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Strategies & Market Trends : Speculating in Takeover Targets -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: richardred who wrote (3512)11/8/2013 7:03:12 AM
From: richardred  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 7140
 
Twitter’s ready to go on the acquisition warpath, with almost $2B to spend




Eric Blattberg / VentureBeat
The floor of the New York Stock Exchange.




November 7, 2013 5:02 PM

Thanks a successful IPO opening day, Twitter now has a warchest of $1.8 billion. And according to some analysts, a lot of opportunity to spend it.

“Twitter has a long M&A shopping list with dozens of target private companies the microblogging service is targeting for purchase,” PrivCo’s Same Hamadeh said in a research note. “Twitter will use its rich stock to buy companies straightaway, adding to its revenues and further justifying its high valuation.”



Eric Blattberg / VentureBeat
Actor Patrick Stewart examines the Twitter logo as he stands next to child activist Vivienne Harr, who helped him ring the opening bell.

That high valuation does demand some justification. And it’s unlikely to be justified anytime soon with massive revenue or, perish the thought, actual profit. Twitter has pulled in $422 million so far in 2013, but it has a net loss of $134 million, up 89 percent since last year. With anemic growth figures, Twitter will likely need to keep spending on growth, so that loss number will take some time to turn into a profit.

“In our opinion Twitter will justify its steep valuation through both organic growth and through an imminent acquisition spree,” Hamadeh said.

Twitter has already acquired a long list of companies, including social search engine Summize, mobile messaging company Cloudhopper, ad firm Ad Grok, analytics startup BackType, social news startup Summify, blogging platform Posterous, email marketing firm RestEngine, social TV analytics firm Bluefin Labs, ad solutions startup Trendrr, and ad exchange MoPub, among at least 18 others.

What’s left?

Clearly, Twitter wants ad tech companies. It’s also shown a tendency to purchase analytics solutions, especially those that tie ad metrics in traditional media industries, such as television and music, to digital ads on Twitter. With the massive rise of messaging platforms that are bringing in massive revenues, an acquisition there could add to Twitter’s communication chops and add revenue, although that’s counter to Twitter’s traditional openness.

And while Twitter has openly indicated its interest in the music business, its #Music app has not seen widespread adoption. An acquisition in the music space that did not conflict or compete with the music industry stars and companies that Twitter is seeking to cozy up to could be a good use of IPO cash.

Exactly what companies are on the social network’s target list, however, isn’t known.

One thing that is? Based on Twitter’s stock price today, Twitter’s founding trio of Evan Williams, Jack Dorsey, and Dick Costolo are now worth a combined $5 billion.

venturebeat.com



To: richardred who wrote (3512)11/8/2013 7:14:35 AM
From: richardred  Respond to of 7140
 
Millennial Media completes acquisition of Jumptap





Sara CastellanosTechnology Reporter- Boston Business Journal Email | Twitter | Google+
Maryland-based mobile advertising company Millennial Media (NYSE:MM) announced Thursday it has completed its acquisition of Boston-based mobile ad network Jumptap.

As part of the acquisition, Millennial Media will integrate Jumptap into the company's existing technology, including Jumptap's cross-screen targeting and advanced real-timie bidding technology, according to a release.

Millennial Media will also acquire 62 issued patents and more than 50 patent applications owned by Jumptap as part of the acquisition.

Jumptap specializes in offering mobile ad targeting, delivering ads to the mobile consumer most likely to care about them. The company said in August its system now reaches more than over 218 million mobile users in the U.S. and more than 439 million mobile users worldwide.

Millennial Media said in August the acquisition deal would transfer 24.6 million of its shares to Jumptap shareholders.

The deal was reached based upon Millennial Media's closing share price on Aug. 12, which was $9.13 per share. At that price, the stake included as part of the acquisition was valued at $224.6 million.

The acquisition "further strengthens Millennial Media as it aims to redefine advertising using mobile as the foundation," according to the release.

