Deals

Sir Martin Sorrell’s resignation has raised the question of whether his successor will be able to stop a breakup of the world’s largest advertising group. Some analysts believe that there is more value in breaking up the sprawling empire – WPP employs more than 200,000 staff in 400 separate ad businesses in more than 3,000 offices in 112 countries – particularly as its stock market value has plummeted more than a third in the past year

Press release:  Established Kitchen and Bathroom Magazines, Awards and Digital Platforms added to the Media 10 Limited Portfolio. Pro Publishing Media & Events Ltd originally founded by Clara Perry has been acquired by Media 10 Limited.

Britain’s competition regulator today launched an investigation into the sale of Richard Desmond’s Express newspaper stable to the owner of the Daily Mirror. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it “will now assess whether this deal could significantly reduce competition within the UK media sector”. A deadline of 7 June has been set for a decision with interested parties invited to submit evidence to the investigation.

FPE Capital LLP (‘FPE’), a growth private equity investor in UK lower mid-market companies announces that it has completed the management buyout of IWSR, which owns and operates the world’s largest database on the beverage alcohol market. This buyout marks the third investment in FPE’s £100m maiden institutional fund announced in October 2017

Tarsus Group has taken steps to increase the pace of its growing presence in Asia by announcing the addition of two new members to its Asian senior management team. At the same time, it has increased its ownership of the Shenzhen based joint venture Shenzhen Shengshi Jiuzhou Exhibition Co., Ltd.

Press release:  LONDON, April 3, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Clarion Events, one of the world’s leading events organizers, announces the acquisition of PennWell Corporation, a privately-held events and business-to-business media and marketing services company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. Clarion is owned by funds managed by Blackstone, one of the world’s leading investment firms

Press release:  SAN FRANCISCO, April 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Future plc, the global platform for specialist media, today announces it has completed the acquisition of NewBay Media, LLC. NewBay is an information and events business based in New York and London. It has a substantial B2B portfolio operating in verticals including Electronics and Education, and TV and Audio, where it publishes Broadcasting & Cable, the leading voice of authority in the television industry. Its business is mainly in the provision of conferences, magazines, events, digital content and data services. It also has a large consumer division in the Music vertical where it publishes magazines including Bass Player, Guitar World and Electronic Musician.

Press release: NEW YORK, April 12, 2018 – Hearst announced today that it has purchased from Fimalac S.A. an additional 20 percent interest in global financial information services company Fitch Group, bringing Hearst’s equity interest to 100 percent. The transaction is valued at $2.8 billion. Hearst acquired its original interest in Fitch Group in 2006, and increased its holdings to 80 percent in 2015.

Accenture is making one of its largest acquisitions to date by purchasing publisher Meredith’s digital agency, Meredith Xcelerated Marketing (MXM). Terms of the deal were not disclosed

Hedge funds now control around £3bn of Sky shares, giving them major influence over the future of the British broadcaster as it is targeted for takeover by two rivals. The Mail can reveal that hedge funds based in Mayfair, New York and Chicago now own 13 per cent of Sky’s stock as it is embroiled in bids from 21st Century Fox and US cable giant Comcast

Business media and insight group GlobalData has confirmed it will pay £90.0m to acquire energy, construction and financial services analyst Research Views Ltd – a company controlled by GlobalData CEO Michael Danson, its US MD Wayne Lloyd and other shareholders.

Real estate agent Purplebricks said publishing group Axel Springer had bought an 11.5% stake in the company for £125m, while warning that its annual revenue growth would miss market expectations

Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune, and Money are all up for sale as part of a plan to reduce costs by up to $500 million

Press release:  Future plc (LSE: FUTR), the global platform for specialist media, today announces the proposed acquisition of five specialist consumer titles from Haymarket Media Group – What Hi-Fi?, Stuff, FourFourTwo, Practical Caravan and Practical Motorhome – for a consideration of up to £14m, the majority of which is in the form of cash, with the balance in shares

Publicis, the world’s third-largest advertising agency by revenues, has unveiled a wide-ranging strategic plan for the next three years to position itself in an industry beset by widespread disruption and the lowest growth since the financial crisis.

Press release: NEW YORK, March 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — UBM Brazil announced that it has acquired Grupo CanalEnergia, the leading events and media company in the Brazilian energy sector. The acquisition furthers UBM’s strategy to expand its operations in Brazil and in Latin American renewables

Press release: Following the announcement, in November 2017, of a process being under way to dispose of EDR, the US property information business, DMGT announces that a sale has been agreed. Silver Lake Partners and Battery Ventures, two leading private equity investors with experience in growing technology, data and software businesses and investing in evolving business models, will acquire EDR for $205 million

Apple is buying the magazine app subscription service Texture for an undisclosed amount. Texture offers US-based users unlimited access to more than 200 titles for a monthly fee of $9.99 (£7.19)

GateHouse Media has acquired the Austin American-Statesman from Cox Enterprises for $47.5 million. The deal is expected to close April 2. GateHouse Media says it is the U.S.’s largest owner of daily newspapers across the country, with 130 daily newspapers and more than 540 local market websites. The company is based in upstate New York. The Statesman, with its daily circulation of 85,000 and digital subscriptions of 16,786, will be one of GateHouse’s largest newspapers.

Messe Frankfurt further expands its international network: With the acquisition of Forest Exhibitions Ltd, the Group now has its own subsidiary in the United Kingdom.