The News Lens acquires tech news website Inside

January 3, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

The News LensThe News Lens has acquired Inside, a tech-focused Chinese language news website, making TNL the first digital media startup in Taiwan to buy another one. The move will raise TNL to the top ranks of Asian digital news sources on technology. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With Inside, TNL’s lifestyle sub-brand ELD and the original Chinese-language news site TNL, the TNL group now reaches close to 8 million unique visitors a month. From its offices in Taipei and Hong Kong, TNL produces three other digital editions – Hong Kong, Southeast Asia, and the English-language international edition.

TNL also welcomed a new angel investor, Felix Hong, manager of Nest (an Alphabet company) to the Taiwan office. Hong will serve as an adviser to TNL. With his extensive background in tech, the internet of things and the startup ecosystem within greater China, Hong will strengthen TNL’s presence in content distribution, international reach and content advisory. He will also help TNL to position and build Inside.

Joey Chung, TNL’s CEO and co-founder, said, “As we start our next stage strategy of gradually consolidating and introducing different verticals for our target audience with an eye on leveraging TNL’s existing sales, video, IT and international market presence, we are eager to broaden the content offerings and international audience reach of Inside, while using this initial integration experience as a template for acquiring or introducing future brands.”

Taiwan

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Merkle’s Dentsu Aegis Network Acquires HelloWorld

January 3, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Dentsu Aegis NetworkDentsu Aegis Network has acquired HelloWorld, a digital marketing solutions provider focused on promotion and loyalty solutions. With 370 people and a proprietary technology platform, The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1999 in Detroit, Michigan, HelloWorld employs 370 people and has developed a differentiated practice that links response-driven consumer promotion with loyalty strategies and programme execution. HelloWorld creates promotional and gamified campaigns to spark interest, loyalty programs to retain and reward, insights-driven communications to continue the brand-consumer conversation, and analytics to optimise marketing execution. Long-standing clients include Coca Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and Microsoft.

Michael Hemsey, executive vice president of Merkle Loyalty Solutions, said, “The acquisition of HelloWorld increases our collective scale in providing loyalty strategy, technology, and engagement services that support the life cycle of our clients’ programs, across industries.”

USA, New York, NY & Detroit, MI

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SEC acquires Newlink Comunicationes Estrategicas S.A.S. in Bogotà

January 3, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

SECSEC, an advocacy, public relations and integrated communications agency in the Italian market  has acquired a majority 51% stake in Newlink Comunicationes Estrategicas S.A.S., based in Bogotà, Colombia.

SEC are paying €70,635 in cash; and up to pesos 7,648,571,000 (€ 2,185,306) through a 4 years earn out. The existing management, who will hold the minority interest of 49%, are targeted with achieving an increase in EBIDTA of approximately 12.5%.

In addition, a shareholder agreement between SEC  provides the 49% minority management shareholders with a “put” option at the end of the fifth year to sell the remaining 49% stake for a consideration comprised of 50% cash and 50% SEC S.p.A. shares. There is no obligation to exercise the option or guarantee that it will be exercised, but the agreement provides that if the option is exercised SEC will pay no more than €4,284,914 for the total 100% of Newlink.

In the financial year ended December 2016 Newlink had a turnover of pesos 9,984,598,207 (approximately € 2,852,742); made an EBITDA of pesos 879,934,000 (approximately €246,135); a profit before tax of pesos 806,578,684 (approximately € 225,056). The total asset value of Newlink for the same period was pesos 3,028,746,272 (approximately €845,732).

SEC acquired the shares in Newlink from Maria Claudia De Francisco Zambrano, New Life Colombia S.A.S. and Newlink Communications Group Inc.

Italy, Milan and Colombia, Bogotá

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Essence Ventures acquires Essence Communications from Time Inc.

January 3, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

EssenceEssence Ventures LLC, an independent African-American owned company focused on merging content, community and commerce, has acquired multi-platform media company Essence Communications Inc. from Time Inc. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The all black female executive team of Essence, including Essence President Michelle Ebanks, will have an equity stake in the business, reestablishing Essence as a 100% black-owned independent company.

