Incisive Media acquires The Financial Services Forum

Incisive MediaIncisive Media has acquired The Financial Services Forum Limited, the membership community for marketing professionals across the financial services industry. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The FSF is a membership organisation for marketers working at all levels of seniority across the sector. Members are supported with more than 60 strategic financial services marketing events every year, covering all sectors and marketing disciplines, an online knowledge centre, a broad range of email newsletters, awards ceremonies and summits. The Forum includes members from more than 150 banks, insurers, asset and wealth managers, mortgage lenders and fintech businesses.

Founded in 1998 by Anthony Thomson, financial services marketing veteran and founding chairman of Atom Bank and Metro Bank, the forum has grown steadily under the management of David Cowan (managing director) and Richard Nolan (operations director) to become the pre-eminent membership organisation for marketers in the UK financial services sector.

The acquisition will support the management of the Forum as they continue to grow the scope of services for members as well as broaden the membership base within the sector by accessing a larger, well-resourced event management and digital infrastructure and expert editorially-led thought leadership.

Jonathon Whiteley, CEO of Incisive Media, said, “As a leading financial media business and practitioner member of the Forum, we have long admired the work of the FSF for creating a platform for knowledge sharing, networking and thought leadership. We look forward to working closely with David and his team to support the growth of the Forum for the benefit of members”.

UK, London

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ReedPOP acquires Florida Supercon

ReedPopReed Exhibitions’ games and pop culture live events division ReedPOP has acquired Florida Supercon, an annual convention held in Miami, Florida celebrating comics, superheroes, science fiction, anime, cartoons, video games, wrestling and all things pop culture. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Since the launch of the sold-out New York Comic Con in 2006, ReedPOP has sought to produce exceptional experiences for passionate audiences and help grow the industries surrounding those passions. Over the past two years, ReedPOP launched its first comic con in Africa, Comic Con Africa, and an all-new U.S. show, Keystone Comic Con in Philadelphia, expanding the portfolio to nearly 40 fan conventions around the world.

Lance Fensterman, Global President of ReedPOP, said, “We are thrilled with the addition of Florida Supercon to the ReedPOP family. Mike Broder [founder of Supercon] and his team have done an amazing job in making this show one that has incredible fan and industry support. We plan to spend time listening to the fans and exhibitors and then investing to build upon the awesome convention and continue to give the great fan base a fantastic experience.”

USA, Norwalk, CT & Miami, FL

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Diversified Communications acquires three North American energy events

Diversified CommunicationsDiversified Communications has acquired three North American events – Intersolar, ees (electrical energy storage) and Power2Drive North America – from German-based organisers, Solar Promotion International and FMMI. The events, co-located for the past eleven years in San Francisco in July, will move to San Diego Convention Center for February 4-6, 2020. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Since 2008, Intersolar North America has served as the industry’s go-to source for information and networking opportunities to move the North American market forward. Co-located with ees North America, Intersolar North America’s exhibition and conference sits at the cross-section of solar technology, energy storage, and smart renewable energy.

Covering the entire value chain of innovative battery and energy storage technologies, ees North America is the leading exhibition and conference for the electrical energy storage industry. ees North America connects manufacturers, distributors, users and suppliers of stationary and mobile storage products in the epicenter of the U.S. storage market, California.

Power2Drive, the special exhibition for charging infrastructure and electromobility, reflects the opportunities and the necessity of the energy transition in the transportation sector. The focus is on batteries for electric vehicles as well as charging technologies and infrastructure for clean mobility and distributed storage.

Diversified owns and operates a 1.5 Megawatt solar farm in Brunswick, Maine. Theodore Wirth, Diversified Communications’ President and CEO, said, “Our interest in solar stems from our Board of Directors; and growing our own event series in solar and energy storage is an exciting way to further contribute to the renewable energy industry”.

Diversified Communications’ Corporate Vice President of Strategy & Corporate Development, Oakley Dyer, added, “We’ve been looking to enter the solar market in a significant way for several years and have been watching Intersolar closely due to their successful worldwide footprint and sterling reputation. The time was right for both parties and we are thrilled to bring our depth of expertise in trade show operations to these exciting markets; and perhaps most importantly, bring Diversified’s enthusiasm for solar’s role in the new energy economy.”

USA, Portland, ME & Germany, Pforzheim

Future acquires Mobile Nations for up to $120M

FUTURE-logo-Future plc has acquired MoNa Mobile Nations, LLC. Mobile Nations is a US digital publisher. Its websites and apps focus on consumer electronics and help consumers to make smart choices. Mobile Nations key brands include Android Central, iMore, Windows Central and Thrifter.

