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since 1987
Client Briefing
November 2014
I N DEPEN DENT I N VESTMENT BAN K I N G FO R M E DI A ,
I N FORMATION, MARKETI NG & TECH NOLOGY
In This Issue
01
02
03
04
05
08
• 2014 Outsell Signature Event
• Outsell’s 2015 Information
Industry Outlook
• Overview of Hearst
International
• JEGI Welcomes Jeff Becker
• Global Economic Outlook
• M&A Driving Connections
between Brands, Consumers
& Digital Things
• JEGI Q3 2014 M&A Overview
• Exceptional Transaction
Experience
JEGI July 2014 Emerging Company Dinner
(from left) Rich Harris, CEO, AddThis; Matt Egol,
Partner, Strategy&; Wilma Jordan, Founder &
CEO, JEGI; Helen Thomas, President, America,
BlueFocus Communication Group; and Sheldon
Owen, Co-Founder & CEO, Unified Social
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1
2014 Outsell Signature Event: Convergence Now!
The 8th annual Outsell Signature Event,
titled “Convergence Now!”, brought together approximately 120 senior executives and thought leaders from across the
global information industry for three days
of networking, learning and sharing ideas
among peers. The convergence of media,
information, and technology presents a
huge opportunity for the industry, and it’s
happening now.
information industry in the years ahead.
Excerpts from these presentations follow.
Outsell’s 2015 Information Industry
Outlook
Leigh Watson Healy, Chief Analyst, Outsell, Inc.
Outsell’s theme in 2014, and for the Signature Event, was Convergence Now!
We’re beyond the concept of content vs.
technology and the digital shift – we are
Held September 30-October 2 at the Tri- seeing true convergence as devices, huanon Palace in Versailles, this collaborative mans, technologies, value chains, content,
effort between Outsell, a leading research machines, and workflows blend at an
firm for the information industry, and The unprecedented pace into one interactive
Jordan, Edmiston Group, Inc. (JEGI), a lead- ecosystem.
ing provider of investment banking ser- With this convergence and with our exvices to the information industry, creates panded coverage of emerging growth
an environment where global information segments – the information industry is
industry executives can retool and en- now $738 billion in annual revenues globhance their perspectives on the industry ally. Marketing Services & Automation is
and their marketplaces.
the biggest segment, followed closely by
Education
Content, Technology & HCM
This peer-to-peer, by-invitation-only con(Human
Capital
Management).
ference was highlighted by a superior
(continued on page 7)
line-up of industry leading executives and
thought leading speakers, including: BenJEGI July 2014 Emerging
jamin Ware Starnes, M.D., F.A.C.S., ProCompany Dinner
fessor of Surgery & Chief of the Vascular Surgery Division at the University of
Washington; Stephen Carter, Group Chief
Executive, Informa; Bob Carrigan, President & CEO, Dun and Bradstreet; Richard
Bejtlich, Chief Security Strategist, FireEye;
Ben Hammersley, Journalist, Futurist &
Technologist; and many more.
The conference opened with “on the record” presentations from Outsell, JEGI,
and The Financial Times, providing an outlook on the 2015 economy and M&A markets and key trends to consider across the
(from left) Megan Cunningham, CEO,
Magnet Media; Sam Barthelme, Director,
JEGI; and Scott Peters, Co-President, JEGI
> for more information visit www.jegi.com
Overview of Hearst International
At the Outsell Signature Event, Wilma Jordan, Founder & CEO, JEGI, had a fireside
chat with Duncan Edwards, President,
Hearst International. Here is an excerpt of
their discussion…
Hearst is a private company with five core
operating divisions: newspapers; magazines; broadcast TV; cable TV; and business information. All of the divisions are
managed separately, but in a very collegial management structure. Outside
of the US, Hearst’s operations are largely
magazines, and its key markets are UK,
Russia and China, with a large presence
across Eastern Asia, Western Europe, and
Southeast Asia.
