiency of the power grid; and supporting market operations.  In addition, Nexant provides a wide range of technical, operational, and strategic consultingservices to utilities, and oil, gas, and chemical majors.

USA, San Francisco, CA

Global Green Carbon Corporation acquires Optim Consult

Global Green Carbon Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Optim Consult. Optim is a carbon emission reduction and carbon asset service provider for the global carbon market. Global Green Carbon is a world-wide project developer of carbon financed AFOLU (Agriculture, Forestry and Land Use) initiatives.

Optims’ clientele currently consists of global entities such as CEMEX, Gas Natural, Forestal Mininco, EPM, ECOPETROL and USAID to name but a few.  Optim dominates the carbon arena with a portfolio of over 30 carbon emission reduction projects in both the compliance and voluntary markets generating over 6 million tCO2e.

“The acquisition of Optim provides Global Green Carbon diversification into all sectors of the carbon market,” commented Christopher Werner, Chief Executive Officer of GGC.  “Optim benefits from diversification into forestry and agroforestry markets with revenues beyond carbon.  Our melded respective strengths provides a solid platform for growth and positions us as key players as the global carbon markets mature.”

In signing the Definitive Agreement, Juan Andres Lopez, President of Optim Consult commented, “We are very optimistic about this union and in particular the ability to leverage our respective strengths in the developing US market.  Our broad scope of carbon emission reduction experience and asset management and their expertise in international forestry and finance will ensure that both companies are strengthened as the markets evolve.”

USA, Chicago, CA

Undertone acquires Online video ad distribution business Jambo Media

Undertone has acquired Jambo Media, one of the largest suppliers of online video advertising distribution and technology with more than 17 million unique viewers* per month. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Online video represents an exciting growth opportunity, with Piper Jaffray projecting 39 percent annual growth over the next five years to become a $5+ billion market. With this acquisition, Undertone adds Jambo’s video player and content management technology to its portfolio and gains the ability to create premium video inventory for a market in which current and future demand far outpaces available supply.

“While brand advertisers use video in traditional settings like television, it is under-utilized online,” said Mike Cassidy, CEO of Undertone. “Undertone’s goal is to help marketers ‘span the screens,’ putting video to work for brands on televisions, personal computers and mobile devices. Pairing video and display under a single management platform helps advertisers serve the right content in the right format to the right person, delivering results that impact the brand.”

Fortune 500 brands, including both advertisers and publishers, create a tremendous amount of content. Now, they will have a new distribution channel for in-stream video married with high-value, branded content. Undertone executes integrated campaigns across brand-safe sites from a single platform that includes key analytics to give marketers the ability to manage, measure and improve upon their campaigns.

“Our clients want to take advantage of online video, but not at the expense of brand safety,” said Erin Matts, Chief Digital Officer, OMD. “With this acquisition, Undertone can deliver the reach our brands need without sacrificing quality.”

USA, New York, NY

Amazon acquires online baby care specialty site Quidsi for $540M

Amazon has acquired rival e-commerce company Quidsi for around $540m, according to several reports. An announcement is due later today.

Diapers.com was founded in Montclair, New Jersey, by Marc Lore and Vinit Bharara. It is described as the largest online baby care specialty site in the United States.

Recent Amazon deals reported on Fusion DigiNet

USA, Montclair, NJ & San Francisco, CA

Climate Energy acquires Solutions 4 Energy

According to Private Equity Wire, Carbon reduction agency Climate Energy Holdings has acquired Solutions 4 Energy, a UK-based energy funding and project management provider.

Climate Energy says the acquisition will allow it to create a more robust business in order to weather future changes in funding availability and improve its geographical reach.

Climate Energy managing director Andrew Holmes says: “We are delighted to be purchasing a business which has at its core, a responsibility to reduce carbon emissions. We saw this as an opportunity to further consolidate our position in a very exciting but volatile sector. This acquisition positions our group to deliver a wider range of funding and services and will ensure that our customer base will be rewarded by the increased resources.”

Climate Energy was supported by Climate Change Capital Private Equity in a management buy out in July 2009.

Like Climate Energy, Solutions 4 Energy is an organisation delivering a range of services to engage householders, businesses and communities in environmental and social improvement. Operating nationally across Great Britain, Solutions 4 Energy provides funding and project management services to social housing providers and contractors for the delivery of energy related projects.

Terry Bentley, director of Solutions 4 Energy, says: “Our company has been developing and delivering energy efficiency projects for various initiatives including the current CERT programme. We have assisted with the energy efficiency improvement of thousands of homes in the UK and our funding services have enabled us to locate and deliver the most beneficial funding available to clients. We are very proud of our accomplishments and are delighted to have investment from a company which understands our business and market.”
UK, Essex & Suffolk

McGraw-Hill Education acquires Starting Out, provider of life-skills and workforce development reference resources

McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, has acquired Starting Out, a publisher of life-skills learning, and workplace readiness information for the education, workforce, and corrections markets.

The acquisition significantly strengthens McGraw-Hill Education’s position as a leading provider of adult basic education, college, workforce, and career-development resources, providing the company with considerable opportunities to leverage Starting Out’s products and capabilities.

“We are pleased to expand both our print and digital capabilities in career and workforce development,” said Jeff Livingston, senior vice president of McGraw-Hill Education’s Applied, College & Career Readiness Center. “It is important to provide resources that build on the basic life-management skills many young adults receive in school and at home. The addition of Starting Out reinforces our commitment to helping students and young adults make informed decisions regarding their career paths as they transition from one life stage to the next.”

With state-specific information in more than 80 life skills categories, each edition in the Starting Out! series offers a practical guide to decision-making for learners as they transition into a productive life and career. Topics include financial literacy, employment and careers, health and nutrition, civic responsibilities, conservation, housing and taxes, diet and nutrition, consumerism, and more.

USA, New York, NY

Telegraaf Media Group acquires Hyves

Telegraaf Media Group, publisher of Dutch newspaper de Telegraaf, is acquiring Amsterdam based social network Hyves.

The acquisition of Hyves is an important strategic step towards TMG’s stated aim of achieving a larger share of its profits from digital media. Hyves and TMG currently have a joint net monthly internet reach of over 8.5 million Dutch residents of 13 years and older. Furthermore, partnering with TMG’s print and radio brands willoffer new cross-media exploitation opportunities.

Hyves expects revenues of approximately €20 million in 2010 and has a  workforce of around 140. Hyves management team will remain in place.

The Hyves acquisition is funded by TMG from its cash flows and is earnings per share enhancing. The acquisition is currently subject to advice from TMG’s Central Works Council.

The Netherlands, Amsterdam