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Venere.com acquires Worldby.com

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Venere.com has acquired the Italian online hotel booking agency Worldby.com from FINB S.A. and from the company’s management team, whose members will continue in their current roles; it is foreseen that the two companies, while leveraging important technology and commercial synergies, will continue to manage independently their accommodation supply partners.

The acquisition consolidates Venere.com’s position as one of Europe’s leading online reservations operators and the Italian market leader, delivering an additional 2.5 million registered users – almost doubling its customer base since the time of Advent International’s 60% controlling investment in November 2006 – and adding a further 6,000 properties to its existing 20,000 throughout the world. It is foreseen that in 2008 the group will generate gross bookings in excess of EUR500 million. The online hotel reservations market is one of the fastest-growing segments of the EUR200+ billion European travel industry, in itself the largest and most attractive travel market in the world.

Originally posted on February 4, 2008 @ 12:43 pm

Ericsson increases video presence with The NewsMarket

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Broadcast and online journalists seeking content about Ericsson can now find a variety of news video at The NewsMarket, a web-based video marketing and delivery platform.

Multimedia content for Ericsson will also be available on the company’s BroadcastRoom, a branded area within its online pressroom, powered by The NewsMarket. Journalists can search, preview and download video and other content from the site and register for industry-specific email alerts about new content.

Originally posted on February 4, 2008 @ 5:34 am

Will Yahoo! say yes to Microsoft’s shocking proposal?

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For Yahoo! Board of Directors, today must be the luckiest day of their lives. Or not. Its unrelenting suitor Microsoft has disturbed our weekend with a stunning unsolicited bid to acquire the Jerry Yang’s beleaguered company.

According to its press release, Microsoft’s proposal is to acquire all the outstanding shares of Yahoo! common stock for per share consideration of $31 representing a total equity value of approximately $44.6 billion.

Wow! This is exactly what you need in times of need – a helping hand ready abuse you. It’s no secret Yahoo! is facing a lot of problems these days. Aside from its consistently poor financial performance, Yang is inept in delivering “upbeat, rally-the-troops speeches to audiences of investors, customers and even employees”. To make matters worse, the company has announced a job cut of 5% of work force of 1,000 employees by February.

While the world awaits Yahoo’s sweet surrender, it is ironic to note that Microsoft is the one really desperate here. Desperate with a lot of money, that is. Almost all its online initiatives did not perform well, particularly its Windows “Live” brand. They need Yahoo’s expertise in online advertising to survive against the onslaught of Mountain View’s beast, Google.

On the other hand, Yahoo is in the period of adjustments. With some repairs here and there, it can stand on its own feet again, even without Microsoft. Then again, who can resist a $44.6-billion offer?

Originally posted on February 1, 2008 @ 9:41 am

HealthiNation and Comcast Spotlight launch on-demand health portal for digital cable customers

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healthination.pngHealthiNation is working with Comcast Spotlight, the advertising sales division of Comcast Cable, to offer health information programming at no additional charge for Digital Cable customers through Comcast’s ad-supported On Demand destination, “Searchlight.” This content is available in the “Health & Wellness” folder in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Philadelphia and Seattle with a rollout across all of Comcast’s markets in May 2008.

As part of the agreement, Comcast Spotlight will offer local sponsorship opportunities to hospitals and other health service providers for HealthiNation’s programs. The independent and high-quality nature of HealthiNation content is an attractive selling point to advertisers, who are increasingly looking to connect with consumers in their communities in a meaningful way.

Originally posted on February 2, 2008 @ 7:17 pm

Washingtonpost.com and Newsweek to host live Super Tuesday election coverage

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In an unprecedented endeavor on Super Tuesday (February 5th), washingtonpost.com and Newsweek, national leaders in political news, will offer six hours of continuous live video coverage of the election returns alongside the most comprehensive online reporting from every primary state. washingtonpost.com and Newsweek are combining the best of video and political journalism to create a unique interactive experience.

Enhancing the video experience, users will be able to interact in a live discussion forum that the video hosts will draw upon for questions. In-depth, comprehensive analysis and continuously updated blog posts from Washington Post reporters on “The Trail” will be available on the Post Politics page, in addition to interactive U.S. maps with polls, results and delegate counts. washingtonpost.com will also offer mobile alerts for people to receive immediate updates on individual primaries and candidates on their phones.

The live video will be available between 6:00 pm – Midnight ET on washingtonpost.com/postpoliticstv and through washingtonpost.com and Newsweek.com’s homepages.

Originally posted on January 31, 2008 @ 6:01 pm