Future are making an initial cash payment of $55 million, plus $5 million through the issue to the vendors of 615,166 new shares. A deferred payment of up to $60 million is payable subject to achieving financial targets based on the year ending 31 March 2020. The deferred consideration is to be split equally between cash and the issuance of new shares in Future. The total maximum consideration will be $120 million.

Mobile Nations achieved revenue of $16.4 million and EBITDA of $8.2 million in year ended 31 December 2018. Organic revenue growth was 31% and EBITDA growth 52% yoy.

Zillah Byng-Thorne, CEO of Future, said, “This acquisition will further strengthen our market leading position in technology and extend our growing presence in the US. Mobile Nations’ consumer electronics brands, which combine content, community and commerce to deliver shopping enablement solutions, are highly complementary to our existing portfolio. We already have an established commercial relationship with Mobile Nations through its longstanding partnership with Purch, which we acquired in September 2018. The addition of Mobile Nations’ brands will deepen our presence and expand our opportunities to monetise our significant US online audience.”

UK, London & USA, St. Petersburg, FL

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Dennis acquires Kiplinger

Dennis PublishingDennis Publishing has acquired Kiplinger Washington Editors, Inc., publisher of business forecasts and personal finance advice available in print and online. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Kiplinger, founded in 1920 in Washington, D.C. and run by three generations of the Kiplinger family, publishes the largest paid-subscription publications in several financial fields: the weekly Kiplinger Letter, the biweekly Kiplinger Tax Letter, the monthly Kiplinger’s Retirement Report and the monthly Kiplinger’s Investing for Income. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, its most widely read product, has a 600,000-circulation monthly magazine and was first published in 1947, The Kiplinger.com website has around four million unique visitors and 30 million page views per month.

James Tye, Group CEO of Dennis, said: “Kiplinger is everything we look for in a business: It is blessed with strong brands that have developed a high degree of trust with their readers, allied to a vibrant, growing digital business. Kiplinger is run by an experienced leadership team that understand the value of authoritative and concise information in the finance category as well as the key role the various Kiplinger brands play in delivering excellent results for its advertising clients.”

Tye continued: “Kiplinger is a great fit for Dennis. It expands our presence into the finance category, an area we already have an impressive footprint in with the The Week and MoneyWeek. It is also a business with strong, recurring, subscription revenues; Dennis stands out as a company that is built around brands that readers trust and want to buy. I look forward to working with Denise Elliott and her talented team to keep growing the relevance, reach and revenues of the Kiplinger business.”

Denise Elliott, Senior VP and Chief Operating Officer at Kiplinger, will step up to run Kiplinger as CEO from the company’s Washington DC headquarters and will become part of the Dennis leadership team.

Knight Kiplinger, 71, will remain Chairman of KWE’s former parent, Outlook, Inc., and will serve as an informal advisor to Kiplinger and Dennis on editorial content, with the title of Editor Emeritus. None of Outlook’s real estate holdings in Maryland and Martin County, Fla., are part of the transaction, and will continue to be owned and managed by the Kiplinger family.

Dennis, with its US headquarters in Washington, was acquired by private equity firm Exponent in October 2018. Kiplinger is the first acquisition that Dennis has made in the US since it changed ownership. Dennis already owns The Week based in New York.

UK, London & USA, Washington, DC

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Reed Exhibitions acquires India BIG7 trade event

Reed ExhibitionsReed Exhibitions, a division of RELX, has acquired India BIG7, the annual, Mumbai-based event, India’s largest for gifts, stationery, writing instruments, office supplies, gadgets, houseware, kitchenware and home décor. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Launched in 1993, BIG7 joins a growing portfolio of Reed Exhibitions gift shows in Germany, Japan, Australia and China. The next edition of India BIG7, held in the Bombay Exhibition Centre, will take place 21 – 24 August 2019.

Gregory Zaraisky, CEO of Reed Exhibitions, India, said, “Having known Jivesh Sachdev and his flagship event India BIG7 for more than two years, we have been very impressed by the team’s continuous drive to innovate, keep the event on-trend while focusing on the customers’ needs today and in the future. By joining forces, we can increase customer value and help accelerate the transformation of the industries which urgently need investment, innovation and new technologies.”