Since its founding in 1970, Essence has advocated women’s empowerment and the diverse images and lifestyles of black women. Today, Essence is an international, omni-channel destination for diverse storytelling and original content comprising beauty, fashion, lifestyle, entertainment and culture.

Essence currently reaches a global audience of more than 16 million across its various platforms encompassing its signature print magazine; digital, video and social platforms; television specials, and live events, including the annual Essence Festival, a cultural celebration that debuted in 1995 and is now one of the country’s largest annual events, attracting more than 450,000 attendees.

Richelieu Dennis, founder and chairperson of Essence Ventures, said “We are excited to be able to return this culturally relevant and historically significant platform to ownership by the people and the consumers whom it serves and offer new opportunities for the women leading the business to also be partners in the business. We remain committed to leveraging our resources to provide opportunities for other culturally-rooted entrepreneurs and businesses that further our culture and create economic opportunities for our communities.”

USA, New York, NY

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Apple acquires app developer Buddybuild

January 2, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

AppleApple has acquired Buddybuild, a Vancouver-based app tools developer focused on continuous integration and debugging tools. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Buddybuild was founded in 2015 by former Amazon employees Dennis Pilarinos and Christopher Stott. In its nearly three years of existence, the startup has managed to raise around $8.8 million. Its existing customers includes Mozilla, Hootsuite, Reddit, SoundCloud, FourSquare and The New York Times.

As part of the acquisition, Buddybuild will be rolled into Xcode, Apple’s suite of development tools for iOS, macOS, watchOS and tvOS.

USA, San Francisco, CA & Vancouver, BC

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Sumo Digital acquires CCP Games’ Newcastle studio

January 2, 2018 — Fusion DigiNet

Sumo digitalSumo Digital, part of the independent game developer Sumo Group plc, has acquired CCP Games’ Newcastle studio for an undisclosed fee.

The Icelandic CCP Games, founded in 1997, is a virtual-reality games developer, best known for its flagship multiplayer title EVE: Valkyrie.

Paul Porter, Managing Director of Sumo Digital said, “Sumo is interested in all platforms for interactive entertainment, including VR. Although we’re not yet announcing what the Newcastle studio is working on, their proven skills and experience in VR is a great addition for Sumo.”

UK, Sheffield & Iceland, Reykjavik

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Bowmark Capital sells Law Business Research to Levine Leichtman Capital Partners

December 30, 2017 — Fusion DigiNet

lbrLevine Leichtman Capital Partners has acquired Law Business Research (LBR), a provider of research, news, data and insight on international business law and legal markets, from Bowmark Capital.

LBR, which was established in 1996, was sold to Bowmark in 2013. The sale was managed by Fusion Corporate Partners on behalf of its original founders, Richard Davey, Callum Campbell and Sebastian O’Meara.

LBR creates content spanning 120 jurisdictions across its brands, serving a client base that comprises major corporations, government agencies and the global legal industry.  It is a information provider in fields such as competition law, arbitration law, cross-border investigations and Latin American corporate law.

Since Bowmark acquired the company, LBR has more than doubled its sales and profits.  It has added new territories and products, including two new titles, ’Global Investigations Review’ and ’Global Restructuring Review’, as well as a new workflow application, ’Arbitrator Research Tool’.  It has also significantly enhanced its technology platform and opened offices overseas.   During this period, employee numbers grew by 80 per cent.

Julian Masters, Bowmark senior partner, added: “The fact that 96 per cent of the world’s top law firms work with LBR is a tribute to the quality of the business and its management team.  The company is well-positioned to continue its strong record of success under its new owner.”

USA, Beverley Hills, CA & UK, London

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ascential PLC acquires Clavis Insight

December 27, 2017 — Fusion DigiNet

ClavisAscential PLC has acquired Clavis Insight for an initial cash consideration of $119 million plus future earn outs payable over three years.  