“One of the key strengths
of Hearst is that it has been
good at partnerships.”
Hearst’s joint venture partners (of which
they have around 30 globally) range from
being some of the world’s largest media
companies to very small independent
operators. So, Hearst has always taken a
very pragmatic approach to building its
business (for example, Hearst does not
have a big strategy department). The
company looks at opportunities on their
merits and makes judgments and decisions accordingly.
One of the key strengths of Hearst is that
it has been good at partnerships. A large
proportion of Hearst’s revenues and earnings come from partnerships, including
its largest business by earnings – cable
TV, where Hearst partners with Disney,
ESPN and A&E, and business information,
where Hearst partners with Fitch.
Hearst relies on its judgment in choosing
partners, and then leaves them to it. In
most markets, the local partner is better
able to make judgments about strategy,
so Hearst maintains a light touch.
Outside of the US, Hearst’s magazine business generates around 85% of its revenue
from selling magazines to consumers and
selling advertising in those magazines.
This remains a very large and profitable
business.
Hearst has a three-legged digital strategy:
1) build a large-scale free web business
around major brands, such as Cosmopolitan; 2) try to get paid by the consumer for
content; and 3) experiment in e-commerce.
On the paid digital side, Hearst is selling around a million digital magazines a
month in the US, but this is small in comparison to the 30 million print magazines
Hearst sells a month. There are compelling choices for smart device users, and
magazines are not high enough up the
consideration list. This is ultimately a
product issue.
Good Housekeeping is a very powerful
brand for Hearst in the UK. The business
is doing exceptionally well in print, but
it also has the Good Housekeeping Institute, which conducts consumer research
“There’s still money to be
made in the magazine business, but it would not be wise
to ignore the massive changes
in consumer behavior...”
on products and services, primarily for use
in the magazine. Hearst is ramping up the
number of products and services that GHI
tests, and plans to put that data behind a
pay wall. The track record of media companies moving into transactions has not
been good, so we shall see.
Frank Bennack, the former CEO of Hearst
said that “magazines would be around as
far as the eye could see.” There’s still money
to be made in the magazine business, but
it would not be wise to ignore the massive
changes in consumer behavior that are
taking place. We also see pressure on consumer sales of magazines, due to changes
in infrastructure and points of sale. In markets like India and China, points of sale are
being reduced by city governments wanting to change how their cities look.
(continued on page 6)
JEGI Welcomes Jeff Becker as Managing Director
Jeff Becker, a senior software and technology M&A banker, has joined the firm as Managing Director and
Co-Head of Technology Banking. In his new role, Mr. Becker will join Joseph Sanborn, who started with JEGI
in July 2014, to co-head the firm’s technology advisory practice.
Mr. Becker has over 20 years of experience as a technology banker, with particularly extensive experience
in the enterprise software, services and human capital management solutions sectors. Mr. Becker has completed well over 100 technology transactions during his career, including nearly 40 strategic advisory or
private capital raising assignments. Prior to joining JEGI, he headed or co-headed software banking efforts
at JMP Securities, Robertson Stephens, RBC Capital Markets, and, most recently, AGC Partners, all technology/growth company-centric investment banks.
Throughout his career, Mr. Becker has focused on providing high-quality strategic advisory services to his clients, leveraging his
extensive banking experience and deep domain expertise within the technology industry. In particular, he seeks to assist clients in
mergers, acquisitions, recapitalizations, growth equity capital raises, and divestitures. Earlier in his career, Mr. Becker served as a valued underwriter on dozens of notable technology IPOs and other public financing transactions, along with providing M&A advisory
services. Mr. Becker can be reached at (212) 754-0710 or jeffb@jegi.com. n
2
Global Economic Outlook
Chris Giles, Economics Editor, The Financial Times
The global economy matters for any business, whether an emerging company or Google, which by the way is relatively small compared to the $91 trillion global economy in 2014. People sometimes fail to get a good grounding of
the world economy. For example, China
is on the verge of surpassing the US in
size, based on purchasing power. In
2006, America’s economy was twice
the size of China’s. Between 2007 and
2013, emerging economies grew nine
times faster than advanced economies.
