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, Red Ventures acquired CNET Media Group, Twilio gained Segment.io, and Teledoc Health bought Livongo Health.
Red Ventures gains CNET Media Group
Publishing group Red Ventures announced it is acquiring CNET Media Group from ViacomCBS for $500 million.
The CNET portfolio includes CNET tech site, Gamespot, Chowhound, Metacritic, ZDNet, and TVGuide. The deal confirms rumors that ViacomCBS has been seeking buyers for select non-core assets following the Viacom/CBS merger.
Since it was formed in 200, Red Ventures has grown a broad portfolio of over 100 brands that span categories including health (healthline.com, Medical News Today), finance (Bankrate.com, CreditCards.com), education (BestColleges), and general interests (Greatist.com).
CBS acquired CNET in 2008 for $1.8 billion, before the Viacom merger. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Twilio acquires data infrastructure company Segment.io
Capitalizing on the boom for the cloud communications industry brought about by the pandemic, Twilio is making a deal to acquire data infrastructure company Segment for $3.2 billion in an all-stock transaction.
Twilio anticipates the acquisition of Segment’s CRM software will enable the company to turn customer engagement data into actionable insights through touch points and communications data.
This combination of Twilio’s customer service and Segment’s tracking/analysis of customer experience will put the company in a place to compete with the largest players in the CRM software market like Salesforce and Adobe.
Following the acquisition, which is expected to close in Q4 this year, Segment will operate as a division of Twilio.
Teledoc Health buys Livongo Health
Teledoc, a service for virtual doctor visits, has completed an acquisition of digital health company Livongo in a cash and stock deal worth $18.5 billion; 2020’s largest healthcare deal yet!
Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic Teledoc has grown rapidly, as it allows patients to avoid clinics and hospitals where they risk exposure to the virus. In a press release, Teladoc announced year-over-year Q2 revenue grew 85% to $241 million and total visits increased to 2.8 million.
The company expects to directly deliver more than 10 million virtual visits this year. Livongo, a remote health service provider of coaching to help patients manage chronic conditions, has also grown in demand in the Covid era.
The company announced Q3 total revenues are up 126% year-over-year to $106.1 million. The combined company following the acquisition has been valued around $37 billion.
In Other News
Here are other noteworthy deals coming up soon:
- Food and beverage giant Nestle is getting in on the DTC food market after acquiring Freshly for $950 million.
- In another move to develop its machine learning and AI business, Intel has acquired Israeli start-up Cnvrg.io.
- Intel announced it will acquire SigOpt, a San Francisco-based startup, platform for AI software model optimization.
- Athletic performance apparel maker Under Armour, Inc. announced that it is selling its MyFitnessPal platform to investment firm Francisco Partner for $345 million, five and a half years after acquiring it for $475 million.
- Data analytics company Nielsen Holdings PLC has agreed to sell its Global Connect business segment to private equity firm Advent International for $2.7 billion.
- As rumored last week, Dunkin’s Brand Group Inc. has finalized a deal to be acquired by Inspire Brands for $11.3 billion.
- According to Nikkei Asian Review, Japanese entertainment and software giant Sony is in final talks with AT&T regarding its anime-streaming service Crunchyroll for over $957 million.
- According to the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block Visa Inc.’s planned $5.3 billion acquisition of Plaid Inc.
