AOL acquires Gravity for $83M

January 23, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

aol AOL is to acquire Gravity, a  company that provides multi-screen content optimisation and personalisation, for approximately $83 million. An additional $7.7 million of consideration will be deferred and paid over two years following closing. As part of the transaction, AOL will acquire approximately $12 million of net operating losses, which is expected to result in a future cash tax benefit to AOL of approximately $5 million. AOL expects the acquisition to close in the first quarter of 2014.

Gravity personalises the Internet beyond search and social by applying a personal and real-time filter to the ever-growing volume of digital information available for consumption. Gravity’s  technology creates Interest Graphs based on individuals’ interests, preferences and habits and allows publishers to offer a tailored and relevant selection of editorial and advertising content to readers.

“The web is moving to the era of personal, and a personal web filter will reshape how consumers get information and services,” said gravityAOL Chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong. “Gravity is joining AOL to lead the personalization transformation of AOL’s brands and platform partners.”

The Gravity product and team will report to AOL Brand Group Head of Product, Luke Beatty.

USA, New York, NY

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TechMedia Network acquires BuyerZone from RBI

January 23, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

techmedianetwork_logoTechMedia Network, Inc. has acquired BuyerZone, the  online marketplace for buyers and sellers of business products and services, from Reed Business Information. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

BuyerZone’s marketplace features over one million registered buyers and a network of more than 8,500 sellers across 150-plus product and service categories, including business phone systems, POS systems, digital copiers, payroll services, and security systems.

“The addition of BuyerZone to our growing portfolio of properties brings us closer to our goal of becoming the go-to resource for consumers and business professionals looking to simplify complex purchase decisions,” said Greg Mason, CEO, TechMediaNetwork. “The powerful combination of our award-winning content, commerce-driving capabilities, and expert user communities, uniquely position us to simplify the information gathering and sales processes for consumers and businesses, instilling buyer confidence and enabling smarter purchase decisions.”

USA, New York, NY & Waltham, MA

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Motor Presse Stuttgart makes three acquisitions in Germany and Poland

January 23, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

motorpresseMotor Presse Stuttgart has made three acquisitions in Germany and Poland. They are caraworld.de, a marketplace for new and used caravans and campers: a majority holding in the television company Motor Presse TV: and content-based Web site MojeAuto.pl.

“These acquisitions have the goal of accelerating the digital transformation of Motor Presse Stuttgart in Germany and abroad and driving the development of strong print-digital brands”, said Dr. Volker Breid, Managing Director at Motor Presse Stuttgart. The terms of the deals were not disclosed.

caraworld.de

caraworld.de, is Germany’s largest marketplace for new and used caravans and campers. The portal is aligned towards commercial traders as well as private buyers and vendors. caraworld.de offers more than 15,000 new and used vehicles and generates more than three million hits with around 40 million page impressions a year.

Motor Presse TV

Motor Presse Stuttgart is acquiring TV entrepreneur Jörg Schütter’s 41 per cent of shares in the Motor Presse TV company giving it a 51% majority stake in the joint-venture established in 2009. Jörg Schütte will retain a 49% holding in Motor Presse TV and will manage the company alongside Norbert Lehmann, Chief Financial Officer at Motor Presse Stuttgart. Motor Presse TV operates the pay TV auto motor und sport Channel which reaches around 900,000 subscriber households in German-language cable and IP TV networks. Acquisition of the majority holding by Motor Presse Stuttgart is subject to approval by the media supervisory authorities.

MojeAuto.pl

Motor Presse Polen is acquiring MojeAuto.pl from the Allegro Group. MojeAuto.pl was established by Automotive Internet Services S.A. in 2000 and acquired by the Allegro Group in 2010. The Web site currently employs 25 people and is based in Wroclaw which is also home to Motor Presse Polen. The Web site offers news, photo galleries and videos, tests and product ratings, marketplaces for new and used vehicles, tyres and wheel rims as well as accessories and financial services.

Germany, Stuttgart & Poland, Wroclaw

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Quercus Publishing puts itself up for sale.

January 23, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

quercusQuercus Publishing PLC, the publisher of the Stieg Larsson’s award-winning Millennium Trilogy, has formally put itself up for sale.

