Deals

MR software, services and solutions provider thinqonline has been sold to digital marcoms group Next15’s data collection agency VIGA, for an undisclosed sum

Wilmington, the provider of information, education and networking services in Risk & Compliance, Professional and Healthcare knowledge areas, has announced the sale of ICP, its specialist leading credit reporting company, to its current management team. The transaction price of £3.0m will be paid in instalments over the next five years. 

SBS is a specialist provider of innovative Know Your Customer due diligence and anti-money laundering solutions that enable financial institutions to identify, assess and manage risk across the enterprise. SBS’s solutions perform advanced false positive reduction and risk assessment in the account screening process across a number of sectors, including high volume banks and non-bank financial institutions, bringing greater intelligence for entity resolution to clients worldwide.

Exponent Private Equity is in talks to buy Dennis Publishing, which makes The Week along with other titles including Viz. Sky News reported the group could pay between £150m and £200m for Dennis, and would mark a return to media for Exponent, which previously owned the Radio Times

Anthem CEO, Jon Bickley, said, “We’re delighted to bring Women’s Running on board at Anthem to join our emerging group of women’s wellness brands. Women’s Running is a title I’ve admired for many years for its powerfully strong editorial proposition

Railway Gazette’s parent company DVV Media International has purchased events and digital media business Smart Rail World Ltd and its subsidiary Global Transport Forum Ltd. The London-based business manages a suite of international events in the rail and transport sector including Smart Rail, Smart Transit, Smart Metro, Safe Rail and the Transport Security Congress.

Future proposes to acquire Purch’s consumer division in a deal worth £105.7m ($132.5m)

Venues & Events Live, the UK’s leading events industry trade show and networking opportunity for corporate event organisers, has been sold by Monomax Limited to Ocean Media Group Limited, the London based events and digital information business. The terms of the deal are not being disclosed

The cold war between 21st Century Fox and Comcast over ownership of Sky has finally turned hot, as yesterday evening the US cable operator swooped in with a £26bn bid, hours after the Murdoch camp improved its own offer

Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has kicked off a potential bidding war with US entertainment giant Comcast after making a new offer for the 61pc of Sky it does not already own that values the UK-based broadcaster at £24.5bn

Sir Martin Sorrell has bought Dutch firm MediaMonks for €300m (£266m) in a deal that marks his return to the forefront of the advertising industry and an escalation of hostilities with his former employer, WPP.

Atlantic Media has sold Quartz to Japanese online media group Uzabase in a deal that values the US-based business news site at up to $110m. The sale of one of the best known online business brands follows a fallow period for digital publishers, whose valuations have slid in recent years

UDG Healthcare plc has announced the acquisition of Create NYC, a New York-based disruptive creative communications agency and SmartAnalyst, a New York-based strategic commercialisation consulting and analytics business, for a combined consideration of up to $82.4 million. Both companies are dedicated to the healthcare market

Chris Ferrell, Patrick Rains and company are returning to SouthComm, Inc.—or, perhaps more accurately, SouthComm is returning to them. Endeavor Business Media—the firm launched by Ferrell just weeks after his departure from SouthComm last November as part of a “change in strategic direction” at the company—announced Monday that it has acquired SouthComm’s remaining assets, including 17 trade magazines and a handful of affiliated websites and trade shows.

Reports that Interpublic Group may be looking to acquire US data company Acxiom’s marketing solutions business for a reported $2.2bn (£1.67bn) indicates a possible doubling down on data among the agency groups, analysts at Liberum said

Investment Week’s parent Incisive Media has today announced the acquisition of Open Door Media Publishing Limited (ODMP), publisher of Investment Europe and producer of market-leading conferences for fund selectors across Europe. The group said this “highly complementary acquisition” will benefit asset management businesses looking for distribution both in the UK and across the Continent.

Media giant AT&T has agreed to buy advertising software company AppNexus in a tie-up worth around $1.6bn (£1.2bn)

Bridgepoint Development Capital (“BDC”) is to acquire a majority stake in PEI Media – the global provider of insight, market-data and business conferences for professionals active in alternative asset class investment. Details of the transaction are not disclosed. The business is being acquired from its founders, management and minority shareholder, LDC.

According to flashes&flames private equity owner Lyceum Capital is rumoured to have hired advisers Raymond James to find a buyer for AgriBriefing, the increasingly international B2B specialist which was formed in the UK with the 2012 acquisition of Farmers Guardian from UBM. AgriBriefing (formerly known as Briefing Media) was founded by Neil Thackray, Rory Brown and Rupert Levy, initially to publish in the media, farming and medical sectors

Walt Disney hit back in the bidding war for 21st Century Fox’s prized entertainment and distribution businesses yesterday with a $71.3 billion offer that trumped Comcast’s rival bid.