To pay down debt, a country needs real economic growth or inflation. Real growth is hard to come by. It is possible to inflate
away debt, but globally, we’re seeing inflation fall, primarily
due to low energy costs. Low inflation gives people purchasing power. But, there is also the worry
that people will delay spending in expectation of decreasing prices.
Nominal GDP growth globally has
been trending downward since 2003,
while debt has been increasing. The
combination of these two trends is
why interest rates have to be low, in an
attempt to get people to spend.
Overall, there’s a pretty gloomy atmosphere in the world economy right
now, because advanced economies are
not recovering as expected following a
recession. In 2011, the forecast from the
International Monetary Fund (IMF) made it look like things were
improving. But, the forecast changed considerably from 2012 to
2014, with growth about 3% lower than expected.
The 2015 economic outlook chart from
the OECD (The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) is
optimistic. Most of the lines are up, with
the US, Canada and the UK looking as if they are recovering well.
Emerging economies were growing 7+% annually on average between 2003 and 2008. Since then, the growth rate has declined
to around 5%. Expectations for China’s growth have decreased
markedly, to 6% annually, down from 10+%/year.
Questions from the audience…
However, if you look at the overall global economy, it is
interesting to note that growth by decade has been fairly
steady, in the low to mid 3% range. In fact, in the 2000’s, the
global economy grew 3.6%/year on
average, surpassing the growth rates
of the 1980’s and 1990’s.
So, the key takeaway is that while individual countries and regions can
fluctuate and decline, there is little
effect on the global economy, primarily because emerging economies now
comprise more than 50% of the world
economy. While growth has slowed in
emerging regions, they are still growing faster than advanced economies.
One of the most worrying trends right
now is the growth of debt. Debt can become a problem, if future
income doesn’t meet expectations, and that is where China’s
slowing growth could be an issue.
In advanced economies, debt in the private sector is falling rapidly. But, the public sector has been taking on huge amounts of
debt (e.g., in the US, debt is about 100% of national income). In
the Eurozone, there are certain economies, particularly on the
periphery, where the debt levels are much higher than in the US
and UK. Another crisis could occur in the Eurozone, if people lose
confidence in the economy.
Overall, while the sentiment may sound downbeat, in reality, it
is normal. There are always problems in the world economy, and
yet it still continues to grow around 3-3.5%/year.
Q1: We’ve seen a rising focus on inequality…how do you see that
conversation evolving?
A1: I think it’s one of the most important issues in the world
economy right now. Within advanced economies, particularly
in the US, there has been a widening
of income inequality. This matters in
regards to how people feel about the
economy and the future.
Q2: At what point does China’s debt
relative to the slowing growth of the
Chinese economy become a substantial issue?
A2: China has a choice…it can slow its
overall growth rate and not take on
any more debt. Or, it can slow credit
expansion and use its still strong overall growth of 5-6%, with a little bit of
inflation bringing nominal cash growth to 7-8%, to whittle away
debt quite quickly.
Q3: How good are dollars at measuring productivity? For example, I Skyped my daughter in Brisbane this morning, and it cost
me nothing.
A3: There is a lot of real output in the economy that can’t be
monetized, so you can’t measure these outputs as part of GDP. I
don’t think we’re going to get around this problem of measurement, because you can only measure what people pay for. n
3
M&A Driving Connections between Brands, Consumers & Digital Things
David Clark, Managing Director, JEGI
Here at JEGI we are gearing up for our first annual Connected Conference, centered around the “Internet of Things” and taking place
on November 6th in San Francisco. Like JEGI, our partner for the
event, Strategy&, is laser focused on trends and opportunities in
technology, marketing, and media and where they intersect.