“Jumptap’s assets are incredibly complementary to what we have built at Millennial Media," said Paul Palmieri, chairman and CEO of Millennial Media in a statement, "and our combined team will have the technology, products, and expertise to help define what the future of digital advertising can be – which undeniably has its foundation in mobile."

bizjournals.com



To: richardred who wrote (3512)1/12/2014 12:29:50 PM
From: richardred  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 7140
 
December 23, 2013 comScore_Media_Metrix_Ranks_Top_50_US_Desktop_Web_Properties_for_November_2013#]4[/url]
comScore Media Metrix Ranks Top 50 U.S. Desktop Web Properties for November 2013 Retail Accounts for Six of Top 7 Gaining Categories in November as Holiday Shopping Season Kicks Off
Planning for Holidays and Seasonal Festivities Drives Growth in Lifestyle and E-Card Sites

RESTON, VA, December 23, 2013 – comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released its monthly ranking of U.S. desktop web activity at the top online properties for November 2013 based on data from the comScore Media Metrix service. Several retail subcategories were among the top-gaining in November as Thanksgiving kicked off the holiday shopping season. E-Card and Lifestyle websites also boasted an increase in traffic, as Americans started thinking about and planning their holiday events and activities.

Table 1

comScore Top 10 Gaining Site Categories by Percentage Change in Unique Visitors (Desktop Only)
November 2013 vs. October 2013
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Total Unique Visitors (000)
Oct-13 Nov-13 % Change
Total Internet : Total Audience 225,241 224,481 0
Services – e-cards 10,264 16,921 65
Retail – Toys 17,354 22,603 30
Retail – Consumer Electronics 41,853 51,979 24
Retail – Jewelry/Luxury Goods/Accessories 18,735 22,990 23
Retail – Department Stores 70,472 85,061 21
Retail – Mall 22,729 26,866 18
Retail – Fragrances/Cosmetics 14,098 16,169 15
Lifestyles – Gay/Lesbian 9,832 11,242 14
Lifestyles – Religion/Spirituality 35,327 39,482 12
Services – Coupons 42,365 47,257 12
Table 2

comScore Top 50 Properties (Desktop Only)
November 2013
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Rank Property Unique Visitors
(000)
Rank Property Unique Visitors
(000)
Total Internet : Total Audience 224,481
1 Yahoo Sites 194,631 26 Hearst Corporation 37,559
2 Google Sites 192,678 27 Defy Media 37,183
3 Microsoft Sites 173,435 28 Federated Media Publishing 36,163
4 Facebook 140,761 29 YELP.COM 36,109
5 AOL, Inc. 118,925 30 WebMD Health 35,188
6 Amazon Sites 114,429 31 TUMBLR.COM* 34,930
7 Glam Media 93,221 32 Meredith Digital 34,416
8 Wikimedia Foundation Sites 84,339 33 Adobe Sites 34,291
9 CBS Interactive 80,919 34 Target Corporation 34,181
10 Turner Digital 76,452 35 New York Times Digital 32,667
11 Apple Inc. 72,748 36 WORDPRESS.COM* 32,502
12 eBay 71,024 37 Best Buy Sites 30,974
13 Ask Network 67,253 38 YP Local Media Network 30,888
14 Comcast NBCUniversal 64,352 39 Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. 29,718
15 About 58,044 40 NETFLIX.COM 29,323
16 Gannett Sites 57,031 41 T365 - Tribune 29,024
17 Weather Company, The 54,225 42 Fox News Digital Network 28,685
18 Wal-Mart 54,124 43 Everyday Health 28,459
19 Linkedin 49,586 44 PINTEREST.COM 28,215
20 Demand Media 46,792 45 Conde Nast Digital 28,105
21 Viacom Digital 45,324 46 Time Warner (Excl. Turner/WB) 27,978
22 craigslist, inc. 43,095 47 AVG Technologies 27,974
23 ESPN 38,714 48 Disney Online 26,829
24 TWITTER.COM 38,042 49 NetShelter Technology Media 25,278
25 Answers.com Sites 37,934 50 Gawker Media 24,884
Table 3

