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JULY 2013
Transactions
125 Pond5 ACQUIRES PIXMAC
Pond5 Inc. and Pixmac s.r.o. have reached a definitive agreement under which Pond5 will acquire the assets of Pixmac, a leading stock imagery network based in the Czech Republic. With millions of stock photos and illustrations distributed in 17 languages and in multiple currencies, the acquisition of Pixmac accelerates Pond5’s strategy to offer a global marketplace where media makers can connect with fellow artists, sell their stock media while earning industry-leading payouts, and license content from the world’s most comprehensive selection of creative elements for use in their own productions.
“The Pixmac team has built something truly impressive, and we are very excited to be working with them to continue to build out the world’s most vibrant marketplace for media makers,” said Tom Bennett, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Pond5.
Marks Paneth & Shron LLP represented Pond5 on this transaction. They assisted in the formation of the acquisition structure. Jeanne Goulet and Solomon Packer led the team; they are both Senior Consultants in the firm’s Tax Practice.
Jeanne Goulet commented: “Pond5 wanted a firm who could put together a global team to assist them in setting up a foundation for their growing international business. The challenges involved creating and coordinating a worldwide team to bring the necessary expertise to bear on the tax and accounting matters at hand. Working with international attorneys and other member firms of our global Morison International network, Sol and I selected a global team that fully achieved Pond5’s goals. In addition, we designed a structure that benefitted all stakeholders and resulted in a more competitive business model than the model that had previously existed.” LM
SMARtWARES ACQUIRES PRInCESS HoUSEHoLd APPLIAnCES FRoM WMF
Smartwares® Home Essentials has acquired Princess from WMF, a German listed company.
Princess will continue to operate under its own brand names: PRINCESS, NOVA and PETRA Electric. This acquisition brings Breda (Netherlands) based Princess back under Dutch ownership. The acquisition will strengthen Smartwares’ European market position in small domestic appliances.
Smartwares’ strategy is to be the leading European player in “smart essentials”: smart, affordable and attractive products for personal and domestic use. Through its Tilburg based subsidiary Tristar, Smartwares already has a rapidly growing market position in small domestic appliances. Smartwares’ position will now be strengthened with Princess, known for its attractive products such as gourmet appliances, hair dryers, blenders and mixers. Princess operates with a worldwide sales and marketing network and the annual turnover is around 60 million Euro.
Princess and Tristar will cooperate closely to accelerate the Smartwares business in this product category. The companies have a combined pro forma annual turnover of over 150 million Euro. Princess will keep its office in Breda.
Vincent Braams, CEO of Smartwares®: “We are delighted to add a great company with very strong brands to our rapidly growing group. Princess provides us with an opportunity to enhance the growth in our successful division of small domestic appliances. Tristar and Princess are highly complementary in terms of the positioning of their product offering and customer segments and will also benefit from economies of scale in the back office activities. The Princess acquisition is fully in line with the Smartwares strategy to lead the ongoing industry consolidation in consumer home products in Europe. Also we have reached a magic annual turnover of € 500 million, with a strong balance sheet and a good profitability.” LM
Pixmac
Princess Household Appliances