In keeping with our mission to provide comprehensive advertising analysis, MediaRadar puts together a report of the most important mergers and acquisitions news each week. Stay in the loop, whether you sell advertising space or focus on business development.
This week, Adweek has a new owner, Zynga plans to acquire Istanbul-based Peak Games and the largest deal in luxury history is facing roadblocks.
Shamrock Capital purchases Adweek
A year after celebrating its 40th anniversary, Adweek is changing hands from one private equity firm to another.
The illustrious advertising trade publication has been bought by Los Angeles-based private equity firm Shamrock Capital. As part of the deal, Shamrock will acquire Adweek’s diversified business, which have grown substantially over the past four years to include a notable event, community and education portfolio.
Adweek has launched more than 40 new products including reconceptualized Brandweek, NexTech and Challenger Brands summits, CMO Symposiums, as well as Adweek’s D&I Council and the Institute for Brand Marketing, done in partnership with IBM.
Adweek’s editorial and business operations will be unchanged following the deal, and Jeffrey Litvack, the current CEO of the brand, will continue to lead the company. Shamrock will enable Adweek to grow its portfolio and expand its international reach.
Zynga is acquiring Peak Games
American social game developer Zynga announced that it is acquiring Istanbul-based gaming company Peak Games in a $1.8 billion deal, which includes $900 million cash and $900 million Zynga common stock.
The deal marks the largest and the first billion-dollar deal for a Turkish startup.
Peak is the developer behind popular games Toon Blast and Toy Blast. The deal also marks the second time Zynga made a Peak Games acquisition. The company previously bought Peak’s mobile card game business for $100 million in 2017.
According to Zynga’s President of Publishing, Bernard Kim, the acquisition of Peak will boost Zynga’s topline earnings and daily active users. It will solidify the gaming studio’s position in the growing mobile gaming industry.
LVMH and Tiffany & Co. deal looking uncertain
The largest deal in luxury market history is looking less and less likely to go through.
French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH’s $16.2 billion takeover of Tiffany & Co., first announced in November 2019, is likely to be the next casualty of the unstable retail market.
The deal, which was initially expected to close around this time, has drawn strong concerns from LVMH’s board of directors due to the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing protests linked to the death of George Floyd by Minneapolis police.
Reportedly, the board has also expressed unease about the luxury jewelry brand’s ability to pay off their debts by the close of the deal.
But all hope is not lost. LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault is exploring ways to possibly reopen negotiations and pressure Tiffany to lower the established selling price of $135 per share, based on the argument that the company is in “breach of its obligations under the merger agreement.”
Were Tiffany to reject LVMH’s efforts to reopen the deal, their dispute could end up in court.
In Other News
Here are the latest developments that are still forming:
- Networking hardware company Cisco Systems, Inc. announced that it is buying network intelligence startup ThousandEyes, Inc.. Bloomberg believes that the purchase price is close to $1 billion.
- According to Reuters, Amazon.com, Inc. is in talks to acquire a stake in India’s mobile operator Bharti Airtel for at least $2 billion.
- Mid-price gym chain 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. is reportedly on the verge of filing for bankruptcy, even as it plans to reopen some of its 430 locations across the country with heightened protocols in place for social distancing.
- According to Bloomberg, Western Union has approached MoneyGram International Inc. for an acquisition deal that would combine two of the largest money transfer companies in the U.S.