comScore Ad Focus Rankings (Desktop Only)
November 2013
Total U.S. – Home, Work and University Locations
Source: comScore Media Metrix
Top 30 Syndicated Ad Focus Entities Top 20 Ad Networks/Buy Side Networks
Rank Property Unique Visitors (000) % Reach Rank Property Unique Visitors (000) % Reach
Total Internet : Total Audience 224,481 100.0
1 AddThis 218,786 97.5 1 Google Ad Network** 213,457 95.1
2 ShareThis 204,910 91.3 2 Advertising.com** 211,676 94.3
3 Yahoo Sites 194,631 86.7 3 AT&T AdWorks** 192,654 85.8
4 Google 184,348 82.1 4 Real Media Group - 24/7 Access** 189,810 84.6
5 Outbrain 167,465 74.6 5 Casale Media - MediaNet** 183,979 82.0
6 FACEBOOK.COM 138,116 61.5 6 Microsoft Media Network US** 182,735 81.4
7 YOUTUBE.COM 129,821 57.8 7 RadiumOne** 176,956 78.8
8 AOL, Inc. 118,925 53.0 8 ValueClick Networks** 174,273 77.6
9 MSN 106,601 47.5 9 Specific Media** 173,948 77.5
10 Glam Media 93,221 41.5 10 Genome from Yahoo** 172,116 76.7
11 Bing 81,262 36.2 11 Burst Media** 171,693 76.5
12 Ask Network 67,253 30.0 12 Collective Display** 170,588 76.0
13 Windows Live 63,350 28.2 13 Federated Media Publisher Network** 161,088 71.8
14 About 58,044 25.9 14 Exponential - Tribal Fusion** 158,673 70.7
15 Blogger 57,206 25.5 15 Cox Digital Solutions - Network** 153,891 68.6
16 Gannett Sites 57,031 25.4 16 Rocket Fuel** 140,400 62.5
17 WALMART.COM 51,172 22.8 17 Undertone** 128,283 57.1
18 Linkedin 49,586 22.1 18 Adconion Media Group** 126,594 56.4
19 Weather Channel, The 48,960 21.8 19 Vibrant Media** 123,356 55.0
20 5min Media Platform 47,398 21.1 20 PulsePoint** 107,686 48.0
21 Demand Media 46,792 20.8
22 ESPN 38,714 17.2 Top DSP/SSP/Ad Exchange Entities
23 TWITTER.COM 38,042 16.9 1 Rubicon Project** 217,028 96.7
24 Answers.com Sites 37,934 16.9 2 Fulcrum5** 182,879 81.5
25 IMDb 37,311 16.6 3 engage:BDR** 148,547 66.2
26 Federated Media Publishing 36,163 16.1
27 YELP.COM 36,109 16.1
28 WebMD Health 35,188 15.7
29 TUMBLR.COM* 34,930 15.6
30 TARGET.COM 34,094 15.2
Reach % denotes the percentage of the total Internet population that viewed a particular entity at least once in November. For instance, Yahoo Sites was seen by 86.7 percent of the 224 million Internet users in November.
* Entity has assigned some portion of traffic to other syndicated entities.
** Indicates that the entity is an advertising network.

About comScore Media Metrix
comScore Media Metrix provides industry-leading Internet audience measurement services that report details of online media usage, visitor demographics and online buying power for the home, work and university audiences on desktop computers across local U.S. markets and across the globe. comScore Media Metrix reports are used by financial analysts, advertising agencies, publishers and marketers. comScore Media Metrix syndicated ratings are based on industry-sanctioned sampling methodologies.

About comScore
comScore, Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) is a global leader in digital measurement and analytics, delivering insights on web, mobile and TV consumer behavior that enable clients to maximize the value of their digital investments. For more information, please visit www.comscore.com/companyinfo.



To: richardred who wrote (3512)1/12/2014 3:37:06 PM
From: richardred  Respond to of 7140
 
Mobile Advertising Market to Top $38 Billion by 2018: Berg


By Nathan Eddy | Posted 2013-12-23 Email Print




There are considerable regional differences in the format distribution depending on the level of maturity and local preferences across markets.