Our recent Tech M&A Updates have spoken to an increasingly
connected and converging world – via data, services and devices.
So, we revisited some recent sector transactions to gauge the
impact that M&A is having on enabling or strengthening connections between brands, consumers and digital things.
always on crm – Traditional CRM implies the use of first-party customer data to better understand who bought what, who
might buy, and how that translates into customer value. “Always
On CRM” implies the use of multiple sources of data to draw connections between why someone bought, how they bought, and
how they got there (attribution).
In the past few months, all of the major marketing data providers (Alliance/Epsilon, Acxiom and Experian) have made notable
acquisitions that get them closer to CRM data. Epsilon’s September 2014 acquisition of Conversant (fka ValueClick) provides it
with direct access to online traffic data from affiliated publisher
sites, and via Dotomi (itself a recent acquisition of ValueClick’s),
direct access to real-time ad serving and ad exposure data, all of
which can be used to enrich first party customer data for campaign targeting and optimization.
In May 2014, Acxiom acquired LiveRamp, a data onboarding specialist, with the express aim of building a marketing Data Management Platform that (finally) connects offline and online customer
data. And Experian’s acquisition of The 41st Parameter is uniquely
(and spookily) focused on verifying the connection between consumers and their mobile devices. Which tend to be…Always On.
mass personalization – It is a rapidly evolving field. Version 1 of
“Mass Personalization” might be viewed as “credibly customized”
online ads and offers. For example, I am in-market for holiday
JEGI July 2014 Emerging Company Dinner
(from left) Neil Capel, Founder & CEO, Sailthru; John Swadener,
Partner, PwC; Wilma Jordan, Founder & CEO, JEGI; Paul Chachko,
CEO, V12 Group; and Amir Akhavan, Managing Director, JEGI
4
vacation travel, you’re showing me a targeted ad that features
my destination.
Version 2 is the more mature recommendation and offer engines
that sit behind better built e-commerce sites, or better built apps
that directly connect consumers with day-to-day service providers – banks, 401Ks, frequent flyer programs. Today, flawless performance on the part of e-commerce merchants and primary
service providers are table stakes. They better know who I am
when I show up, and they better send me alerts when necessary.
Version 3 is the wild proliferation of subscription-based consumer services that are far more discretionary, such as Netflix,
Spotify, Pandora, etc. In their current form, these services are
about convenience and lifestyle, or in marketing parlance, “concierge” and “curation”. But underneath, they are further conditioning consumers to share detailed personal profiles (product
preferences, purchase intent, financial data and even medical
conditions), presaging a new class of “digital service providers”.
Big brands will lead in this area and are planting many seeds, including Apple’s acquisition of Booklamp (product recommendation); Yahoo’s acquisition of Flurry (app subscription and in-app
purchase data); and Google’s acquisition of Lynx Design (medical
monitoring). The services will continue to evolve as consumers
become more comfortable with the passive monitoring capabilities that are creeping into stores, phones, homes, etc.
connected devices – Connected devices will sit at the center
of the “Internet of Things”. Google’s recent acquisition of Nest
(IP-connected home monitoring systems) and Samsung’s acquisition of SmartThings (home automation and sensor systems)
represent a push into developing the home-based “hub” for the
mobile sensors that we carry around in our pockets and purses,
as well as the sensor data that we drag in our wake.
Via carrier systems, GPS, WiFi and Bluetooth, our phones and
wearables are constantly connected to networks that know
where we are, and increasingly know what we’re doing. Combined with low-power, low-cost beacons, our location can be
tracked with greater precision. Merchants can see us cross geofences around their stores and standing in front of specific displays. Loyalty and “Wish List” apps can connect with Always On
CRM systems to present us with time and placed offers. And late
at night, when our recently purchased Thync (mood monitoring
and neuro-signaling device) senses that we’re feeling flush (this
is real!), our device can connect with our home automation system, check that we have room in the closet, and buy that sweater
while we sleep. CapitalOne just acquired a UI/UX firm to make
sure the payment interface will be pleasing. Experian will verify
our identity.
