Berkery Noyes

ONLINE RECRUITMENT M&A

2012-05-16T13:37:02Z

There has been speculation lately about Monster Worldwide being for sale, including a story in Reuters last Friday about LinkedIn’s potential interest in the Internet jobs search company. However, after conducting an initial assessment, LinkedIn has stated that it has no plans to acquire Monster. Besides looking at Monster’s strategic options, Silver Lake Partners has been mentioned as a potential private equity buyer.

Monster, which acquired rival HotJobs.com in 2010, is facing competition from a number of aggregators such as Indeed.com and SimplyHired.com. CareerBuilder, another one of Monster’s competitors, made two acquisitions in April. The online career site acquired CEVIU and Top Language Jobs last month to further solidify its international presence.

In a March blog post, Berkery Noyes considered M&A activity in human resources technology, with an emphasis on how cloud computing and SaaS are impacting the landscape. Oracle’s acquisition of Taleo for $1.9 billion, a talent management deal announced in February, is the most prominent example.

A more recent transaction, CallidusCloud’s acquisition of 6FigureJobs, also confirms this trend. 6FigureJobs focuses on resources and content for recruiters and senior level job seekers in an income range over $100k. The recruiting process now often includes video resumes, as well as social and mobile technologies during the interview phase, making M&A an attractive option for enterprises seeking to improve their HR offerings.

MOBILE MARKETING AND ADVERTISING M&A

2012-05-14T14:04:39Z

In Berkery Noyes’ first quarter 2012 Online and Mobile press release, we discussed M&A surrounding mobile marketing and advertising. Digital marketing, examined as a subset of the e-marketing and search segment, experienced a seven percent increase in M&A activity in the first three months of 2012.

In particular, we noted SingTel’s acquisition of Amobee for $321 million. Amobee just made its own acquisition, buying AdJitsu from Cooliris nearly a week ago. This acquisition will allow Amobee to leverage AdJitsu’s 3D mobile ad technology. One key aspect of product development in mobile advertising, as indicated by Amobee’s acquisition of AdJitsu, is for companies to make ads more interactive – with the end goal of increasing consumer engagement and brand loyalty.

There have been other recent deals in this space as well. For example, Monster Offers and Ad Shark announced last Wednesday that they have agreed to merge. Ad Shark is a subsidiary of Iconsys, an app technology developer. This transaction indicates a strategic fit between a daily deal analytics aggregator (Monster Offers) and a mobile advertising platform (Ad Shark).

With the ongoing need for technological innovation this nascent market, M&A provides a logical pathway for companies to attain the necessary expertise and cutting edge tools that will place them in a strong position going forward.

LOCATION BASED APPS AND SOCIAL DISCOVERY M&A

2012-05-09T15:03:44Z

Facebook has made several recent, albeit distinct, mobile acquisitions leading up to its initial public offering (IPO). We’ve discussed the acquisitions of Instagram and Tagtile in our previous posts. With its latest acquisition, Facebook has gained a new technology in the “social discovery” space.

A few days ago, Facebook acquired Glancee, a location based and social discovery app for iOS and Android. Glancee matches users based on interests they have in common or that are relevant to one another. The tool aims to reveal hidden connections. According to PC Magazine, Facebook was also interested in Highlight, one of Glancee’s larger competitors.

Another similar transaction this year was Groupon’s acquisition of Ditto.me, a social recommendation app. Going beyond the check-in feature of many location apps, Ditto.me allows users to ask their friends for suggestions on everything from places they should visit to restaurants they should patronize. As indicated in Berkery Noyes' first quarter Media and Marketing press release, Groupon has been an active acquirer in 2012, completing five Information Industry transactions so far.

CUSTOMER RELATIONS SOFTWARE AND TECH M&A

2012-05-07T13:30:46Z

Transaction volume relating to customer relations software increased 33 percent between 2010 and 2011, from 67 to 89 transactions. There have been several notable transactions thus far in 2012 as well.

Most recently, IBM announced its acquisition of Tealeaf Technology. Tealeaf, with its array of analytics software, allows marketers to gain additional insight as to how customers interact with business websites. With this knowledge, companies are better positioned to improve their digital marketplace and therefore the online consumer experience. One key goal behind acquiring Tealeaf is for IBM to build momentum behind its “Smarter Commerce” initiative.

A few days before the announced acquisition of Tealeaf, Intuit announced its acquisition of Demandforce for $423 million. Demandforce enables small and medium sized businesses to automate their marketing and customer communications. Intuit believes Demandforce’s SaaS model will help them grow their customer base and revenue per customer.

Also of note, Facebook acquired another mobile company in April besides Instagram. Tagtile, a startup, is a more traditional type of acquisition for Facebook. Tagtile is used by businesses to increase their number of repeat purchasers. Consumers can download an iOS or Andoid app to pay for purchases, which allows them to earn loyalty points. Business owners benefit by collecting data that allows them to engage in specialized direct marketing campaigns.

ONLINE AND MOBILE PHOTO SHARING M&A

2012-05-02T13:14:11Z

There’s been a lot of discussion lately about Facebook’s announced acquisition of Instagram for $1 billion. The product nature of the deal was similar to AOL’s acquisition of Hipster, an iOS and Android photo sharing app, for an undisclosed sum.

