Transactions  >  By Year  >  2009

e5 Global Media LLC, a newly formed company by Pluribus Capital Management, a media private equity partnership, and Guggenheim Partners, a global diversified financial services firm, has acquired a number of leading media brands from The Nielsen Company’s Nielsen Business Media, including The Hollywood Reporter and Billboard.

The other brands included in the sale are: Adweek; Brandweek; Mediaweek; The Clio Awards; Backstage; Film Journal International; and the Film Expo business, which includes the ShoWest, ShowEast, Cinema Expo International, and CineAsia trade shows.

Polaris Library Systems (www.gisinfosystems.com), a leading provider of library automation software based in upstate New York, was sold to PLS Partners, a newly formed company to acquire Polaris via a Management Buyout (MBO).

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented Polaris Library Systems in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor.

WebMediaBrands (Nasdaq: WEBM) (www.webmediabrands.com), a leading provider of events, education, jobs and content for business, media and creative professionals, has sold its Internet.com division, a leading source of news, features and hands-on advice for developers and IT professionals, to QuinStreet (www.quinstreet.com) for $18 million in cash. QuinStreet is a full-service online marketing services and technology company.

Following the completion of the sale, WebMediaBrands will continue to operate its online business, which consists of Mediabistro.com, Graphics.com and related job boards, online education offerings and tradeshows.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented WebMediaBrands in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor.

Reed Business Information-US (www.reedbusiness.com/us), a division of Reed Elsevier (NYSE: RUK and ENL) and a leading business-to-business information provider, has sold Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News, and This Week in Consumer Electronics (TWICE) to NewBay Media (www.nbmedia.com), a provider of market leading brands for five verticals – Pro Audio, Broadcast & Video, Musical Instruments, AV/Consumer Electronics and K-12 Education. Each title will continue to be published as part of NewBay’s line of print, online, and in-person products and services.

Reed Elsevier (www.reed-elsevier.com) is a world leading provider of professional information and workflow solutions in the Science, Medical, Legal, Risk Management and Business sectors. NewBay Media is an affiliate of the Wicks Group of Companies (www.wicksgroup.com), a New York-based private equity firm.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented Reed Business Information-US in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor. For more information, click here.

Times Publishing Company has sold Governing (www.governing.com), the premier provider of intelligence and analysis on state and local government, to e.Republic (www.erepublic.com), a leading media company focused on the state and local government and education markets.

Each company has deep experience in chronicling how the public’s business gets done in states and localities. Stemming from its long affiliation with Congressional Quarterly, Governing’s focus is on providing factual, unbiased coverage on public policy, management and what federal actions mean for cities, counties and states.

e.Republic has focused on the role technology plays in government transformation. An innovative media firm with award winning magazines and web sites, e.Republic is also home to the Center for Digital Government, a highly regarded research organization proving real-time intelligence and analysis on technology deployment and trends in state and local government.

Legal Research Systems (www.legalresearchsystems.com), the best single source of authoritative property/casualty insurance case law available, has been sold to West Law (www.westlaw.com), a unit of Thomson Reuters. West Law is an online research service for legal professionals.

Legal Research Systems, through its Miller’s product suite, has created a valuable database of original intellectual property, which is highly regarded in both the legal profession and the insurance industry.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented Legal Research Systems in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor.

Experian Group (www.experiangroup.com) has sold Vente (www.venteinc.com), a leading online permission-based marketing and lead generation firm, which helps connect businesses with their desired customers – quickly, accurately and efficiently – to Q Interactive (www.qinteractive.com), a portfolio company of Intrepid Investments (www.intrepidinvestments.com). The acquisition continues to strengthen Q Interactive’s position in the market.

The purchase marks the second acquisition by Q Interactive within the past three months. The combined group’s powerful digital footprint continues to strengthen Q Interactive’s leadership in lead generation, email and display advertising by adding additional targeting capabilities and consumer surveys.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented Vente in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor. For more information, click here.