Futuristic? Yes. Foreseeable? Yes. All of the ingredients…and connections…are in place: the data, the software and hardware, the
service providers, and growing consumer acceptance.
These topics and developments will be top of mind at our upcoming event, and we look forward to connecting with you then. n
JEGI Q3 2014 M&A Overview
•Rakuten
The media, information, marketing and technology sectors
saw 1,128 transactions worth
$94 billion announced in the
first three quarters of 2014.
Deal volume increased slightly over 2013, but Facebook’s
$19 billion acquisition of mobile messaging app WhatsApp in Q1 and several other
mega transactions drove deal
value to more than double
2013’s $45 billion.
Although a majority of transactions have price tags under
$50 million, we are seeing a sharp uptick
of larger deals in the M&A market. The
first three quarters of 2014 saw 35 transactions over $500 million in value, compared to only 17 large deals through Q3
2013. There was also a strong increase in
the number of deals between $50 million
and $500 million in value, with 155 of such
middle-market deals so far in 2014 vs. 110
in the same period last year.
large deals through q3 2014
The first three quarters of 2014 saw 15
mega deals hitting the $1 billion+ mark,
including the:
• Facebook acquisition of WhatsApp for
$19 billion in February;
• Carlyle Group acquisition of Acosta
Sales & Marketing, provider of outsourced sales and retail merchandising
services to CPG brands and retailers,
from Thomas H. Lee Partners for $4.7
billion in July;
acquisition of
Ebates Performance Marketing, provider of online
shopping rebates, for $1 billion in September; and
•Relativity Media acquisi-
tion of Fullscreen, a digital
media company that builds
next-generation channels
and networks on YouTube,
for nearly $1 billion in May,
according to several sources.
debt markets help drive
large m&a transactions
• Gannett acquisition of a majority stake
in Classified Ventures, operator of Cars.
com, an automotive classifieds business, in a deal valued at approximately
$2.5 billion in August;
• Alliance Data Systems acquisition of
digital marketing and technology group
Conversant for $2.4 billion in September;
According to GE Capital, volume in the debt markets January through
August 2014 surpassed all of 2013, with
157 collateralized debt obligations totaling $85 billion. For companies with over
$10 million in EBITDA, total leverage is
up to 6x EBITDA on middle-market deals,
with 4.5x of senior debt and 1.5x of mezzanine debt.
Leverage can reach even higher on large
• Charterhouse Capital Partners acqui- transactions for businesses with strong
sition of SkillSoft, a provider of on-demand training and e-learning solutions,
for a reported $2.3 billion in March;
• Berkshire Partners acquisition of a ma-
jority stake in Catalina Marketing, a
provider of data-driven marketing solutions to CPG brands and retailers, in a
deal valued at $2.5 billion in March;
• Cox Enterprises acquisition of a 25%
stake in AutoTrader Group, a digital automotive marketplace for car shoppers
and sellers, for $1.8 billion in January;
growth, high quality assets and business
models, such as those with recurring revenue driven by data or software. The availability of debt helps drive M&A activity,
especially in larger transactions, as we
have seen so far this year.
If the economy continues to grow, investor demand for yield is expected to remain
robust, with vibrant debt markets continuing into early 2015. This is good news
for the M&A market.
looking forward
• CVC Capital Partners and Leonard Green • Cerner Corporation acquisition of Barring a major destabilizing event, we
& Partners acquisition of Advantage
Sales & Marketing, another CPG sales
and marketing agency, from Apax Partners for $4 billion in June;
• Cognizant Technology Solutions acquisition of TriZetto, provider of information
technology and service solutions for
health plans, hospitals and healthcare
systems, for $2.7 billion in September;
• Priceline acquisition of restaurant reser-
vation solutions provider OpenTable for
$2.6 billion in June;
healthcare information technology solutions provider Siemens Health Services for $1.3 billion in August;
• KKR acquisition of Internet Brands, operator of media and e-commerce sites related to consumer purchases, from Hellman & Friedman for $1.1 billion in June;
expect the US economy to remain steady.