UK, London & India, Mumbai

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Comcast acquires cybersecurity developer BluVector

Comcast Corporation logoThe Comcast Corporation has acquired BluVector, a company that uses advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide cybersecurity protection to companies and government agencies. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

With a proprietary machine-learning engine, BluVector detects, analyses, and contains a wide range of sophisticated cyber-threats including “fileless malware,” zero-day malware and ransomware. BluVector has won a wide array of cybersecurity industry awards and recognition for its innovation and unique technological approach. It is a trusted partner to both Fortune 500 companies and large government agencies working to tackle some of the nation’s most critical challenges. The two companies will work together to grow BluVector’s existing business and also collaborate on the development of new cybersecurity technologies.

Don Mathis, General Manager of Growth at Comcast, said, “BluVector is a global leader in leveraging AI and machine learning to defend against advanced cyber threats. We’re thrilled that BluVector is part of Comcast and are excited to support its continued growth, even as we explore new opportunities to leverage BluVector technology and expertise.”

Eric Malawer, a veteran leader with more than two decades of experience in data analytics, artificial intelligence, national intelligence and digital security, has been named CEO of BluVector and will lead the company as it continues to grow its business as part of Comcast. Malawer previously served as cybersecurity staff director for the House Committee on Homeland Security, and prior to his role at BluVector, he launched three AI and security companies. BluVector founding CEO Kris Lovejoy, who recently left to assume another role, will continue to serve as an advisor and consultant to BluVector and Comcast.

USA, Philadelphia, PA & Arlington, VA

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Haymarket Media Group Acquires National Association for Continuing Education (NACE)

Haymarket Media GroupHaymarket Media Group has acquired the National Association for Continuing Education (NACE), a Florida-based live medical education business. NACE will complement Haymarket Medical Education and its global medical education website, myCME. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Launched in 2001, NACE has built a respected reputation for delivering Continuing Education live conferences for healthcare professionals.

NACE offers live conferences in over 40 cities and enduring programmes to engage learners and increase their knowledge, competence, and professional performance with the most up-to-date, science-based information on a variety of topics. NACE was awarded Accreditation with Commendation by the ACCME and is an approved provider of continuing education by the American Association of Nurse Practitioners.

The NACE acquisition grows Haymarket’s reach in continuing education, by adding 53,000 learners to Haymarket’s audience of 2.2 million healthcare professionals and deepening its best-in-class reputation with certified healthcare education covering the spectrum of interprofessional healthcare audiences.

Haymarket Media Group Global CEO, Kevin Costello said, “The acquisition of NACE reinforces our position as the leading full-service provider of medical education. Their expertise in the live space perfectly complements our continuing medical education portfolio and I am thrilled to have them on board.”

Lee Maniscalco, CEO of Haymarket Media, Inc. said, “As in-person CE activities remain an integral and required part of how clinicians learn, the acquisition of NACE will allow Haymarket to build upon the strengths of this educational format in unprecedented ways.”

UK, Twickenham & USA, Plantation, FL

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Daily Mail owner considering options for its Euromoney stake

Euromoney plcDaily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT), commenting on recent media speculation, has announced that it is considering strategic options for its stake in Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc.

Euromoney is an international business-to-business information company focusing on the global financial community. Holding around 49% of the shares, DMGT is Euromoney’s largest shareholder.

DMGT said it has not received any proposal nor is it in discussions with any party to acquire its holding in Euromoney.

UK, London

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r4e to acquire Sold Out

r4ereach4entertainment enterprises plc, the entertainment marketing communications group, is to acquire Agency Press Limited (trading as “Sold Out”), an independent full-service advertising agency.

r4e will pay an initial consideration of £3.94 million in cash and £250,000 in 20,833,333 Ordinary Shares, plus an additional deferred payment based on the financial performance of Sold Out during the period commencing on 1 June 2017 to 31 December 2021. The aggregate of the Initial Consideration and the Deferred Consideration is capped at £10 million. The deal will be part funded by a conditional placing which is expected to raise £3 million.

London-based integrated agency Sold Out, has specialised in arts and entertainment advertising for over 25 years. Clients include S.J.M. Concerts, AEG Presents, Live Nation and Cirque Du Soleil. Its services include campaign development, media planning and buying, events, partnerships, design and creative, broadcast and digital media production. In the financial year ended 31 May 2018, Sold Out had gross profit of £4.1 million, adjusted EBITDA of £1.7 million and profit before tax of £1.3 million.

Lord Michael Grade, Chairman of R4E, commented: “The acquisition will mark a significant milestone for the Group and play a major role in diversifing our client base beyond just theatre. Sold Out has built an excellent reputation within the entertainment sector and has a high-quality, long term client base to match. It has delivered many successful campaigns across live music, festivals, sports and events, which are all areas where r4e is seeking to move in to. Bringing Sold Out into the Group will enable us to strengthen our entire marketing and advertising offering.”

UK, London

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