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AcquireAlloy Acquires High School Social Networking Site Sconex for $6.1 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2006 - 9:50am.
New York - Alloy, Inc., a new media marketing firm that operates youth-oriented sites including Alloy.com and Delias.com, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Sconex, a social networking site for high school students, for $6.1 million in stock. New York-based Alloy said Sconex has seen a three-fold increase in visitors over the past six months, with visitors staying an average of about an hour. "Sconex, with its core emphasis on content for teens by teens, represents a terrific solution for advertisers endeavoring to reach young people in a secure online environment through social network marketing," said Alloy chairman and CEO Matt Diamond. "We were particularly impressed with its ability to attract trendsetters."
Index Multimedia Acquires Mobile Video Firm Wonderphone TVAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on March 29, 2006 - 9:48am.
Paris - Index Multimedia, a France-based unit of Japan's Index Corporation that distributes mobile entertainment content, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Wonderphone TV, a French distributor of mobile TV and games content. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Founded in 2004, Wonderphone owns a catalog of over 3 million videos, and distributes mobile content to over 70 mobile operators in 40 countries. The company's products include 35 mobile video-on-demand channels, and the SFR TV & Video and Orange World Video services in France. Wonderphone's 2005 sales were $16.2 million.
Japan's Softbank to Acquire 23% of U.K. Gambling Site BetfairAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 28, 2006 - 9:37am.
London - According to a report in the Financial Times, SoftbankCorp., a Japan-based Internet investment company, has agreed to acquire as much as 23% of Sporting Exchange Ltd., the U.K.-based online gambling group that controls Betfair. Although financial terms were not disclosed, the Financial Times said Softbank would pay about $22.80 a share. Sporting Exchange said it would likely release details for the deal, which should be completed by April 3, within the next few days.
NeoMedia Acquires U.K.-based Sponge for $17.4 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 22, 2006 - 3:25am.
Fort Myers, Fla. - Continuing its streak of recent acquisitions, NeoMedia, a provider of wireless services and technology, has agreed to buy Sponge, a London-based developer of mobile content delivery applications, for $17.4 million. Terms of the deal include $6 million in cash and the remainder in NeoMedia shares. Founded in 2001, Sponge provides mobile applications to agencies and media groups. Earlier this week, NeoMedia announced the purchase of 12snap, a Germany-based provider of marketing and entertainment applications and programs for cellular phones, for $22 million. Last week, NeoMedia acquired Mobot, a Massachusetts-based provider of mobile visual recognition technology, for $10 million in cash and stock and agreed to pay $4.5 million in cash to acquire HipCricket, a Connecticut-based provider of mobile marketing technology for broadcasters and brand marketers. VeriSign to Acquire Austrian Mobile Entertainment Firm 3UnitedAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 15, 2006 - 9:29am.
Mountain View, Calif. - VeriSign, a provider of infrastructure services for Internet and telecommunications networks, said on Thursday that it will acquire 3United, an Austria-based distributor of mobile entertainment content, for approximately $65.5 million. VeriSign said that the deal will expand its portfolio of content services for communications providers in Eastern Europe. 3United distributes mobile music services, games, ringtones and other content, and has offices in Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Russia and the Ukraine. VeriSign said that it expects to close the deal by the end of the first quarter.
Microsoft Acquires French Mobile Search Developer MotionBridgeAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 14, 2006 - 10:31am.
Barcelona - Microsoft announced that it has acquired MotionBridge, a France-based provider of mobile search technology and navigation services, for an undisclosed sum. Under the terms of the deal, Microsoft will obtain MotionBridge's operator partnerships (T-Mobile, Orange, Sprint and O2 Ltd., among others) and its flagship technology, which provides clustered results and "deep links" to downloadable content from multiple providers. MotionBridge was founded in 2000 and later funded by Siemens Mobile Acceleration.
NeoMedia to Acquire Germany-based 12snap for $22 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 14, 2006 - 10:27am.
Ft. Myers, Fla. - NeoMedia Technologies, a provider of technology for delivering mobile Internet-based information, has agreed to pay $22 million in cash and stock to acquire 12snap, a Munich-based provider of marketing and entertainment applications for cellular phones. This is NeoMedia's first European acquisition. Last week, the company acquired Mobot, a Massachusetts-based provider of mobile visual recognition technology. Founded in 1999, 12snap has a total of about 75 employees in New York, London, Milan, Vienna and Stockholm, as well as Dusseldorf and Munich, and a technical development center in Romania.
Scientific-Atlanta Acquires Video Compression Firm UB VideoAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 13, 2006 - 11:28am.
