ITV acquires a controlling stake in DiGa Vision

itvITV plc today has acquired a controlling stake in DiGa Vision, the New York based independent producer of reality and scripted programming including Teen Wolf.

ITV will make an upfront cash payment for a 51% stake in DiGa Vision with a put and call option to buy the remainder of the company. The put and call option could be exercised from between 3 and 6 years, with the total amount paid linked to the performance of the company over that period.  The terms of the deal were not disclosed. The company said that the multiple paid is similar to the range paid on ITV’s previous acquisitions.

The acquisition follows ITV’s acquisition in the last 18 months of Gurney Productions, High Noon Entertainment and Thinkfactory Media in the US as well as UK producers The Garden and Big Talk.

UK, London &USA, New York

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Keywords Studios acquires Babel Media

Keywords Studios, the  technical services provider to the video games industry, has acquired Babel Media Ltd, a  provider of outsourced video games services with operations in the UK, Canada and India, from Quatrro Global Services Pvt. Ltd. and The D. E. Shaw Group.

Keywords Studios is paying the sellers and settling the financing obligations of Babel to a total of £5.369 million. £2,215 million is payable through  the issue of 1,516,944 new shares in Keywords Studios at a price of 145.994 pence per share and £3,154 million in cash to settle debts.

The unaudited management accounts for the 10 months to 31 January 2014 show Babel has achieved revenues of £6.4m and EBITDA of £0.4m; it has net assets of £1.44m after adjusting for the loans being repaid. Babel was founded in 1999.

Andrew Day, Chief Executive of Keywords Studios, commented, “The acquisition of Babel brings together two of the leading video games testing and localisation providers, firmly establishing Keywords as the market leader in its field, with operations across Dublin, Rome, Montreal, Seattle, Tokyo and now in New Delhi.”

UK, London & Ireland, Dublin & New Delhi, India & Montreal, Canada.

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Tarsus Group acquires HealthScienceMedia in the US and 60% of SADA Uzmanlik Fuarlari in Turkey

TarsusTarsus Group, the business-to-business media group, has acquired 100% of the assets of HealthScienceMedia in the US for approximately £8.5 million and 60% of SADA Uzmanlik Fuarlari A.S. in Turkey for up to £5.6 million.

HealthScienceMedia (HSM)cmhc_logo

The principal asset being acquired from HSM is the Cardiometabolic Health Congress, the largest US event focused on the cardiometabolic field. It is an annual congress which began in 2006 and is held over three days each October in Boston. CMHC’s 2012 delegates comprised approximately 1,500 practising clinicians.

The unaudited profits attributable to the assets being acquired in the twelve months to 31 December 2012 were $2 million on revenues of $3.5 million and the gross assets being acquired amount to approximately $0.5 million. HSM is owned by Alex Teperman, who will remain with the business on a consultancy basis.

Tarsus is acquiring the assets of HSM for $14 million of which $10 million is payable in cash on completion with the balance payable in two equal cash payments after the 2014 and 2015 Cardio events respectively.

SADA Uzmanlik Fuarlari A.S. (SADA)komatetec

Established in 1967 and based in Ankara, SADA organises a single event – Komatek – which was first held in 1991. This biennial (odd years) show is Turkey’s largest trade exhibition for construction equipment and related products. The last edition was held in May 2013 at the Ataturk Centre in Ankara with combined indoor and outdoor net space of 53,200m2. Over 400 exhibitor companies were present and visitor numbers, at approximately 35,000, were 9% higher than the 2011 event.

Komatek is the largest construction equipment exhibition in Turkey and one of the largest events in Europe. With $1 trillion worth of major construction and investment projects expected to be completed in Turkey between now and 2023, the Group expects strong growth in Turkey’s construction market over that timeframe.

Unaudited revenues at Komatek in 2013 were TL3.3 million (approximately £0.9 million). Tarsus will pay an initial TL5.0 million (approximately £1.4 million) on completion and two additional payments contingent on the profit performance of the 2015 and 2017 events. The total consideration for 60% of SADA is capped at TL20 million (approximately £5.6m). SADA’s management team will continue to run the business post-acquisition.