The Fed has pumped unprecedented
amounts of liquidity into the US economy, and the US stock market has soared
with this infusion of capital, and in turn
the stock market is an excellent leading
indicator.
• Hellman & Friedman acquisition of a We are also pleased to see that Asian buymajority stake in Renaissance Learning,
a provider of computer-based assessment technology and school improvement programs, for $1.1 billion in March;
ers are finally starting to acquire “soft”
assets in the US. Asian buyers have purchased real estate in the US for decades
(continued on page 6)
5
Overview of Hearst International (continued from page 2)
Hearst had a very good year in the UK, as well as in Japan, where
people spent a lot of money before a new consumption tax went
into effect at the end of April. Most of East Asia is strong. Hearst is
the only player in the luxury magazine business in Hong Kong and
so it does very well, but the unrest there is extremely worrying.
China is big and has been growing fast, but there has been a
huge clampdown on gift giving, which has hurt the high end of
the market, where Hearst plays.
Hearst has done very well in Russia for more than 20 years. It
launched Cosmo there in the early 1990’s, and it became a phenomenon. Hearst has many other magazines in Russia, all part of
a joint venture with Sanoma, a Finnish company. And then, three
years ago in Russia, it acquired 60% of another company, which
is now called Hearst Shkulev Media.
Hearst management is used to the ups and downs of Russia, but
the changes that have just gone through the Duma are extremely concerning. This includes a new bill that would limit foreign
ownership of media in Russia to a maximum of 20%.
There are many countries where foreign ownership of media is
not allowed or is restricted, including France, the US, Brazil, Indonesia, and China, where every media asset is owned by the state.
But, Hearst does very well in China by finding creative ways to
do business. For example, all of Hearst’s journalists are part of
companies that are owned by Chinese entities. Hearst pays for
them and manages them, but legally they are Chinese government employees.
“There are many countries where foreign ownership of media is not allowed or is restricted...”
Whether this structure will work in Russia remains to be seen. It
is unlikely that the restrictive legislation against foreign ownership is targeting Cosmo. There are political and economic magazines and newspapers that are more likely the targets.
The geopolitical issues are hugely disruptive, and they fall into
the category of things that you can’t do anything about. Talent
selection is also hard, particularly in Asia. There are 1.2 billion
people in China, but trying to find people who are qualified to
take on leadership roles is challenging.
“Geopolitical issues are hugely disruptive, and
they fall into the category of things that you
can’t do anything about.”
Questions from audience…
Q1: How do you deal with the fast changing regulatory environment in China?
A1: Hearst has been dealing with government in a highly regulated industry for quite a while now, and we navigate this fairly
well via meetings with top government officials; dedicated specialists in our organization focused on government relations;
and good lawyers.
In regards to doing business in China, it is really hard. We have
adopted a zero tolerance policy and have gotten ourselves in a
very good position, but it has been difficult getting there. For example, we had to make a number of significant changes to the
business we bought in 2011, such as firing the CEO and CFO, because it was not Sarbanes Oxley compliant.
Cash is very much still used in China and Japan, and eliminating
cash is probably the single most important thing we’ve done.
Q2: With all the investment that companies are making in digital
infrastructure, is there anything that’s leveraged centrally for all
the regions that Hearst is investing in?
A2: Hearst has built a platform to house all of its digital assets,
starting with Cosmo and Elle. And, we will be requiring that
Hearst’s partners use our platform to create local digital editions
of our publications. We will be changing from a licensing model
to more of a franchising model. And, we will enter new markets
with digital editions, where we’ve never been in print due to lack
of infrastructure or lack of appropriate partners, such as in Nigeria and Ghana and other African countries.