What’s not as obvious is that some smaller photo sharing transactions have been occurring as well. For instance, Shutterfly, an Internet-based social expression and publishing service, is planning to acquire Kodak Gallery’s online photo sharing platform for nearly $24 million.

In the month prior to Shutterfly’s announcement, Imaging Spectrum acquired Express Digital Graphics. Express Digital’s products – which include Darkroom Software, Photoreflect.com, and Labtricity – are tailored to professional photographers. Instagram and Hipster, meanwhile, are used by everyday mobile users.

One interesting mobile app deal, RadiumOne’s acquisition of Focal Labs, occurred in the fourth quarter of 2011. With this transaction, RadiumOne is gaining Clixtr and PicBounce, two apps that allow users to share their photos more easily.

TECHNOLOGY PATENTS AND M&A

2012-04-30T13:21:12Z

There have been quite a few patent deals in the technology sector as of late. Facebook purchased 750 patents from IBM in March, and the company announced last week that it was acquiring approximately 650 patents from Microsoft for $550 million. Just last month, AOL sold 800 patents to Microsoft for $1 billion. Microsoft, since it was focused on a small selection of those patents, decided in turn to sell most of them and was able to come to an agreement with Facebook.

The threat of litigation centered on intellectual property is a key factor driving this M&A activity. For example, Facebook is involved in an ongoing legal dispute against Yahoo, which is accusing the social network of patent infringement.

Berkery Noyes, in its Information Industry press release at the end of 2011, noted that tech companies have been expanding their IP holdings through acquisition. We highlighted Nortel’s $4.5 billion sale of more than 6,000 patents to a consortium that included Apple and Microsoft. Strong competition, especially from Intel and Google, led to a higher valuation of Nortel’s patents than many expected. Although not a member of that consortium, Google made a number of its own patent acquisitions in 2011, particularly from IBM. Likewise, one of the main purposes behind Google’s announced acquisition of Motorola Mobility Holdings is the tech giant’s interest in wireless patents.

AUTOMOBILE INFORMATION INDUSTRY M&A

2012-04-26T13:47:11Z

There have been six automobile deals within the Information Industry thus far in 2012. For comparative purposes, there were only two such transactions in the fourth quarter of 2011. A few weeks ago, Epicor Software Corporation acquired Internet AutoParts. This transaction has positioned Epicor as a leader in B2B and e-commerce solutions for the automobile aftermarket.

Notably, eBay was one of six acquirers in the first quarter. With the intention of strengthening its Motoros business, eBay announced back in February that it was acquiring WHI Solutions, a company providing web based services to the transportation market.

Furthermore, two financially sponsored acquisitions have occurred within the space this year. In addition to Epicor, which is a portfolio of Apax Partners, ISIS Equity Partners acquired Autologic Diagnostics. Autologic, a supplier of software and diagnostic tools to independent garages, had an acquisition price of $72 million.

MEDIA AND MARKETING FIRST QUARTER 2012 TRENDS REPORT

2012-04-18T13:22:39Z

Berkery Noyes has released its Media and Marketing M&A trends report for the first quarter.

The Marketing segment, which saw overall deal activity rise 13 percent, was bolstered by Digital Marketing’s 68 percent rise in volume. According to Kathleen Thomas, managing director at Berkery Noyes, “Content delivery is in the midst of a permanent transformation. Marketers have vast opportunities in front of them to reach customers effectively and efficiently and businesses have compelling new models to attract and monetize end users.”

For example, OwnerIQ’s acquisition of DiJiPOP shows demand in the marketplace for solutions that facilitate the conversion of website visitors into paying customers. Targeted advertising and paid product placements that occur in real time are becoming even more popular among retailers, as highlighted by their more frequent use of social media to identify and engage potential consumers.

In the Entertainment segment, 18 of the 38 deals for the quarter were either video or online games. “Zynga’s acquisition of OMGPOP.com for $180 million demonstrates the potential for M&A in social gaming, an area that appears poised for growth,” said Berkery Noyes managing director Evan Klein.”

SOFTWARE INDUSTRY FIRST QUARTER 2012 TRENDS REPORT

2012-04-17T13:43:51Z

Berkery Noyes has released its Software Industry M&A trends report for the first quarter. Within the niche software classification, which is software designed to be used by specific vertical industries, software targeted to financial firms was one of the most active segments. The largest related deal for the quarter was Vista Equity Partners’ announced acquisition of Misys, a provider of banking and financial services software solutions, for $2 billion.

Upon deeper inspection, 52 percent of financial software deals in Q1 2012 were related to capital markets. According to Berkery Noyes managing director Peter Ognibene, “Big data is increasing the demands on trading, modeling, executing, and portfolio management.”

INFORMATION INDUSTRY FIRST QUARTER 2012 TRENDS REPORT

2012-04-16T14:05:20Z

Berkery Noyes has released its Information Industry M&A trends report for the first quarter. The report is defined by Berkery Noyes as covering all Media and Marketing, Software, and Online and Mobile companies.

According to James Berkery, Chief Information Officer at Berkery Noyes, “there is a market need for software solutions that are capable of deconstructing large amounts of data from the Web. Connotate’s acquisition of Fetch Technologies, which will result in a merger between the two companies, is a good example of M&A with the goal of meeting demand for big data aggregation. Companies are recognizing the need to improve their analytics tools, and the aforementioned acquisition shows the desirability for improved and more structured data management.”