Euromoney to sell its Global Markets Intelligence Division (CEIC and EMIS)

February 12, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Euromoney plcEuromoney Institutional Investor PLC is to sell its Global Markets Intelligence Division, consisting of CEIC and EMIS, to a consortium of CITIC Capital Partners Management Limited, the private equity arm of CITIC Capital Holdings Limited, and Caixin Global Limited, for an equity value of $180.5 million.  The proceeds, net of transaction costs and tax, are expected to be approximately $145 million. They will be paid in cash on completion.

For the year ended 30 September 2017, GMID reported an operating profit of £11.9 million ($15.1 million). GMID’s gross assets at 30 September 2017 were £45.3 million. The sale is expected to complete by the end of April 2018.

Headquartered in Hong Kong, GMID is a leading provider of macro-economic, company and industry intelligence on emerging markets with a strong customer presence in China, India, Brazil and Central and Eastern Europe, as well as in developed markets.

Andrew Rashbass, CEO of Euromoney, said: “This transaction is another example of Euromoney’s strategy in action: where a good business is not strategic, we will sell it and recycle capital towards our main investment themes like price discovery, asset management and telecoms.  CITIC Capital and Caixin will provide an excellent home for the business, which Aloisio Parente and the whole team have done a fantastic job developing as part of Euromoney.  I am confident that the business will thrive under its new owners.”

citiccapitallogoYichen Zhang, Chairman and CEO of CITIC Capital, said: “We are very excited to make this investment in CEIC and EMIS, which are world-class platforms for macro-economic and business information. Together with Caixin, we look forward to working with the management team to continue growing the business and developing its global customer base.”

As previously reported, last November Citic teamed up with the Asia arm of Baring Private Equity to purchase the Wall Street English educational unit from Pearson Plc for $300 million.

CaixinShuli Hu, Publisher of Caixin Media, Chairwoman of Caixin Global, said:  “We are optimistic about GMID’s business and future.  Caixin will further leverage the rising global influence of China’s economy, and combine state-of-the-art technology with its authoritative information service and data offerings.  We will join forces together with GMID to provide indispensable data and insight for overseas and domestic financial industry professionals and stakeholders.”

UK, London & Hong Kong

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GroupM to acquire majority stake in The Glitch in India

February 12, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

The GlitchWPP’s wholly-owned global media investment group, GroupM, is to acquire a majority stake in The Glitch, a digitally-led creative agency. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. 

The Glitch was founded in 2009 and employs around 200 people in Mumbai and Delhi. The Glitch’s full-service capabilities include digital, video and content strategy, interactive design technology, ecommerce, branding and media planning. Clients include Unilever, Netflix, OYO Rooms, Shutterstock, Tinder and others in the entertainment, beauty and FMCG sectors.

The Glitch’s revenues for the year ending 31 March 2017 were around INR 214 million with gross assets of around INR 175 million as at the same date.

The WPP group has invested in other digital content companies like All Def Digital, Fullscreen, Gimlet, Indigenous Media, Imagina (a content rights and media company based in Spain), MRC, Mic, Mitú, Refinery29, Uproxx Media Group and VICE. WPP’s roster of wholly owned digital agencies include AKQA, Blue State Digital, Essence, F.biz, Mirum, POSSIBLE, Triad Retail Media, VML and Wunderman.

UK, London & India, Mumbai & Delhi

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GroupM to acquire majority stake in The Glitch in India

February 12, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

GroupMWPP‘s wholly-owned global media investment group, GroupM, is to acquire a majority stake in The Glitch, a digitally-led creative agency. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The Glitch was founded in 2009 and employs around 200 people in Mumbai and Delhi. The Glitch’s full-service capabilities include digital, video and content strategy, interactive design technology, ecommerce, branding and media planning. Clients include Unilever, Netflix, OYO Rooms, Shutterstock, Tinder and others in the entertainment, beauty and FMCG sectors.

The Glitch’s revenues for the year ending 31 March 2017 were around INR 214 million with gross assets of around INR 175 million as at the same date.

C.V.L. Srinivas, country manager for WPP India and chief executive GroupM South Asia, said, “The communications ecosystem in India has evolved dramatically in the last few years and GroupM continues to lead the market in creating cutting-edge solutions that leverage data, technology and creativity. With The Glitch, we found a partner that brings exciting creative and content skills that can leverage our unique assets to create effective solutions for our clients.”

