ReveNews
Zanox Sold for €214.9 Million - ValueClick Next?
Zanox announced yesterday that they will sell Zanox to Axel Springer AG and PubliGroupe AG for €214.9 Million Euros. (Approx $290 Million US Dollars).
The acquisition will take effect retroactively on January 1, 2007 and is subject to the approval of the cartel authorities in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Here is a video released with the transaction:
As the consolidation frenzy continues, many industry players continue to wonder who will acquire ValueClick (VCLK.NAS). Analysts have mixed feelings about ValueClick. A.G. Edwards & Sons expressed a “buy” rating yesterday with a target of $40 based on their competitors being acquired. On the same day, Pac. Growth Equities downgraded ValueClick to a “sell” rating saying the stock has already run up on rumors and going on to say “ValueClick is not an attractive takeover candidate. The enquiry initiated by FTC into ValueClick’s practice of providing incentive for generating lead is expected to adversely affect the company’s business with immediate effect”
I would expect that we will continue to see consolidation, and personally I think ValueClick will be “in-play” sometime this summer.
Adam, I think you are right about ValueClick, or at least part of it, being sold. It also would not surprise me if CJ were spun off and sold.
It seems that the CJ/ValueClick merger was less than ideal from the beginning and both would be better off without the other.