01/13/2012

Acquisitions:

Summit Entertainment, which operates as a theatrical motion picture development, financing, production, and distribution studio, was acquired for $412.5 million in cash and stock by Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE:LGF). Summit comes into the deal with approximately $200 million in net debt, which is secured by the studio’s existing assets and will not be assumed by Lions Gate.

Marketing Engine, a CRM services company that specializes in Salesforce.com implementation, was acquired by LeadMD, a provider of marketing automation services. With the acquisition, LeadMD will expand upon its marketing-to-sales solution that includes process development, integration of CRM, and marketing automation software, demand generation best practices, and content development. Terms were not disclosed.

Eagle:XM, a marketing solutions platform company serving customers in broadband cable and services B-to-B, B-to-C, financial services, healthcare, non-profit, real estate, recreation, tourism, and technology industries, was acquired by Vision Graphics, a print and marketing communications solutions provider. The stock purchase agreement was completed this month with terms of the transaction not disclosed.

FashionStake, which provides an online marketplace for independent designers, was acquired by design-focused flash sales site Fab.com. Terms were not disclosed. Fab.com is backed by more than $50 million from investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Menlo Ventures, First Round Capital, Baroda Ventures, SoftTech VC, and A-Grade Investments.

Scotland-based marketing communications agency Multiply, was merged with U.K.-based experiential marketing agency Made. The union will see the two agencies operate under the Multiply name and combine both company’s talents to provide a fully integrated marketing service. Terms were not disclosed.

Video ad technology company JSFour, was acquired by PK4, an online video advertising network operator. The companies have been working on an advanced video distribution platform. Terms were not disclosed.

Social media company, SocialMediadd, acquired a group of niche social networks to enhance its marketing network of sites. All of the social networks have different niches within the internet marketing field, such as Twitter and SEO. The goal of the acquisition was to bolster resources that can be used to give their clients a better service. Terms were not disclosed.

Logiciel Dr Tax Software was acquired by Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters (TSX:TRI). The transaction enhances Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting’s portfolio of accounting & tax software services and expands the company’s customer base. Terms were not disclosed.

 Investments:

Affine, a provider of contextual online video targeting solutions, raised $5 million in funding from return backers Crosslink Capital and Highland Capital Partners. Affine’s technology provides in-stream visibility and control over where ads appear. The company’s network provides access to more than 85 percent of online video impressions.

Balihoo, a provider of local marketing automation solutions to national brands, raised $5 million in funding led by OpenView Venture Partners with participation from return backer Highway12 Ventures. The new funding brings Balihoo’s total funding to $17 million, since inception in 2004.

Kapost, a provider of content publishing services, raised $1.5 million in Series B funding led by Circle P Capital with participation from Highway 12 Ventures and High Country Ventures. Kapost has worked with companies such as L’Oreal and TripAdvisor, as well as media entities that include Fortune and Mashable.

IPOs:

Splunk, provider of software that collects and organizes data, has filed for a $125 million IPO. Underwriters include Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan, and BoA Merrill Lynch. The company reports a $9.7 million net loss on $77 million in revenue for the first nine months of 2011. Splunk has raised around $40 million in funding, from firms like August Capital (20.7% pre-IPO stake), Sevin Rosen Funds (20.7%), JK&B Capital (17.8%) and Ignition Partners (12.3%).