USA, New York, NY & India, Mumbai & Delhi

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Trinity Mirror plc to acquire Northern & Shell’s publishing assets

February 9, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Trinity MirrorTrinity Mirror is to acquire Northern & Shell‘s publishing assets for a total purchase price of £126.7 million. These comprise Northern & Shell Network Limited, a subsidiary of Northern & Shell Media Group Limited containing the publishing assets of Northern & Shell and its subsidiaries, International Distribution 2018 Limited and a 50% equity interest in Independent Star Limited.

The purchase consideration of £126.7 million will be satisfied by the payment to the Northern & Shell Media Group Limited of, in aggregate, an initial cash consideration of £47.7 million; deferred cash consideration of £59.0 million payable over 2020 – 2023; and the balance of £20.0 million by the issue to the Seller of 25,826,746 new ordinary shares of 10p each. Trinity Mirror will also make a one-off cash payment of £41.2 million to the Northern & Shell Pension Schemes and a recovery plan through to 2027 has been agreed with total payments of £29.2 million.

Northern & Shell’s publishing assets include a portfolio of newspapers and magazines which comprise four national newspaper titles (the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday) and three celebrity magazines (OK!, New!, and Star) together with a 50% joint venture interest in the Irish Daily Star, outside the UK. Northern & Shell operates a print plant in Luton, serving its portfolio of newspapers and magazines as well as providing third-party printing services.

The Express.co.uk and Dailystar.co.uk websites achieved 280 million page views in December 2017 compared to 649 million for the Trinity Mirror websites (excluding apps and galleries).

Northern & Shell’s publishing assets performed well in 2017 despite continued pressure on its print advertising revenues. Total revenues (after separation adjustments) are estimated to have marginally increased in 2017, with growth in newspaper circulation revenues (arising from the partial reversal of cover price discounting) and digital revenues offsetting declines in print advertising revenues. Adjusted EBITDA (after separation adjustments) is estimated to be circa. £34 million, benefiting from operational and strategic reductions in printing and production, marketing and other operating costs.

Simon Fox, chief executive of Trinity Mirror, said: “This deal is a really exciting moment in Trinity Mirror’s history, combining some of the most iconic titles in the UK media industry. It is good for our readers, good for our customers and good for our shareholders. Northern and Shell’s titles have a large and loyal readership, a growing digital presence and a stable revenue mix and offer an excellent fit with Trinity Mirror.”

UK, London

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Viacom acquires online conference VidCon

February 7, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

ViacomAmerican multinational media conglomerate Viacom has acquired VidCon, host of the world’s largest multi-day conference for the global online community.

With more than 30,000 attendees and 80-plus sponsors (including, for many years, Viacom), at its flagship Anaheim event, VidCon has become the largest multi-day conference of its kind and cemented itself as a leading event for the worldwide online video community. And while VidCon has already carried this momentum into events in Amsterdam and Melbourne, Viacom’s global network of platforms and properties give it the resources to further increase that reach both internationally and within the United States.

Jason Jordan, Viacom executive vice president of Multiplatform Strategy and Operations, said, “VidCon has become the foremost gathering place for the passionate online video community, and the access to talent, experts and education that VidCon provides for attendees is unparalleled. We’re excited to partner with the team to help achieve their vision and expand VidCon’s reach around the world while maintaining the grassroots energy and authenticity that makes the experience so unique and special to so many.”

USA, New York, NY & Missoula, MT

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Next Fifteen Communications Group acquires Brandwidth

February 6, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Next15Next 15, the digital communications group, has acquired the digital innovation agency Brandwidth.

The initial consideration for the acquisition is £6.2 million, which will be settled with £4.9 million of cash and the issue of 292,235 new ordinary shares in Next 15. Further deferred consideration may be payable in September 2018 of up to £3.3 million and April 2020 of up to £0.8 million based on the EBIT performance of Brandwidth in the year ending 30 June 2018. The maximum total consideration of £10.3m represents a 5.5x multiple of Brandwidth’s adjusted EBIT in the year ended 30 June 2017. The acquisition is expected to be earnings enhancing for Next 15 in the year to 31 January 2019.