The announcement said, “Further to the Company’s interim trading statement, released on 17 January 2014, the Board of Quercus has decided that it would be in the best interests of the Company’s shareholders to seek potential offerors by means of a formal sale process. In accordance with Note 2 to Rule 2.6 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (“Takeover Code”), the Board of Quercus therefore announces that it is conducting a formal sale process. The Board continues to have constructive dialogue with its bankers, Barclays.

In its interim statement, the company said, “the UK book trade has continued to be challenging. The bulk of our profits are usually generated in the final quarter of the year. However, sales in the final quarter were lower than expected, due in part to continuing issues within the book trade which led retailers to adopt very conservative ordering policies and a lower than expected upturn in digital sales over the Christmas period to the end of the year. As a result, the Directors expect the Company to make a significant trading loss for the financial year.“

Mark Smith told The Bookseller: “We’ve been considering for some months how best to take the business forward for the long term in light of the fundamental changes which are taking place in our core UK marketplace. We now feel that the skills and experience of Quercus’ team will flourish best within a larger organisation and so we’ve decided to put the company up for sale. In the meantime it’s business as usual at Baker Street.” The company said its board “continued to have constructive dialogue” with its bankers, Barclays.

UK, London

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Guardian to sell its stake in Auto Trader for upto £700M

January 23, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

AutotraderGuardian Media Group is selling its 50.1% stake in Auto Trader owner Trader Media Group to private equity firm Apax Partners in a deal thought to be worth £600m to £700m to the Guardian publisher.

The sale to Apax, which bought 49.9% of Trader Media Group in 2007 and has been GMG’s joint venture partner in the business since then, is thought to give TMG an enterprise value of about £1.8bn. The exact financial details of the deal were not revealed.

GMG’s sale of the TMG stake is subject to reguatory approval and final completion.

Andrew Miller, the chief executive of GMG, said: “This proposed transaction makes strategic sense as we focus GMG’s activities on award-winning digital and print journalism. On completion, the sale proceeds will strengthen our balance sheet and position us for further investment and growth in our core business.”

Neil Berkett, the chair of the GMG board, said: “Once completed, this deal will make GMG a very well-capitalised media organisation with the financial flexibility to navigate the rapidly-changing media environment, where our flagship titles are proven pioneers of digital and print innovation.”

The Scott Trust, sole shareholder in GMG, has given its approval for the proposed sale and authorised the company board to reinvest the proceeds to enable it to continue to safeguard the Guardian’s editorial and financial independence.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised GMG on the deal.

UK, London

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Hemisphere Media to acquire three Spanish-language cable TV networks

January 23, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

HemisphereHemisphere Media Group, a Miami-based publicly traded pure-play Spanish language media company, is to acquire three Spanish-language cable television networks from Media World, a company owned by Imagina US, for approximately $102.2 million. The acquisition is structured as an asset purchase and is expected to be funded with cash on hand. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

The networks acquired are:

  • Pasiones, dedicated to showcasing the telenovelas and series, distributed to approximately 3.8 million subscribers in the U.S. and 7.2 million subscribers in Latin America;
  • Centroamerica TV, a network targeting the third largest U.S. Hispanic group, featuring news, entertainment and soccer programming from Central America with over 3.3 million subscribers in the U.S.; and
  • •TV Dominicana, a network targeting Dominicans living in the U.S., featuring news, entertainment and baseball programming from the Dominican Republic, with over 2.2 million subscribers in the U.S.

Together, these assets are expected to have generated approximately $12.2 million of EBITDA in 2013, resulting in an effective purchase price multiple of 8.4 times.

Alan Sokol, CEO of Hemisphere, stated, “We are thrilled to be bringing Pasiones, Centroamerica TV and TV Dominicana to our world-class portfolio. These networks target valuable, growing and underserved segments of the Hispanic audience. With this acquisition, Hemisphere will own five leading U.S. Hispanic cable networks, two Latin American cable networks, and WAPA-TV, the #1 network in Puerto Rico, expanding our leadership position in Hispanic television. We believe that we can add significant value to these channels through improved programming, marketing and distribution efforts, and these networks will expand our commercial inventory and cross-selling opportunities in the U.S. and augment our Latin American offerings.”

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel to Hemisphere. Rothschild served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis, LLP served as legal counsel to Media World.

USA, Miami, FL

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The Gores Group acquires Zmags

January 23, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

The Gores Group, a Los Angeles-based investment firm, has acquired Zmags Corp. through its Small Capitalization Partners investment fund. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Headquartered in Boston, MA, Zmags is a provider of digital publishing and eCommerce Software-as-a-Service solutions with additional offices in Copenhagen, Denmark and London. The company’s self-service platform works across all digital media including tablet, mobile, social and web channels.

