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Discovery closes Scripps deal; Google selling Zagat

S&P Global Market Intelligence provides a wrap-up of U.S. companies' media and communications deal announcements and completions from March 5 to March 9.

* New Media Investment Group Inc. agreed to buy the Austin (Texas) American-Statesman and related assets from Cox Media Group Inc. for $47.5 million. The Austin American-Statesman has daily circulation of 85,000 and its companion websites average more than 13 million page views per month. The transaction, which is expected to close early in the second quarter, will be funded with cash on the balance sheet and will be immediately accretive to free cash flow, New Media Investment said March 6.

* Discovery Communications Inc. completed its acquisition of Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. The combined company will officially be known as Discovery Inc. Discovery expects the acquisition to be accretive to adjusted EPS and free cash flow in the first year after closing, including significant cost synergies. The combination is expected to "create a strong economic model with capacity for rapid debt repayment and a clear runway for growth and value creation," the company said. Scripps shareholders will get about $90 per share, consisting of $65.82 per share in cash and 1.0584 per share in series C common shares of Discovery stock valued based on a volume weighted average price, in each case in accordance with the terms of the merger agreement. This includes a cash payment of $2.82 per share in relation to Discovery's previously announced decision to exercise in full the cash top-up option under the merger agreement.

* Amazon.com Inc. acquired GameSparks, a cloud-based platform for game developers. The acquisition will allow GameSparks to continue to grow the service, and explore new ways to help developers build, operate and monetize games, the company noted in a March 5 post on its website.

* Restaurant discovery platform the Infatuation agreed to buy Zagat, a restaurant review brand, from Alphabet Inc.'s Google Inc. The Infatuation and Zagat will operate as two separate brands, with individual platforms, according to a March 5 news release. Zagat will expand user surveys and develop a new tech-driven platform that will create a "stronger, more meaningful alternative to other crowdsourced restaurant reviews." Zagat was founded in 1979 by Tim and Nina Zagat. The Infatuation, which launched in 2009, covers major cities in both the U.S. and abroad, including New York, Los Angeles, London, Chicago, San Francisco, Austin and Seattle. Google bought Zagat in 2011 for $151 million. A report in January indicated that the search giant was planning to sell the restaurant review brand.

* Ooma Inc., a communications platform for businesses and consumers, agreed to buy Voxter Communications Inc., a provider of custom unified communications as a service, or UCaaS, services for mid-market and enterprise businesses. The transaction is expected to close this month. Founded in 2005 and based in Vancouver, B.C., Voxter provides its clients with fully hosted voice over IP services. Beyond telephony, Voxter offers instant messaging, videoconferencing, contact center capabilities, integration with mobile devices and other services.