Keshet acquires majority stake in Greenbird Media

March 12, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Keshet InternationalKeshet International, the global production and distribution arm of Israeli media giant Keshet, has acquired a majority stake in UK production company incubator, investor and biz accelerator Greenbird Media. The deal sees Keshet up its share of Greenbird and take over BBC Worldwide’s 30% stake in the company. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed.

Greenbird, a venture from Shine TV executive Jamie Munro and Stuart Mullin from Argonon, was founded in 2012 and provides independent producers with access to innovative funding models and licensing deals to support their creative productions.

KI, known for “Homeland,” “The A Word” and “Rising Star,” will become distribution partner for Greenbird Media’s production companies and boost its roster with more entertainment and factual content, while Greenbird will continue to guide its independent producers in terms of funding and licensing deals for creative productions.

Alon Shtruzman, CEO of Keshet International, said, “Greenbird Media, with its entrepreneurial and creative culture, is the perfect match for us. We share similar philosophies and values, and by combining KI’s global footprint with Greenbird Media’s stellar team, I see limitless possibilities and accelerated growth.”

Israel, Jerusalem & UK, London

 

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Lagardère acquires majority stake in Skyhigh TV

March 12, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

LagardereThe French audiovisual production group Lagardère Studios has taken a majority stake in Dutch TV production company Skyhigh TV. The move follows the acquisition of Boomerang TV in Spain and Aito Media Group in Finland respectively in 2015 and 2017. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Skyhigh was founded in 1999 and specializes in the production and distribution of entertainment, factual and documentary programs. It is owned by its three founding shareholders: Marc Dik, Wilfred Drechsler and Bernard van den Bosch.

The largest indie television producer in the Netherlands, Skyhigh produces 35 series per year, including such successful projects as The Bully Project, Model in One Day and Teen Mom Celebrity Support.

Christophe Thoral, president of Lagardère Studios said, “The Netherlands is the third largest exporter of TV formats in the world. Our acquisition of Skyhigh TV naturally serves to further our strategy for international growth, but it will also accelerate our policy of creating and circulating formats among our various structures”.

France, Boulogne-Billancourt & Netherlands, Hilversum

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Bethesda acquires BattleCry Studios

March 10, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

BethesdaBethesda Softworks has acquired fellow ZeniMax Media subsidiary BattleCry Studios, now branded Bethesda Game Studios Austin. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

This growth will mark the second studio expansion since the founding of Bethesda’s in-house game studio in 2001 and the newest addition since Bethesda Game Studios Montreal in late 2015. The Texas-based studio will be led by Studio Director Doug Mellencamp. BattleCry Studios, which was formed in 2012 as a subsidiary of Zenimax Media, is responsible for the shelved free-to-play title of the same name, described as a “multiplayer online action combat game” by former executive producer and president Rich Vogel. The project was suspended in October 2015 in favour of other endeavours, and the studio went on to aid Id Software with post-release content for the multiplayer mode of DOOM.

Mellencamp said, “We’re excited to join Bethesda Game Studios and look forward to working together on some of the industry’s most exciting new games. Austin’s incredible game development scene and talent will also allow us to push our games further than fans have imagined.”

USA, Rockville, MD & Austin, TX

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Euromoney acquires European investment industry survey Extel

March 8, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

EuromoneyEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC, the international business information and events group, has acquired 100% of the business and assets of Extel from WeConvene. Extel will be integrated into Euromoney’s Institutional Investor Research business which is well known for its sell-side analyst and corporate IR performance research and rankings, and strengthens further Institutional Investor’s asset management offering. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Extel runs the annual independent survey of quality across the European equities investment community. The Extel Survey began in 1974 and in 2017 over 15,500 investment professionals cast 1.1 million votes across the investment industry, providing a huge dataset to help clients analyse and drive their market understanding.

The acquisition of Extel fits within Euromoney’s strategy of investing in its main themes, specifically asset management. Extel is deeply embedded in the equities investment community and its complementary data sets and highly valued analytics and insights will support the transition of Institutional Investor to a next generation 3.0 business model.

Will Rowlands-Rees, MD of Institutional Investor Research, said: “Although a small business, Extel has a strong reputation in the European market, and is highly complementary to our existing Institutional Investor Research offerings. By integrating these businesses, we will create a unique bulge bracket through domestic broker view of research product evaluation in the European market at a time of tremendous market change driven by MiFID II. I look forward to leveraging our shared expertise and knowledge, and partners in the investment community to build a stronger and broader set of capabilities across our portfolio of products to help with these challenges.”