“Digital experiences are rapidly evolving and The Gores Group is very excited to add a well-respected company at the forefront of that change in Zmags,” said Victor C. Otley, Managing Director for The Gores Group. “Zmags adds a unique platform for growth to our portfolio and we look forward to partnering with management and employees to continue to build on its success and enable them to better serve their customers.”

USA, Los Angeles, CA & Boston, MA

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Sway Group acquires Massive Sway, SITS Girls, and Bloggy Boot Camp Conferences

January 19, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

swaygroup_logoSway Group, a management agency for bloggers, has acquired Massive Sway, SITS Girls, and the Bloggy Boot Camp conference series. The terms of the deals were not announced.

Massive Sway is a 50,000-strong network of diverse female publishers. SITS Girls is a blogging community. Bloggy Boot Camp is a conference series for women in social media.

“Since 2011, our company has grown from a three-person startup to a company of 15 full-time employees,” said Danielle Wiley, CEO of Sway Group. “Bringing Massive Sway, SITS Girls, and the Bloggy Boot Camp conferences under the Sway Group umbrella, along with its founders Tiffany Romero and Francesca Banducci, is incredibly exciting, because these fast-growing communities of talented publishers allow us to create a truly amazing variety of programs. Now we can offer brands and agencies an even broader scale of services and targeting capabilities, including the ability to drill down by region, demographic, content vertical, and social network.”

USA, Chicago, IL

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Keywords Studios acquires Liquid Violet

January 19, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

keywordsKeywords Studios, the technical services provider to the global video games industry, has acquired Liquid Violet, a video games voice production services company.

Keywords Studios has paid an initial cash consideration of £300,000 with a further £1.3 million payable in cash contingent upon Liquid Violet achieving certain financial targets in the three years to 31 March 2016.

Liquid Violet specialises in the management, on behalf of major video game publishers including Blizzard Entertainment and 2K, of the pre production and post production stages of localised voice-over assets for incorporation in the finished games. Formed in 2011 and based in London, it has established a growing base of blue-chip clients in the games industry due to its strong reputation for efficiently delivering large volumes of high quality audio assets, working with a multitude of audio studios across the globe.

Andrew Day, Chief Executive of Keywords Studios, commented, “We are pleased to have acquired Liquid Violet, which occupies an attractive niche, with healthy margins and good growth prospects and which will extend the Group’s audio services offering to its global customer base. We expect the use of audio in video games to grow thanks to the much enhanced capabilities of the new generation of consoles that were launched in November 2013 and as the capabilities of mobile devices continue to develop.

UK, London

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Ebiquity acquires China Media Consulting Group

January 19, 2014 — Fusion DigiNet

ebiquityMedia and marketing analytics company Ebiquity has acquired China Media Consulting Group.  CMCG is being acquired for an initial cash payment of HK$20m (approximately £1.6m), with up to HK$85m (approximately £6.7m), payable in cash, depending on the performance of the CMCG business in the five financial years ending 30 April 2017.

CMCG is an independent media auditing and benchmarking company in China with offices in Shanghai and Beijing.  CMCG specialises in helping advertisers establish key media buying performance metrics enabling better media value delivery and continuous performance improvement.

CMCG was established in 2006 and was the first specialist media auditing company to launch in China.

CMCG is being acquired from its founder Alex Abplanalp.  Mr Abplanalp will remain as Chief Executive of CMCG and will be Chief Executive of Ebiquity’s China business.

CMCG’s unaudited revenue for the year ended 31 December 2012 was approximately RMB 13.5m (approximately £1.4m) and it generated an operating profit before highlighted items of approximately RMB 4.0m (approximately £0.4m).  CMCG had unaudited net assets of approximately RMB 6.8m (approximately £0.7m) at 31 December 2012 and employs approximately 22 people.

Michael Greenlees, Chief Executive Officer of Ebiquity, said, “I am delighted to welcome the CMCG team into the Ebiquity group.  Alex Abplanalp and his team have worked with Ebiquity for a number of years and this acquisition underlines our commitment to further strengthen our capabilities in this important market and to grow our business across the Asia Pacific region.”

UK, London & China, Shanghai and Beijing

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