News
Jupiter Media sells Jupiter Research for $10.1MM
Jupiter Media, in its continuing strategy to focus on its digital assets businesses, has divested itself of Jupiter Research. Kagan Research LLC, a 35 year old company founded in the 1970s specializing in media business research purchased the Jupiter division, which Jupiter bought in 2002, and simultaneously formed JupiterKagan, Inc. "This merger brings together two brilliant teams of analysts with unparalleled expertise in their fields," said Tim Baskerville, CEO of JupiterKagan, Inc. "With greater scale, richer combined data resources, and a highly attractive continuous information service business model, JupiterKagan is positioned to be a major force in our industry."
In an email to JupiterResearch employees, JupiterMedia CEO Alan Meckler said, “I want to thank all of our colleagues at JR for turning JR into a profitable and thriving business over our four years of ownership. When we purchased JR it was days from bankruptcy. Today it is strong and
powerful and financially sound.” He added that in selling the Research division management sought a buyer who would maintain JupiterResearch employees and traditions. Managers will address the JupiterResearch employees tomorrow [March 29th 2006] about what to expect. “I think everyone will be pleased with what they will learn,” Meckler said.
Kagan, a portfolio company of MCG Capital Corporation (Nasdaq:MCGC), which acquired Kagan Research in 2004, purchased JupiterResearch for $10.1MM in cash and the assumption of certain liabilities.
Having secured $100MM in financing last December and used $53MM of it to refinance existing loans Jupiter had the remaining $47MM earmarked for more acquisitions. Since then, the company paid $11.1MM for the French stock photo company, Stock Image, reducing cash for acquisitions to $35.9MM. Though the terms of several other acquisitions (the purchase of a 49.7% share of Hungarian micro-stock and photo community sites Stock.xchng and Stockxpert, the RM agency The Beauty Archive, and RF music producer Crank City Music) were not disclosed, we know that as a publicly traded company, Jupiter must disclose details concerning “material” transactions. Therefore, we can assume these undisclosed deals did not exceed the “threshold of materiality” and did not use much capital. Taking these into account and adding the $10.1MM the company just received for JupiterResearch, we can speculate that Jupiter still has over $40MM in cash for acquisitions. In its press-release about the company’s FYE’05 performance, management said acquisitions would continue in 2006, but at a slower pace. Nonetheless, we have learned that Mr. Meckler is in Germany this week along with Jupiter COO with Chris Cardell. Might another key European acquisition in the image business be around the corner?
Click here to view the original press release.
Click here to view comments from Jupiter CEO Alan Meckler.
Posted in: News, Stock Photo Companies