Atlanta - Set-top box maker Scientific-Atlanta announced on Monday that it has acquired Vancouver-based UB Video, a provider of advanced video compression technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. "This combination will provide significant benefits to our customers worldwide as they roll out new and advanced standard- and high-definition programming services to satisfy consumer demand," said Dean Rockwell, vice president and general manager of digital media networks at Scientific-Atlanta. Cisco Systems' acquisition of Scientific-Atlanta for $6.9 billion is expected to close in the current quarter.
Tandberg TV Acquires SkyStream Networks for $80 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 9, 2006 - 3:42am.
Southampton, U.K. - Tandberg Television, a provider of digital video delivery technology to networks and distributors, has acquired SkyStream Networks, a provider of Internet video delivery technology, for $80 million. Founded in 1996, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based SkyStream employs 100 people and posted 2005 revenues of $30.7 million. U.K.-based Tandberg said the deal will allow it to expand its technology offering for IPTV with the addition of SkyStream's 300 customers, which include Reuters, Comcast, Clear Channel and EchoStar Communications.
RealNetworks Acquires Dutch Casual Games Firm Zylom for $21 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on February 7, 2006 - 4:45am.
Seattle - RealNetworks, a provider of media delivery technology and subscription services, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Zylom Media Group, a Netherlands-based developer, publisher and distributor of casual PC games, for $21 million. Founded in 2001, Zylom offers 70 game titles localized in 7 languages, such as "Mirror Magic" and "Hotel Solitaire." The company reported $7.98 million in revenue and $750,000 net income in 2005. The purchase follows RealNetworks' $35.6 million acquisition of Seattle-based casual games developer GameHouse in 2004 and its May 2005 purchase of Finland-based developer Mr. Goodliving for $15 million.
SanDisk to Acquire Matrix Semiconductor for $250 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:10am.
Sunnyvale, Calif. - SanDisk, a manufacturer maker of flash storage cards, said that it has signed a deal to acquire Santa Clara, Calif.-based Matrix Semiconductor, a developer of 3D integrated circuits, for about $250 million. The deal consists of $12 million in cash, and the remainder in SanDisk stock. Matrix's 3D memory is used for storage applications that do not require multiple rewrites and where low cost is the paramount consideration, such as video games, music and other content, or for archiving. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
BSkyB to Acquire Broadband Firm Easynet for $373 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on October 21, 2005 - 8:08am.
London - Satellite broadcaster BSkyB announced that it has agreed to acquire Easynet, a U.K.-based broadband telecommunications firm, for approximately $373 million. The Rupert Murdoch-controlled broadcaster said the deal would allow it to break into the U.K. broadband Internet market and offer so-called "triple-play" broadband, TV and telephony services. "This positions Sky very well to take a leading position in what we think is a very attractive and fast-growing segment of the market," Murdoch said. "We've reached a point where integration into a home entertainment platform will be both viable and attractive to customers, and we expect to see rapid convergence between pay-TV penetration in the marketplace and broadband penetration." The acquisition will also put BSkyB into direct competition with such heavy hitters as incumbent telecommunications firm BT Group Plc and newly merged cable firms NTL and Telewest.
Report: Viacom to Acquire Online Video Site IFilm for $50 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 26, 2005 - 7:52am.
San Francisco -- Media conglomerate Viacom is expected to purchase the video-on-demand website IFilm for $50 million in a deal that will close in the next several weeks, CNET News.com reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The deal would likely place IFilm, which hosts short films, movie trailers, amateur videos and other content, under the Viacom umbrella that includes MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures.
WSJ: Legal File-Sharing Firm Mashboxx in Talks to Acquire GroksterAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on September 19, 2005 - 9:44am.
New York -- The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that Mashboxx, a major label-supported, legal file-sharing service, is currently in talks to acquire Grokster, one of the unauthorized peer-to-peer services found guilty of copyright infringement in a recent landmark Supreme Court ruling. The Journal did not report financial details of the transaction; however, it did say that Mashboxx may share in revenue generated by a legal version of Grokster with the company's owners -- who themselves are not readily identified. Mashboxx was founded by Wayne Rosso, who formerly served as president of Grokster while it was still a popular unauthorized file-sharing service. The legal Mashboxx service, which will feature songs cleared through Napster founder Shawn Fanning's new venture, Snocap, is scheduled to launch in the next several months.
Cisco to Acquire Networked DVD Player Maker KiSS for $60 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on July 22, 2005 - 8:33am.