Times Publishing Company has sold Congressional Quarterly (www.cq.com), the premier provider of congressional news, insight and analysis, to Roll Call Group (www.rollcallgroup.com), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Economist Group (www.economistgroup.com). Under the terms of the agreement, Roll Call has purchased the assets of CQ to form a new company to be called CQ-Roll Call Group.

Since 1945, CQ has been the "publication of record," providing factual, unbiased coverage of congressional activity. In recent years, CQ has been at the forefront of developing Internet services that provide real-time intelligence on the workings of Congress. Roll Call, founded in 1955 and acquired by the Economist Group in 1992, has been at the center of the Capitol Hill community, providing a look into the people, politics, and personalities that drive the legislative process.

"The new CQ-Roll Call Group will have the largest and most experienced newsroom covering Washington and will be the leader in providing insight and analysis about the workings of Congress," said Laurie Battaglia, Managing Director and Executive Vice President of Roll Call Group.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented Congressional Quarterly in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor. For more information, click here.

Strategic Insight (www.sionline.com), a research, data and analytics firm serving the investment management industry, has been sold to Asset International (www.assetinternational.com), an Austin Ventures portfolio company. Strategic Insight will join Asset International’s other prominent industry brands, including PLANSPONSOR, PLANADVISER, Global Custodian, ai5000, and The Trade.

New York-based Strategic Insight provides competitive research and business intelligence to more than 200 financial services organizations worldwide, across the mutual fund, retirement income and wealth management industries. Its clients oversee nearly 90% of the US mutual fund industry’s $11 trillion of assets and include 60 of the world’s largest fund managers outside the US.

Asset International CEO Jim Casella said, "We see many opportunities for Strategic Insight to expand its highly-respected services, both independently and in collaboration with other Asset International business units."

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented Strategic Insight in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor. For more information, click here.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company (www.hmco.com) has sold Harcourt Religion Publishers to Our Sunday Visitor (www.osv.com), a Catholic not-for-profit organization that publishes six periodicals and markets over 500 products.

This transaction brings together two of the nation’s leading Catholic publishing groups. The strategic combination of the two companies’ product lines, services, and innovations represents an unprecedented, one-source solution for lifelong faith development within Catholic parishes and schools.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company in this transaction.

dmg world media (www.dmgworldmedia.com), a division of Daily Mail & General Trust, has sold the California Gift Show to Merchandise Mart Properties, Inc. (www.merchandisemartproperties.com).

"This final stage of activity puts dmg world media nearer the strategic finish line here in North America," said Mike Cooke, CEO, dmg world media. "In 2007, we set out to reshape the business to focus more on fast growing trade markets and less on consumer based products. We have been successful thus far in finding buyers who see value in these products, which are no longer a strategic fit for dmg world media, but still have great potential in their regional or niche markets."

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented dmg world media in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor. For more information, click here.

mSnap (www.msnap.com), the largest SMS (Short Message Service) mobile advertising network in the U.S., has been sold to SmartReply (www.smartreply.com), North America’s leader in mobile marketing for top retail brands. Combined, these two companies create the most powerful SMS advertising platform for brand retailers and marketers today, unmatched in reach and scalability. The transaction signals the tipping point for mobile, bringing it to the forefront of the mobile advertising and marketing landscape.

Founded in 2006, mSnap has built an SMS ad network that comprises over 1,150 radio, print, and cable broadcast media partners, with the ability of reaching over 200 million mobile users per week. SmartReply has focused on delivering mobile and voice messaging solutions for loyalty, credit, and promotional marketing; its clients include over half of the top 100 retail brands in the U.S. and Canada.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group represented mSnap in this transaction and acted as its exclusive financial advisor. For more information, click here.

ConnectivHealth (www.connectivhealth.com), a network of powerful health information brands, has sold its medical information business unit VerusMed (www.verusmed.com) to Intellerus, a private investment firm headed by Roscoe C. Smith, III, a publishing industry veteran.

VerusMed, an evolution of Faxwatch, provides timely, unbiased medical information to physicians, healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology executives. With more than 150,000 readers, VerusMed is able to help companies establish their brands and build rapport with key physician audiences.

The Jordan, Edmiston Group advised ConnectivHealth on this transaction. For more information, click here.