The total value of the global mobile marketing and advertising market will grow from $9.4 billion in 2012 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 26 percent to $38.1 billion in 2018, according to a research report from analyst firm Berg Insight. This will then correspond to 19.3 percent of the total online advertising market or 5.9 percent of the total global ad spend for all media. On a global level, mobile search advertising is estimated to represent the largest share of more than 50 percent of the total mobile ad spend, followed by display advertising and messaging, the report projected. "There is currently a mismatch between the ad dollars spent on different media and the share of time consumers devote to the various channels," Rickard Andersson, senior analyst with Berg Insight, said in a statement. "Some channels such as print media receive a greater share of the total ad spend than can be motivated from a consumer behavior standpoint while other channels receive too little investments." However, the report noted there are considerable regional differences in the format distribution depending, for example, on the level of maturity and local preferences across markets.





In addition, numerous actors are involved in activities related to mobile marketing, including players from diverse backgrounds. Google has captured an important position, offering a range of mobile advertising alternatives such as mobile search ads, display advertising and video ads on YouTube.





Meanwhile, Apple is further seeking to gain market share with the iAd platform. Facebook has since emerged as an important newcomer and is now generating half of its advertising revenues from mobile devices, with strong support from the application development community. "Mobile devices are on average devoted a double-digit percentage of consumers’ time, yet the channel only attracts a few percent of the total global ad spend," Andersson continued. "This discrepancy can be explained by the relative newness of the mobile channel as an advertising medium and the formidable growth of mobile media consumption in recent years. Berg Insight expects that a correction in the ad budgets spent on different media is imminent, thus paving the way for a several-fold increase in mobile ad spend in the coming years." Finally, several mobile operators including AT&T, Orange, SFR and the U.K. joint venture Weve are also active in mobile marketing. Leading specialized mobile marketing players also include Millennial Media, InMobi, Smaato, Nexage, Madvertise, and Amobee. The industry is in a phase of consolidation and notable transactions in 2013, which include Millennial Media’s acquisition of Jumptap and Twitter’s acquisition of MoPub. Google has also acquired the crowd-sourced navigation provider Waze, which offers location-based advertising, which is likely to impact advertisers who rely on spur-of-the-moment shoppers who make purchasing decisions based on proximity.
- See more at: eweek.com
Mobile Advertising Market to Top $38 Billion by 2018: Berg


eweek.com



To: richardred who wrote (3512)1/16/2014 1:24:51 PM
From: richardred  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 7140
 
Interesting development today at YH. Will they want to grow their revenue base through acquisition?

Yahoo Parts Ways With Its No. 2 Executive
By VINDU GOELJAN. 15, 2014






Launch media viewer

Marissa Mayer, Yahoo's chief executive, fired Henrique de Castro, the company's chief operating officer, after persuading him to leave Google. Frank Franklin II/Associated Press


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SAN FRANCISCO — Yahoo’s No. 2 executive, Henrique de Castro, has been fired by his boss, Marissa Mayer, a little more than a year after she wooed him away from Google to help her turn around the struggling Internet company.

Yahoo, which has lost ground in recent years to competitors like Google and Facebook, announced Mr. de Castro’s departure in a terse, two-sentence document filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission after the stock market closed on Wednesday.

There was none of the usual corporate boilerplate that typically sugarcoats such departures — no praise for his service from Yahoo’s chief executive, Ms. Mayer, no mention of a sudden interest that Mr. de Castro had taken in spending more time with his family. A Yahoo spokeswoman said the company had no further comment on the matter.

But Ms. Mayer, who left Google to become Yahoo’s chief executive in mid-2012, was clearly displeased with Mr. de Castro’s performance.

Related Coverage
  • Breakingviews: Why It May Take More Than Former Google Stars to Turn Yahoo AroundJAN. 16, 2014
In a memo announcing the leadership reorganization to Yahoo’s staff, she wrote, “I made the difficult decision that our COO, Henrique de Castro, should leave the company. I appreciate Henrique’s contributions and wish him the best in his future endeavors.”