UK, London

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Discovery Communications Inc. completes acquisition of Scripps Networks interactive to create Discovery, Inc.

March 6, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Discovery Communications IncDiscovery Communications has completed its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive, with the combined company to be officially known as Discovery, Inc.

Scripps Networks Interactive is a leading developer of lifestyle-content for television and the Internet. The company’s brands includes HGTV, Food Network, Travel Channel, DIY Network, Cooking Channel and country music network Great American Country.

Scripps shareholders will receive approximately $90 per share, consisting of $65.82 per share in cash and 1.0584 per share in Series C Common shares of Discovery stock valued based on a volume weighted average price (subject to elections and proration), in each case in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement. This includes a cash payment of $2.82 per share in connection with Discovery’s previously announced decision to exercise in full the cash top-up option under the merger agreement.

The acquisition is expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings per share and to free cash flow in the first year after closing, including significant cost synergies. The combination is expected to create a strong economic model with capacity for rapid debt repayment and a clear runway for growth and value creation.

Kenneth W. Lowe, former Chairman, President & CEO of Scripps Networks Interactive, will join Discovery’s board of directors, effective immediately.

David Zaslav, President and Chief Executive Officer for Discovery, said, “Today marks another critical milestone for Discovery, as we become a differentiated kind of media company with the most trusted portfolio of family-friendly brands around the globe. As a new global leader in real life entertainment, Discovery will serve loyal and passionate audiences around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains across every screen; deliver new ways for advertisers and distributors to reach highly targeted audiences at scale; and leverage our leadership position to create new value and growth opportunities for all of our stakeholders.”

USA, Silver Spring, MD & Knoxville, TN

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Ubisoft acquires Blue Mammoth Games studio

March 2, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

UbisoftFollowing its acquisition of 1492 Studio earlier this week, Ubisoft has acquired the video game development studio Blue Mammoth Games. With the acquisition, Ubisoft adds Brawlhalla, currently the most played fighting game on Steam, to its portfolio and bolsters its online expertise. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Blue Mammoth Games is based near Atlanta, Georgia, and is comprised of 21 talented team members, including founders Matthew Woomer and Lincoln Hamilton, who have a multiplayer online background. The studio developed and published Brawlhalla, a free-to-play online brawler that is among the top free-to-play games on PS4.

Laurent Detoc, President of Ubisoft NCSA, said, “The team at Blue Mammoth Games is expert at developing and running scalable, competitive, multiplayer online games, and they’ll be a great addition to Ubisoft’s network of studios. With Brawlhalla, we’re getting a hugely popular and highly-profitable title that aligns with our strategy of expanding our audience and providing players with long-lasting, entertaining gaming experiences.”

France, Rennes & USA, Atlanta, GA

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Park Group and Studio Squared merge to form Tilt Creative + Production

March 1, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Tilt CPFilm and video production firm Park Group and the content specialists from Studio Squared have merged as Tilt Creative + Production, a fully integrated creative and production firm formed to assist national and local clients with creation of traditional and digital video content.

Park GroupUnder the terms of the merger, Park Group founder Dave Trownsell and partner Stacy Murphy will hold a minority share of TiltCP, which is majority owned by former S2 president Ron Carey. Carey will serve as CEO of the combined entity, which employs just under 40 people.Studio Squared

“Combining as one allows us to concept a creative idea, produce that idea, edit that idea and pull it off through the efficiencies we gain by keeping the entire process in-house,” says Carey, who served as a senior vice president at The Martin Agency before joining S2 in 2014. “Content is proliferating across a number of traditional and digital channels and screen sizes, so we have built TiltCP to deliver a high volume of quality, creative content that remains reflective of every client’s brand.”

The Park and S2 merger comes as content demands for global brands are shifting away from traditional channels and moving onto a variety of digital platforms, streaming services, social media sites, and mobile devices. With the newfound demand comes the need for a high volume of creative production that must be met with speed and efficiency while still maintaining quality and ensuring that the client’s brand is accurately presented in the final product.

“As we have for over thirty years, our team will continue offering full-service production for television, film, and traditional advertising and marketing needs,” Trownsell says. “As we looked to the future of our industry, we recognized that we must also evolve and combine creative, strategy, production and post-production under one roof to offer clients a leaner and more responsive model to meet their needs.”

