Deals

US group hires advisers to examine options as operating loss for fourth quarter hits $382m

Hampshire, UK-based eDigitalResearch (edr) has been acquired by recently formed research, insight and advisory services provider MARU Group, for an undisclosed sum

Headquartered in Switzerland and with regional partners in Europe, North and South America, Africa and the Middle East, the agency provides strategic advice to public sector and sports organisation clients in the practice areas of events, performance, participation and facilities

WPP announces that its operating network Millward Brown, a global leader in brand, media and communications research, has agreed to acquire the business operations of Analytics Quotient (“AQ”), a marketing analytics company that extracts insights from data to help clients define their marketing strategies. AQ also builds data visualization tools and custom analytics solutions to help clients slice, dice, simulate and monitor business data

UK-based digital marcoms group Next Fifteen has acquired the remaining 25% stake in brand market research and advisory consultancy Morar

Getting into the search and email businesses of a stumbling first-generation Internet company won’t move Time Inc. forward

Private equity group’s return on the value of its investment in used-cars site is nearly five times

Time Inc, the publisher of Sports Illustrated, People and Time magazine, is considering a deal to buy the core business of Yahoo Inc, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Time has heard a presentation from Citigroup bankers on pursuing a deal with Yahoo, the Bloomberg report said, adding that Citigroup had not been retained by Time

The merger gives birth to the most comprehensive B2B information and media resource in the North American grocery, convenience store, and big-box retail market, according to the new company

The Brooklyn Brothers — a fast-growing independent known for award-winning “paid” and “owned” media campaigns for brands such as NBC and Pepsi — has been acquired by one of the dominant players in “earned” media, Interpublic public relations division Golin

VNU Exhibitions has announced its acquisition of Aquarama and Pet Asia from UBM Exhibition Singapore Pte Ltd. Aquarama is a trade show covering fish, invertebrates, plants and related accessories

Artexis Easyfairs has expanded its international presence in the packaging event and congress sector with a new organiser acquisition

Disposal could fetch $3bn as group focuses on financial information products and services

Barclay brothers believed to be testing potential City interest in newspaper group

Transaction Combines Time Inc.’s Premium Content, Subscriber and Visitor Data, and Advertising Inventory with Viant’s First-Party Data and Targeting Capabilities

Autometrix publishes two monthly newsstand and subscription titles, Audi Driver and VolksWagen Driver and has two significant events, Audi Driver International incorporating an annual Awards Dinner and Gti International, its flagship event held in July. It also holds a number of track days for enthusiasts across the country

Johnston Press is in advanced talks to buy the i, the cut-price national newspaper owned by Evgeny Lebedev, in a move which multiple sources say will spell the end of the Independent and Independent on Sunday

the magazine business jointly owned by The Guardian’s publisher and private equity group Apax, has floated at 200p a share, giving it a market cap of around £800m. Guardian Media Group, which owns around a third of the business, and Apax, which owns two-thirds, will sell a 25pc stake in the company with shares priced between 200p and 210p.

The business, which owns a raft of business titles including Retail Week and Health Service Journal as well as the Cannes Lions advertising festival, will float on Tuesday for up to £840 million. GMG and Apax will sell up to 20 per cent of their stake with shares priced at between 200p to 210p each

GHG has acquired mobile app developer and digital design company specialising in healthcare, The Lathe LLC in the US