So the answer to your question is absolutely yes. n
JEGI Q3 M&A Overview (continued from page 5)
and European companies have long been acquirers of content
and intellectual property in the US, but now we see Asian companies stepping up to acquire companies in the media and marketing services space.
Over the past few months, we have seen the Hong Kong-based
Integrated Whale Media Investments acquire Forbes Media, Chinese marketing agency BlueFocus buy industrial design studio
6
fuseproject, and Japanese e-commerce conglomerate Rakuten
pick up Ebates Performance Marketing. We expect this trend to
continue into 2015.
With a stable economy, strong debt markets and healthy competition in the market, we anticipate M&A activity will remain
strong, and we expect to continue to see both strategic companies and private equity firms as active buyers. n
Information Industry Outlook (continued from page 1)
Outsell is projecting industry growth of
3.5% to 4.0% over the next several years,
enhanced by 10%-11% CAGR for Marketing Services & Automation. No longer the
number one growth segment, Search continues to grow strongly, as does
Governance, Risk & Compliance,
given all the challenges that
come with data usage, privacy
and protection.
spectively. Medicine, insurance, agriculture
are transforming, due to technology. New
demands at an accelerated pace means systems, staff, and information solutions must
be more nimble and agile than ever.
Traditional “old world” information lags the overall industry, but
continues to experience modest
growth, except for the News and
Yellow Pages segments, which are
dragging down industry growth.
Looking at market share by major
world regions, the US continues
to account for the largest share of
the information industry (~44%).
The pace of growth, however, has
slowed a bit in many regions, including Asia Pacific.
As we head into 2015, we are increasingly
living on a data-driven planet, where traditional models are irreparably broken and
convergence is everywhere. Our world and
lives and businesses are always on – everything is sensored, tracked, quantified,
and analyzed. Industries are undergoing
unprecedented change, and the world is in
social and political upheaval.
Our theme for 2015 is “Sensored World,
Sensible Choices”, as nearly everything we
do is sensored, tracked, and analyzed. For
example, the average American is on some
kind of video surveillance camera 200
times a day. What will result from the clash
between “sensorship” and privacy and security? The implications for our industry
are profound as we grapple with challenges of value creation and monetization
in our connected and sensored world. Here
are some of the key trends to watch:
1. Volatility continues. Political instability,
terrorism, hackers, social and political unrest all continue to impact our industry.
Leaders must be ready with scenarios to
harness this explosive energy and seize opportunities that result.
2. Structural change is prevalent across our
industry. Companies like Uber and Kayak are
upending the taxi and travel industries, re-
3. Data security is potentially the kryptonite
of the Internet. The challenge to security
and privacy could sap the strength of the
information industry. Our systems must be
made bulletproof, and new information offerings show promise for many companies
in our industry.
4. The future of money is completely changing. Will currency exist in a few years or be
replaced by Bitcoin or lookalikes? Our industry needs to be prepared for conducting
commerce in a virtual currency environment.
5. Sustainability can be helped by data
and information in regards to solving for
enough water, food, and health services to
improve the world.
6. GAFA (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon)
has a grip on controlling design, the user interface, the user experience, as well as our
interactions with commerce, the Internet
and with many information services. “Take
it anywhere with you on any device” will
permeate user expectations, and this will
have profound implications for desktop usage patterns and end-user workflows.
7. The need for physical connection is increasing in this data and technology-driven world. This is spawning trends, such as
purchasing homemade goods and outdated technology. Urban Outfitters, for
example, sells turntables to a young gen-
eration that is investing in vinyl LPs. Fuji is
bringing back old Instamatic cameras for
instant photographs. Information services
will be derived off these new (old) trends to
connect people and support the creativity.
8. Machine-made is still prevalent, and artificial intelligence is
a growing part of this ecosystem.
