Inc. (Nasdaq:VCLK) today announced that it has agreed to acquire
privately-held MeziMedia, Inc., a leading operator of U.S. comparison
shopping websites. MeziMedia ranked fourth in the June 2007 comScore
"Retail - Comparison Shopping" category with approximately 10.5
million U.S. unique visitors through its Smarter.com comparison
shopping and CouponMountain.com online coupon websites.
ValueClick anticipates three key strategic benefits from the MeziMedia
acquisition:
-- MeziMedia will add scale to ValueClick's fast-growing
Comparison Shopping segment and give the Company a leadership
position in the U.S. comparison shopping market. ValueClick
currently is a major comparison shopping provider in Europe
under the PriceRunner brand.
-- MeziMedia will enhance ValueClick's search engine optimization
(SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) capabilities.
MeziMedia has a sophisticated, proprietary SEM platform and
significant expertise and experience in SEO and SEM, which can
be leveraged across ValueClick's businesses and clients.
-- MeziMedia will give ValueClick a formal presence in China.
MeziMedia has a world-class engineering and operations center
in Shanghai and has also launched websites in China for
comparison shopping, coupons and search.
"MeziMedia is consistent with our acquisition philosophy and gives
ValueClick comparison shopping scale in the U.S., greater search
marketing expertise and a presence in China, all three of which are
key growth initiatives for the Company," said Tom Vadnais, chief
executive officer of ValueClick. "This is an exciting acquisition and
we look forward to welcoming the MeziMedia team to the ValueClick
family."
"We are proud of our significant accomplishments in comparison
shopping, SEO and SEM and believe that the time is right to join
forces with ValueClick, one of the largest and most diversified online
marketing services companies," said Talmadge O'Neill and Harry Tsao,
co-founders of MeziMedia. "We are confident that MeziMedia and
ValueClick will enjoy important benefits from this transaction and
generate meaningful synergies across the combined businesses."
Under the terms of the agreement, ValueClick will acquire all
outstanding equity interests in MeziMedia for approximately $100
million in cash at the time of closing, and contingent cash
consideration based on revenue and adjusted-EBITDA(1) performance from
the closing date through December 31, 2009. Total cash consideration
will range between $100 million and $352 million, depending on whether
performance thresholds are met. ValueClick anticipates the acquisition
will be accretive on both an adjusted-EBITDA and diluted net income
per common share basis.
The transaction has been approved by the board of directors of each
respective company and all the stockholders of MeziMedia. ValueClick
anticipates the acquisition will close in August 2007, subject to
customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Upon the
transaction's close, MeziMedia's management team will join
ValueClick's management team and continue to lead the MeziMedia
business. MeziMedia will be included in ValueClick's Comparison
Shopping business segment.
Founded in 2001, MeziMedia employs approximately 160 people globally
in its Los Angeles area headquarters and Shanghai, China and Tokyo,
Japan offices. In 2006, MeziMedia generated approximately $40 million
in revenue and was EBITDA, operating income, and net income
profitable. For more information on MeziMedia, please visit
http://www.mezimedia.com.
ValueClick intends to update its 2007 business outlook upon the close
of this acquisition.
About ValueClick
ValueClick, Inc. (Nasdaq: VCLK) is one of the world's largest
integrated online marketing services companies, offering comprehensive
and scalable solutions to deliver cost-effective customer acquisition
for advertisers and transparent revenue streams for publishers.
ValueClick's performance-based solutions allow its customers to reach
their potential through multiple online marketing channels, including
affiliate and search marketing, display advertising, lead generation,
ad serving and related technologies, and comparison shopping.
ValueClick brands include Commission Junction, ValueClick Media,
Mediaplex, and PriceRunner. For more information, please visit
www.valueclick.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.