Douglas Emslie, Tarsus Group Managing Director, said, “The two acquisitions are further steps in the execution of our “Quickening the Pace” strategy. Both are exciting events in markets where we have established a strong presence and which we believe are likely to show further growth. Our focus will be on the effective integration of both businesses as cornerstones of our future organic growth. Cardio will bring greater access to the important US market for our wider medical division and Komatek delivers critical mass to our construction events in Turkey and Indonesia.”

UK, London & USA, Boston & Turkey, Ankara

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Warner Bros. Television Group to acquire all Eyeworks’ businesses outside the US

wb_logo_whiteWarner Bros. Television Group is to acquire all Eyeworks’ businesses outside the US, in 15 countries across Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand.  Warner Bros. Eyeworks produces television programs for over 100 different channels and employs more than 1,500 people. Its titles include: Test The NationCQCWho Wants to Marry my Son?, Beat The BlondesReality Queens of the JungleI Know What You Did Last FridayObese and Celebrity Splash.

Eyeworks USA will remain independent

Founded in The Netherlands by Oerlemans in 2001, Eyeworks is a major international independent producer and distributor of scripted and non-scripted content across a range of genres, including entertainment, drama and film, which airs in more than 150 countries worldwide.

Kevin Tsujihara, Chief Executive Officer, Warner Bros. Entertainment, said: “Our proposed acquisition of Eyeworks’ 15 local production companies, represents a significant next step in our strategy, further strengthening Warner Bros.’ position in global television.”

The acquisition follows the acquisition in 2010 of Shed Media, a production company in the UK, and in 2011, BlazHoffski inThe Netherlands and Belgium.

Reinout Oerlemans will move to Los Angeles as Chairman of Eyeworks USA; and will step down as CEO of the Eyeworks Group once the acquisition has been completed.

USA, Burbank, CA & The Netherlands, Amsterdam & UK, London

 

Nielsen acquires Harris Interactive

harris-logo-newNielsen Holdings N.V., a  global provider of information and insights into what consumers watch and buy, has completed the tender offer by Nielsen and its wholly owned subsidiary, Prime Acquisition Corp., to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Harris Interactive, Inc., a global market research firm. Nielsen completed the acquisition of Harris through a merger under Delaware law.

Harris Interactive will be integrated into Nielsen’s Buy business segment, which provides information and insights to manufacturers and retailers that helps them make more informed and impactful business decisions. Nielsen will retain The Harris Poll® brand.

“Harris Interactive is a natural fit with Nielsen’s portfolio of solutions, as the organization shares Nielsen’s commitment to deliver robust and integrated insights to clients to drive business outcomes,” said John J. Lewis, President, Americas, Nielsen. “This acquisition enables deeper insights into consumer sentiment as well as what consumers are, watching and buying while also expanding our footprint with important industry verticals including pharmaceutical, automotive and financial services.”

USA, New York, NY & Rochester, NY

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WPP’s Xaxis to acquire media trading firm Bannerconnect

xaxisWPP‘s wholly-owned operating company Xaxis, the global programmatic media and technology platform, is to acquire Bannerconnect, a leading media trading firm based in the Netherlands. Bannerconnect specialises in providing infrastructure and services for digital media trading to publishers, advertisers and media agencies.

Bannerconnect’s technology offerings, including its real-time optimisation platform Bright™, are complementary to the current global capabilities of Xaxis. Bright™ provides advertisers with real-time optimisation technology and visualisation tools for their digital campaigns.

Founded in 2004 in Sittar, the Netherlands, and with offices also in Amsterdam and London, Bannerconnect employs Bannerconnect10-finalover 40 people. Bannerconnect’s revenues for the year ended 31 December 2013 were EUR 4.3 million with gross assets as at the same date of EUR 8.3 million.

