Posts by mwright

60 titles launch, 23 close through the first half of 2015.

TU Media (TU) in Norway today announced the acquisition of Mediehuset Tek (Mtek) from Amedia, acquiring 100 per cent of the company effective 1 September 2015

Global exhibition organiser UBM has cancelled its annual US telecoms and wireless trade show, 4G World, citing “evolving market conditions

Diversified Communications UK has announced the launch of new trade show Commercial Kitchen, to be held at the NEC next year.

WPP has acquired a majority stake in brand experience agency SET Management (SET Creative), growing its branding and identity group

Organiser UBM has announced that it will close its May Design Series event, to focus on its more “industry targeted niche events”. The multi-sector show, which has run since 2013, targeted London designers, architects and specifiers, showcasing a range of new products across furniture, lighting, kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms, and décor. UBM portfolio director Alison Jackson said: […]

Havas Health acquired London-based agency Just:: Health Communications for an undisclosed sum. The PR shop is primarily known for its work in public affairs and its digital expertise, and its current client roster includes GlaxoSmithKline, Roche, AbbVie, Pfizer and Sanofi. The agency houses 34 employees. The senior team at Just:: Health, led by MD Kirsty […]

ITV has agreed to pay up to £280m for Twofour Group, the maker of The Jump and Educating Yorkshire, in its latest effort to strengthen its in-house studios. The broadcaster has already spent nearly £1.5bn on production companies under chief executive Adam Crozier, in order to avoid being left behind as audiences switch to online viewing. […]

In a press release Forum Business Media Ltd is delighted to announce that at the beginning of June 2015, it acquired the assets of Regional Training Agency Ltd

has agreed to purchase Korbitec (Pty) Ltd from the Naspers Group for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is subject to approval by the South African Competition Commission. Korbitec is a leading provider of content-enabled workflow solutions for South African property professionals, with two leading products, GhostConvey and Windeed, in addition to its Banking and Municipal […]

In a bid to strengthen the company’s capabilities in the brand commerce space, Dentsu Aegis Network has reached an agreement to acquire UK eCommerce specialist eCommera. Terms were not disclosed, but Dentsu said the acquired firm would be aligned with its digital marketing agency network Isobar. The company, with a staff of 275, will continue […]

Mobile programmatic ad-buying is taking off. Rubicon Project, a large ad exchange and ad tech provider, last week shared that mobile now accounts for over 20% of the company’s total managed revenue, up from less than 3% just one year ago. That represents a spend increase of 1,300%, and Rubicon doesn’t expect it to slow down […]

Martha Stewart has sold her media and merchandising business to Sequential Brands, a retail licensing group, for about $353m, marking a dramatic fall in the value of an lifestyle business empire that was worth nearly $2bn at its peak in 2005. For the full story read next.ft.com

When Spotify raised more than $500m this month in a funding round that valued the music streaming company at $8.5bn, investors played down the risk of it being crushed in a bruising battle with Apple. For the full story read next.ft.com

The head of the Economist Group has promised a return to revenue growth in the next twelve months, after falling print advertising caused a third successive year of declining sales. Chris Stibbs said the company — which owns the Economist magazine and other information businesses — had lost about £50m, or 46 per cent of the […]

Reed Exhibitions, part of RELX Group, announced today that it will expand its jewelry event portfolio with the acquisition of Jewelers International Showcase (JIS). JIS has three annual business-to-business events, for jewelry retailers, at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Thousands of retailers attend the JIS Events from the United States, Caribbean and Latin America to […]

Four in ten (39 per cent) of UK Internet users use ad-blocking technology to curb the number of promotions they see while browsing as they become increasingly dissatisfied with the types of ads on show, according to a new study. It’s not surprising then that many publishers are “abandoning the old models in favour of new […]

The biggest question comes right from Tim Cobbold’s strategic presentation in which he makes clear that the global exhibition industry is attractive because it is growing at 5% annually and yet remains fragmented. But the (almost) single-minded pursuit of “events” may be flawed

Electric Word plc are pleased to announce the disposal of the trade and certain assets of the Company’s subsidiary, Radcliffe Publishing Limited (“Radcliffe Publishing”) to Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group and a subsidiary of Informa plc

Blendle, a Dutch startup that’s applying a Netflix style marketplace to journalism, has signed up the mainstay of German publishers to its pay-per-article market