Copenhagen -- Cisco Systems announced that it has agreed to acquire KiSS Technology, a privately held, Denmark-based maker of networked DVD players and recorders, for approximately $60 million in cash and stock. KiSS's products allow devices to access content on the Internet or other devices on home networks. "As more and more entertainment content is delivered over the Internet and as consumers demand access to digital entertainment inside and outside of their home networks, networked entertainment devices will become an integral part of consumer electronics," said Cisco CTO Charles Giancarlo. "KiSS has emerged as a leader in networked video and audio products in Europe, and we hope to use that expertise to expand worldwide." Cisco said it expected to close the deal in the first quarter of its next fiscal year, pending regulatory approval.
News Corp. to Acquire MySpace Parent Co. Intermix for $580 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on July 18, 2005 - 9:41am.
Los Angeles -- Media conglomerate News Corporation announced on Monday that it will acquire Intermix Media, an operator of 30 websites including online community site MySpace.com, for $580 million. News Corp. paid $12 per share for Intermix, which will become part of its newly-formed Fox Interactive Media unit. Separately, Los Angeles-based Intermix said it has exercised an option to acquire the 47% of MySpace that it did not already own. Intermix recently paid $7.9 million to settle charges brought by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who alleged the company was distributing hidden spyware; the company admitted no wrongdoing as part of the settlement. News Corp. said the addition of Intermix's 27 million monthly unique users will nearly double its web traffic, to 45 million monthly unique users. "Intermix is an important acquisition for News Corp., instantly doubling the number of visitors to our sites and providing an ideal foundation on which to meaningfully increase our internet presence," said News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005.
XM Satellite Radio to Acquire WCS Wireless for $200 MillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on July 14, 2005 - 10:00am.
Washington -- Preparing to develop new video subscription services, XM Satellite Radio, a provider of satellite radio services with more than 4.4 million subscribers, said that it plans to acquire WCS Wireless, a Nevada-based owner of wireless spectrum licenses in geographic areas covering 163 million people throughout the U.S., including 15 of the top 20 metropolitan markets. Under the deal, XM will pay 5.5 million shares of its stock, worth approximately $200 million. WCS's licenses include 10 megahertz in the frequency bands adjacent to XM's satellite radio service, which XM said that it plans to use to launch a variety of new video and data offerings. The company said that it will expects to announce more detailed plans for the use of this additional spectrum in the future. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
Comcast, Time Warner to Acquire Bankrupt Adelphia for $17.6 BillionAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on April 21, 2005 - 8:00am.
New York -- Confirming earlier reports of the deal, Comcast, the nation's largest cable TV operator, and partner Time Warner Cable announced on Thursday that they have acquired bankrupt cable firm Adelphia, for $17.6 billion in cash and stock. Comcast and Time Warner's bid topped a rival offer of $17.1 billion from fellow cable operator Cablevision. Adelphia's shareholders will receive $12.7 billion in cash and 16% ownership in a new company, comprised of Time Warner Cable and Adelphia, which will figure as the nation's second-largest cable operator and will be spun-off to become a publicly-traded company. As part of the deal, Comcast will redeem its interests in Time Warner Cable and Time Warner Entertainment, as well as swap certain cable systems with the company, and come out of the deal with an additional 1.8 million subscribers. Time Warner Cable will gain about 3.5 million subscribers from the deal, which is still subject to approval by Adelphia's bankruptcy judge and both federal and local regulators.
Ener1 to Acquire Russian Video Game Maker NivalAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on April 7, 2005 - 3:16am.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida -- Ener1 Group, a U.S.-based technology holding company, announced that it has agreed to acquire Nival Interactive, a Moscow-based video game developer and currently the largest in Russia. Nival Interactive's creative studio includes 140 artists, designers and programmers. Ener1 said it planned to integrate the Russian developers with its U.S.-based video gaming interests to develop new console and wireless games. "This partnership provides both our companies with the optimal solution for accomplishing our mutual goals," said Nival President Sergey Orlovskiy. "Ener1 Group's resources and international presence will accelerate Nival's strategy for growth, developing exceptional and creative content for the interactive entertainment industry, exploring new distribution opportunities and attracting top talent in the global marketplace." The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Headset Maker Plantronics to Acquire Digital Audio Developer OctivAuthored by Mark Hefflinger on April 6, 2005 - 3:40am.
Berkeley, Calif. -- Plantronics, a maker of communications headsets, has announced that it will acquire Berkeley, Calif.-based Octiv, a provider of audio signal processing technology. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. "[Octiv] will strengthen Plantronics' expertise in personal communication," said Ken Kannappan, the president and CEO of Plantronics. "The acquisition of Octiv is particularly attractive given the future convergence of wireless voice communication and entertainment." Kannappan said that the acquisition is expected to strengthen his company's product portfolio and long-term earnings growth outlook.
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