Will AI replace high-end analytics
jobs in analyst-intensive industries and essentially sit on top
of our information and content?
There is already displacement occurring in advertising, marketing,
and lead gen businesses, where
programmatic buying and machine-driven algorithms are prevalent. This trend is starting to take
hold in paid content businesses,
where algorithms are determining the creation, distribution and
analysis of content. Industry players need to transform and reduce
the cost of creating product.
9. The future of jobs. If machines can replace
our technical jobs, then can we be freed up
to create? This is what Sergey Brin has described as a nirvana, where we have lots of
free time, while the machines take care of
us. If employment changes, so will our industry. Outsell predicts single-digit growth
for the industry over the next several years.
Leaders must battle for market share and
evolve their strategies to compete with disruptive new entrants and incumbents.
10. “The new parochialism” is something
we need to watch. This is the concern that
something might happen, if we leave our
desks, if we leave our office, if we get on a
plane. Outsell is seeing many leaders staying close to home/the office, worried that
something might happen if they break
away. The industry needs to keep its head
up and continue to engage its customers
and knowledge workers.
We are at a crossroads of choice: What kind
of world do we want to create and live in?
What will result from the clash between
“sensorship” and privacy and security? The
implications and opportunities for our industry are profound, as we grapple with
challenges of value creation and monetization in our connected and sensored world. n
7
JEGI - The Consistent Leader in
Media, Marketing, Information &
Technology M&A Transactions
a leading event housing software
and services provider
a leading event housing software
and services provider
has been sold
to
has been sold
to
a subsidiary of
a subsidiary of
October 2014
October 2014
a leading tech-enabled search
and digital marketing agency
has sold
has been sold
certain assets of its school business
to
to
July 2014
July 2014
PRODUCTIONS, INC.
a television and digital content
production, distribution and
marketing platform specializing
in automotive tech programming
a leading independent provider
of proprietary financial
research and analytics
has been sold
to
has received
The Investing in African
Mining Indaba
a control equity investment
to
October 2014
August 2014
July 2014
a leading mobile app market
intelligence and analytics provider
has sold a majority stake
to
the leader in media strategy,
planning and buying for emerging
brands targeting women
and a portfolio company of
has sold
from
has been sold
and
The undersigned provided a fairness
opinion to the special committee of the
Board of Directors of F+W Media, Inc.
to
May 2014
has been sold
to
May 2014
February 2014
jegi’s client is mentioned first in each of the above transactions.
Wilma Jordan
Founder & CEO
wilmaj@jegi.com
Scott Peters
Co-President
scottp@jegi.com
Jeff Becker
Managing Director
jeffb@jegi.com
New York (Headquarters)
150 East 52nd Street
18th Floor
New York, NY 10022
Phone: +1 (212) 754-0710
Tolman Geffs
Co-President
tolmang@jegi.com
Tom Pecht
Managing Director
tomp@jegi.com
Boston
CIC Boston
50 Milk Street
Boston, MA 02109
Phone: +1 (617) 294-655
Richard Mead
Managing Director
richardm@jegi.com
Bill Hitzig
Chief Operating Officer
billh@jegi.com
David Clark
Managing Director
davidc@jegi.com
Adam Gross
Chief Marketing Officer
adamg@jegi.com
Atlanta
40 Wallace Road
Buford, GA 30519
Phone: +1 (770) 932-8700
Amir Akhavan
Managing Director
amira@jegi.com
Tom Creaser
Executive Vice President
tomc@jegi.com
London (JEGI Affiliate)
90 Long Acre
London
WC2E 9RA
Phone: +44 20 3402 4900
Joseph Sanborn
Managing Director
josephs@jegi.com
Sam Barthelme
Director
samb@jegi.com
Bangalore (JEGI Affiliate)
Akash Embassy, 3rd Floor, #9, 3rd Cross
Artillery Road, Ulsoor
Bangalore 560 008
Phone: +91 80 42036793