Founded in 1986, Park Group has become one of the largest media production groups in Virginia, offering national clients turnkey production and post-production services. S2 was formed by The Martin Agency in 2008 to produce digital point-of-sale, in-store advertising for major retailers and other businesses. The company was taken private this year by Carey, and several previous S2 employees have joined TiltCP. Clients include Walmart, Audi, Capital One, Ferguson Enterprises, and others.

USA, Richmond, VA

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Ubisoft acquires 1492 Studio

February 28, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

UbisoftVideo game publisher Ubisoft has acquired 1492 Studio, a game development studio specialised in the development of free-to-play episodic and interactive stories on mobile. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 2014 and based near Montpellier, France, the team at 1492 Studio created the successful mobile franchise “Is it Love?”, a series of interactive dramas in which a player’s choices shape their storyline, determine their discoveries and deepen their relationships in the game. The game is one of the top five grossing mobile simulation games in France and one of the top 20 in the U.S..

Jean-Michel Detoc, executive director of Ubisoft Mobile , said, “‘Is It Love?’ already is one of the leaders in episodic, narrative-driven mobile games, with a highly-engaged community of players. This deal is in keeping with our strategy of reaching new audiences through smart, targeted, and highly profitable acquisitions.”

France, Rennes & Vailhauquès

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Ascential plans to sell exhibitions arm to focus on digital

February 27, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

AscentialPlans to focus on its festivals and digital businesses could lead to a £300 million sale of Ascential’s exhibitions division.

The specialist information group previously known as Emap announced the launch of a strategic review of its exhibitions business yesterday.

The exhibitions business, which generated £78 million of revenue last year, includes the Spring and Autumn fairs, home and gift shows for the retail trade; Bett, a series of educational technology events; and Pure, a fashion trade show.

Ascential traces its origins back to 1887, when Sir Richard Winfrey bought the Spalding Guardian. In 1947, the Winfrey family’s newspaper interests were consolidated to form the East Midland Allied Press (Emap). In 1996 it sold its 65 newspaper titles to Johnston Press for £111 million and then in 2007 sold its consumer magazines and radio businesses to H Bauer, the German publisher, for £1.1 billion. The following year the company, by now a business-to-business magazine and events group, was acquired by Guardian Media Group and Apax Partners for about £1 billion.

Analysts estimated that a sale , which also include CWIEME, a series of shows for the automotive, consumer electronics and power generation sectors, could generate proceeds of between £250 million and £300 million. Shares in Ascential jumped by almost 6 per cent yesterday, rising 22½p to 400½p.

The review does not include Cannes Lions, the festival and awards event for the creative and marketing communications, entertainment and design industries, or Money 20/20, a financial technology payments event platform about to be launched in China.

If Ascential does sell its exhibitions unit, it is expected to redeploy the proceeds to pursue acquisitions.

Emap rebranded itself as Top Right Group in 2012, then three years later underwent a fresh change of name to Ascential. In 2016 it was floated at 200p a share, equating to a market value of £800 million.

The launch of the strategic review of its exhibitions division came as Ascential reported a strong set of annual results. Revenues from continuing operations rose by 6.4 per cent to £375.8 million on an organic basis at constant currency, with Cannes Lions lifting revenues by 7 per cent to £65.6 million. On the same basis, underlying earnings were up 3.4 per cent to £119.5 million and a final dividend of 3.8p makes a total of 5.6p, up 19 per cent.

UK, London

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Private equity group Epiris buys NME publisher Time UK

February 26, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

EpirisPrivate equity group Epiris‘s Fund II has acquired Time UK from US media group Meredith Corporation, a month after Meredith purchased the magazine publisher. The terms of transaction were not disclosed.

Time UK’s portfolio encompasses more than 50 well-known brands, including NME, Country Life, What’s on TV, Woman’s Weekly and Wallpaper, and operates across multiple platforms – print, online, mobile, TV and experiences.

The company is led by CEO and PPA Chairman Marcus Rich, who joined TIUK in 2014 from DMG Media. Sir Bernard Gray, who is Chairman of New Scientist and formerly Non-executive Director of Immediate Media and Chief of Defence Material at the Ministry of Defence, will become Executive Chairman.

Alex Fortescue, Managing Partner of Epiris, said, “This deal is a complex corporate carve-out of the type in which we specialise. The business itself offers plentiful scope for transformation through operational improvement and M&A. We are thrilled to have got Fund II off to such a strong start.”

Chris Hanna, partner at Epiris, said, “At its heart this is a diverse, robust and cash-generative business. We intend to bring clarity and simplicity to it, to focus on maximising the potential of its high-quality portfolio.”

UK, London & USA, Des Moines, Iowa

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