UK, London & The Netherlands, Sittar

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Brightcove acquires Unicorn Media

brightcoveBrightcove, a provider of cloud services for video, has completed its acquisition of Unicorn Media, a leading provider of cloud video ad insertion technology, for approximately $49 million. The purchase price consists of 2,850,547 shares of Brightcove stock and approximately $9.1 million of cash.

David Mendels, Chief Executive Officer of Brightcove, commented, “We are excited to welcome the Unicorn Media team unicornto Brightcove. We believe its innovative cloud-based ad insertion technology and our industry-leading Video Cloud platform will enable a dramatic improvement in the targeting, personalization and monetization of the rapidly increasing amount of online video content being delivered by digital media companies.”

Brightcove will rebrand the Unicorn Media product line as Brightcove Once and will continue to develop, operate and support the service while also integrating the technology with other Brightcove services.

USA, Boston, MA

dmg events acquires specialist exhibitions and publications business Quartz Coatings

dmgeventsdmg events, DMGT’s international exhibition and publishing company, has acquired specialist exhibitions and publications business Quartz Coatings Ltd. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal gives dmg events a significant share of the global paint and coatings exhibitions market. Its Middle East Coatings Show is already managed by Quartz Coatings, while the company itself organises a further five events in South East Asia, Central America and North Africa. It also publishes two of the industry’s leading titles.

Commenting on the acquisition, Geoff Dickinson, CEO of dmg events, said, “The coatings sector is a fast growing specialist market that complements our Big 5 construction events.

It allows us to develop our existing Middle East Coatings Show and is in line with our desire to build our presence in the South East Asia and Latin America through geo-cloning and strategic acquisitions.

I am excited to be working with Ian Faux, Vice President of Quartz Coatings and his team and look forward to developing our Coatings portfolio and associated activities in the coming years”.

UK, London and Surrey, Redhill

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Investment consortium acquires Boat International Media

An investment consortium led by Pembroke VCT plc, with support from Lepe Capital, has acquired Boat International Media. Reports say, Pembroke have paid £10 million.

boat international

Pembroke is a venture capital trust, which specialises in investing in high growth consumer-facing businesses. Lepe Capital is a growth capital investor that specialises in digital media. The consortium also includes several other private investors including Charles Dunstone and Tara Getty.

Boat International Media provides information and services across traditional print, digital media and organises eight annual events in Amsterdam, Kitzbühel, Monaco, Fort Lauderdale, Porto Cervo, and Virgin Gorda. It also owns a database of superyachts, as well as a social and business networking tool for superyacht captains and crew.

Andrew Wolfson, CEO of Pembroke, commented: “Boat International Media is the leading player in the superyacht industry with an unrivalled reputation amongst yacht owners, brokers and service companies alike. The company has achieved impressive growth in sales despite the economic downturn and profitability and momentum continues. We look forward to working with the experienced management team and supporting their strategic plan to further develop Boat International’s print media platforms as well as accelerate the transition to digital.”

Tony Harris, CEO of Boat International Media, commented: “We are delighted to be partnering with this group of investors. The team’s entrepreneurial operational focus and market knowledge will enable us to further cement Boat International’s position as the world’s leading media group serving the superyacht community.”

UK, Wimbledon, Surrey

Lagardère receives three bids for magazines

lagardereAccording to French newspaper Le Figaro, French media group Lagardère has received three preliminary offers for the magazines it has put up for sale and expects firm offers by Feb. 15. These were from Be magazine founder Didier Quillot, Marc Laufer of NewsCo and Pascale Chevalier of ReWorld Media.

In total, 25 offers have been received, but only five of these were for all of the publications.

In October last year Lagardère said it planned to sell 10 magazine titles, including Premiere, Psychologies and Be. The 1o magazine have a combined annual turnover of about €50 million and make a loss of between €1.5 and €2 million.

Le Figaro said another reason the price tag was likely to be small was because Lagardère would finance departures as part of a law in France that allows journalists to resign with compensation when the ownership of their publication changes. This could cost between €5 and €7 million.

Le Figaro report – Lagardère: trois offres crédibles pour le rachat de ses magazines.

France, Paris

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