Clavis provides eCommerce analytics, with proprietary technology enabling consumer product companies to track and optimise the performance of their products across hundreds of retailer websites and mobile commerce sites globally.   Clavis customers include some of the world’s largest consumer product companies, such as P&G, Nestle, Unilever and L’Oreal.

 Clavis will join Ascential’s Information Services division and is complementary to One Click Retail.  Clavis employs 170 people, including 100 in Dublin, with hub locations in the US, UK, France and China serving a global customer base.

In the year to 31 December 2016 Clavis generated unaudited revenue of $13 million and an EBITDA loss of $7 million.  Gross assets at 31 December 2016 were $19 million.  Revenue is expected to grow to $17 million in the current financial year ended 2017 and Clavis is expected to break even in 2018.  Clavis has a high level of recurring revenue with 95% of total revenue being subscription-based.

The initial cash consideration is $119 million.  The earn out is payable in cash based on the annualised recurring revenue of the business at the end of each of the next three years to 2020 and is expected to total between approximately $25 million and $50 million.  A portion of the earn out is subject to founders remaining in employment with the company.  

Duncan Painter, CEO, Ascential, commented: “Ascential enables its customers to improve their business performance.  As a high growth business that offers synergies with our existing brands, Clavis fits well with our strategy, strengthening our eCommerce analytics offering for consumer product companies.  Through combination with OCR’s offering, we will provide ever more comprehensive, accurate and actionable analytics and insight.”

UK, London & Dublin, Ireland

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BrandSpins acquires TONE Technology

December 27, 2017 — Fusion DigiNet

BrandSpinsA year after the digital music distribution company BrandSpins acquired the music licensing giant, MusicDealers.com, they have released a new technology called ‘TONEprotocol,’ aimed at revolutionising the advertising industry. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

TONEprotocol, developed by TheToneKnows, Inc., works by embedding an imperceptible tone called a ‘TONE-Tag’ into any MusicDealers’ song used within television, radio, and streamed advertisements. The ‘Tone-Tag’ is an imperceptible audio beacon that converts this beacon to a “code” which can be deciphered by any smartphone. Once perceived by any mobile device, the ‘TONE-Tag’ will trigger a graphic ad which instantly appears on the listener’s mobile phone.

Beyond radio and TV, the audio beacon technology works in anything with sound including films, video games, as well as the retail environment. By installing TONE-emitting chips sets in retail stores and public spaces, coupons, ads, and promotions can be delivered to any smartphone within about 30 feet. This application of the technology could replace expensive and maintenance-intense bluetooth beacons and RFID-based systems.

Billy Tuchscher, CEO of BrandSpins and MusicDealers.com, said, “It is pretty impressive to be listening to a radio ad and magically have a coupon, flyer, or event ticket show up on your phone. The technology is solid, all the inventors needed was a music catalog, method of distribution, and big brand relationships. We have all that.”

USA, Las Vegas, NV & San Francisco, CA

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Aurelius acquires Connect Group’s Books division for £11.6M

December 21, 2017 — Fusion DigiNet

Aurelius EquityAurelius Equity Opportunities the pan-European mid-market investor, has bought Connect Books from the specialist distribution company Connect Group Plc for £11.6 million. The sum includes an expected deferred consideration of £1.05 million.

Connect Books is a multi-channel wholesaler, distributor and retailer of printed and digital books, with operations in UK, the Netherlands, and France. The business has projected revenues of approximately EUR 250 million for 2017. The transaction is subject to the approval of the competition authorities and is expected to close in January 2018.

Connect Books is comprised of the six distinct brands Bertram Books, Wordery, Dawson Books, Erasmus and Houtschild, and Bertram Library Services. On completion, Connect Books will be rebranded back to Bertram Group.

Dirk Markus, CEO of Aurelius, commented: “We are very pleased to announce our acquisition of Connect Books, an established, global business and one of the market leaders in its sector. This acquisition is a further demonstration of AURELIUS’ position as a preferred partner for corporates seeking a complex carve-out of a non-core business”.

Germany, Munich & UK, London

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