Launch media viewer

Henrique de Castro, shown in 2010 when he was an executive at Google. Sebastien Nogier/Reuters “Overall, I’m confident that the leadership team, our direction, and these changes will enable even more successful execution,” she wrote near the end of the memo, which was first published by the technology news site ReCode.

Over the past year, Yahoo lost its position as the No. 2 digital ad seller in the United States to Facebook, according to the research firm eMarketer. Yahoo had just 5.8 percent of the market, compared to 7.4 percent for Facebook and 39.9 percent for Google. The company posted similar declines overseas.

Clark Fredricksen, a vice president at eMarketer, said that Yahoo has so far failed to transition its advertising from the desktop to mobile, which has contributed to the declines.

But he said the company has been laying the groundwork for a possible turnaround.

“They are streamlining the experience for advertisers, which is positive,” Mr. Fredricksen said. “They are improving the quality of the ad experience for users. They are making investments that will help grow their user base and ad revenues.”

Mr. de Castro will not be around to see if those efforts bear fruit.

But he will be walking away with a substantial severance package. The final amount has not yet been determined and will hinge in part on how well he did in reaching performance targets set for 2013.

In his October 2012 offer letter, he was promised stock-related compensation with a target value of $56 million, vesting over four years, as well as unspecified severance benefits. Although he will not be entitled to receive all of that money since he left before the end of four years, he will receive a large portion of it.

nytimes.com



To: richardred who wrote (3512)1/18/2014 6:29:38 PM
From: richardred  Respond to of 7140
 
The hunters.

Report: 2014 Looking Like A Better Year For Ad Industry Growth
by Steve McClellan, 32 seconds ago

advertising, agency, forecast, research, revenue


The outlook for agency growth this year is moderately brighter than the growth achieved last year. Organic revenue growth (which excludes the impact of acquisitions and currency fluctuations) for the major industry holding companies is expected to average 5% in 2014 versus the estimated 3.3% gain for 2013.

That’s according to the latest projection from Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser.

In a report issued Jan. 17, Wieser wrote that the projected 5% growth level is based upon the median rate of expansion of the global advertising economy as predicted by three widely-recognized industry forecasts published by Interpublic Group’s Magna Global, WPP's GroupM and Publicis Groupe’s ZenithOptimedia.

“While ad spending and spending by advertisers on agency services face many different underlying trends and reflect different activities, both sectors have generally grown comparably in the recent past,” said Wieser.

Looking at individual holding companies, Wieser is now forecasting 5.5% organic growth for the Interpublic Group, whose portfolio includes McCann Worldgroup and Mediabrands (which oversees media agencies Initiative, UM and BPN).

“IPG had a weak year during 2013 by many measures,” Wieser stated in his report. “However, by others it set a solid stage for growth to come this year and in years ahead. IPG's new business record in 2013 was probably the best among its peers in proportion to its current size, with particularly notable wins for McCann and Lowe.” McCann, for example won all of the global Chevrolet business, which it had previously shared with Goodby Silverstein & Partners, while Lowe won car brand Seat, part of the Volkswagen Group which sells cars in 77 countries.

Wieser has raised his target price for IPG to $23. The stock closed Friday at $17.46. “Given current upside . . . the company remains our preferred stock in the sector,” he said.

Pivotal’s forecast for WPP is 5% organic growth for 2014, in line with the industry average. He believes that the UK-based holding company will be “mostly un-affected by meaningful M&A speculation or distraction.” Company leaders have indicated they do not foresee trying to do a merger on the scale of the pending Publicis-Omnicom deal in the coming year.

Publicis and Omnicom also are expected to achieve 5% organic growth in the coming year, per Pivotal. Publicis CEO Maurice Levy said late last month that the company experienced some softness in the fourth quarter of 2013 due largely to clients that deferred some spending until 2014 to help improve their full-year 2013 financial results.

All of the holding companies will be reporting their year-end and fourth quarter 2013 results in the coming weeks.
mediapost.com



To: richardred who wrote (3512)1/23/2014 7:46:46 AM
From: richardred  Respond to of 7140
 
Facebook data trial paves way for mobile ad network

ft.com