For the year ended 30 June 2017, Brandwidth reported adjusted net revenues of £7.3 million, adjusted EBIT of £1.9 million and adjusted profit before tax of £1.9 million. The joint CEOs, Phil Goodman and Jason Jones, and the Chairman, Andrew Strange, will continue to lead the business which includes clients such as Toyota, Royal Caribbean, Citroen, Kia and Vodafone.

Tim Dyson, CEO of Next 15, commented: “Brandwidth is a great addition to Next 15. It brings significant digital skills to the Group, in particular we are excited to be able to offer clients its capabilities around the use of voice. We see voice, through platforms such as Google Home and Amazon’s Alexa, as a highly disruptive form of marketing. Their knowledge and experience of working with these technologies are of immense value.”

UK, London

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The Social Chain Group acquires The Football Republic from FremantleMedia

February 2, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Social Chain GroupSocial media marketing agency and media publishing house The Social Chain Group has acquired a network of sport social media channels, The Football Republic, from FremantleMedia. The deal will see TFR’s brands such as The Full Time Devils become a part of Media Chain – The Social Chain Group’s social media publishing house. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The acquisition will increase Media Chain’s sport network reach by more than 2.5 million, taking the company’s global sport network to over 17 million followers, adding to its SPORF network. Launched in 2015 by Shotglass Media, the digital arm of FremantleMedia UK, TFR has built a large fan base with three million followers across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

Kat Hebden, managing director at Shotglass Media, said, “We launched The Football Republic because we saw a gap in the market for football entertainment content that served a young, digitally savvy audience. We believe Media Chain will provide a great home for these communities to continue to flourish.”

UK, Manchester & London

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Pokémon GO creator Niantic acquires AR startup Escher Reality

February 1, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

NianticThe company behind Pokémon GO, Niantic, has acquired augmented reality startup Escher Reality. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Escher Reality builds backend services for cross-platform mobile AR so users can interact with each other and objects in the environment. The startup offered functionality for shared experiences that was absent in both Google’s ARCore and Apple’s ARKit. The startup’s investors include Uncork Capital, Founders Fund, Y Combinator, Liquid 2 Ventures, Webb Investment Network, iRobot Ventures, Presence Capital, Into Ventures and others.

Niantic CEO John Hanke said, “The addition of the Escher AR technology is incredibly exciting to us at Niantic as it significantly accelerates our work on persistent, shared AR as part of the Niantic real-world application platform. It’s our intention to make our cross-platform AR technology available more widely to developers later this year.”

Niantic is releasing its next big AR title Harry Potter Wizards Unite this year.

USA, San Francisco & Sunnyvale, CA

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Clarion Events completes merger with Global Sources

February 1, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

ClarionLondon-based Clarion Events, one of the world’s leading independent events organisers, has completed a merger with Global Sources, a leading Asian exhibitions and online B2B marketplace operator based in Hong Kong. Funds managed by Blackstone will control the combined group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Combining both market-leaders will create one of the largest privately-owned exhibitions businesses globally, with substantial scale across Asia, Europe and North America, organising 200 events per year and generating more than £300m of Revenues. The combined group will be led by the existing Clarion management team under Chief Executive Officer Russell Wilcox and Chairman Simon Kimble. The new group will continue to operate under the name Clarion Events, with the Global Sources brand identity retained in the Asian region.

Commenting on the announcement, Russell Wilcox, CEO of Clarion Events, said: “This merger marks an important milestone for both companies as we embark on an exciting new chapter. With the support of Blackstone, the new Group is well positioned to take advantage of our combined scale and global platform. We look forward to working with the Global Sources management, and believe that the remarkable expertise and capability of the combined company offers a very strong opportunity for future growth.”

UK, London & Hong Kong

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Meredith Corporation completes acquisition of Time Inc.

January 31, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

MeredithMeredith Corporation has completed its acquisition of Time Inc., with February 2018 the first day of operations for the combined company. Time Inc. shareholders received $18.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.8 billion originally announced on 26 November 2017. Meredith also announced fiscal 2018 second quarter and first half results.

Meredith Corporation Chairman and CEO Stephen M. Lacy said, “With this acquisition, we are creating a premier media and marketing company serving 200 million American consumers that’s positioned for growth across industry-leading digital, television, print, video, mobile, and social platforms. The combined portfolio joins the rich content-creation capabilities of many of the media industry’s strongest national brands with a powerful local television business that is generating record earnings.”

USA, New York, NY & Des Moines, Iowa

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