$3 million purse
The Nevada State Athletic Commission confirms McGregor’s purse for UFC 202 is $3 million, the richest disclosed purse in MMA history. McGregor became the first UFC athlete to ever receive a disclosed purse of $1 million, for UFC 196. Brock Lesnar surpassed that record at UFC 200 with a disclosed purse of $2.5 million.
Writes off half the value of newspaper properties
Johnson Press announces it is taking a£183.6 million impairment charge (£216.9 million gross, net of £40.3 million in deferred tax), lowering by nearly half the value of the company. The action sends the company’s stock down over 18 percent. The Company also announces revenue drop of 9.7 percent in the second quarter, with ad revenue falling 15 percent. Net debt grew to £209.4 million due to the acquisition of the i in April for £22.0 million. Highfield:
The market continues to be challenging and uncertainty surrounding the outcome of the Brexit negotiations has caused further softness in some segments of the advertising market, in June and July. Nevertheless, we are focused on our strategy of increasing overall audiences, maximising opportunities for the i, maintaining tight cost control and rebalancing our portfolio. In that respect, we are nearing completion of the disposal of our Isle of Man newspaper group for £4.25 million and are well advanced in negotiations for further divestments.
Sells Isle of Man titles
Johnston Press announces it is selling the Isle of Man Examiner, Isle of Man Courier, Manx Independent and www.iomtoday.co.im. to Tindle Newspapers for £4.25m. Johnston Press CEO Highfield:
This disposal is further progress in executing our divestment strategy and allows the group to realise immediate value from our Isle of Man assets. I would like to thank the staff of our Isle of Man business for their loyalty and dedication over the years and we wish them well for a successful future.
Tindle:
Buying a profitable local weekly set-up such as the Isle of Man trio is certainly a departure from our early days when, without much cash, we mostly bought papers that were in trouble, or we had to launch them ourselves. We are most grateful to Ashley Highfield and his colleagues for all their assistance in bringing about this agreement…Everyone at Tindle Newspapers, will make [the staff] all very welcome just as soon as we are able to do so.
Launches Smashd Group
Carter and Havas launch Smashd Group, an extension of his online news vertical and business accelerator, at Cannes Lions. Carter’s team of 20 Smashd employees at Atom Factory will assist Havas’ global network of corporate clients on brand consultancy, technology strategy and other innovations. Carter, on the difference between large brands and artists social media presences.
We don’t touch our artists’ Twitter or Instagram accounts. [But] when you have multiple people running a digital department, it’s very difficult for that voice to translate throughout the organization into the community…If you’re Coca-Cola, General Mills, one of these big companies, they’re a big inspiration to most of these startups. So when you can marry that thirst for innovation within the biggest companies and the thirst for business development from these young entrepreneurs, we think it’s a perfect match, The idea of being able to do [Smashd] Labs on the tech side, and brand innovation, we can bring these two worlds together.
Carter also talks about the next area he sees that is set for disruption:
Banks are dead. I met with the founder two weeks ago who’s building a platform for music artists, from STEM, and basically they were gonna handle collections for music artists to collect royalties from YouTube and all these other platforms. After the founder showed me an artist’s PayPal account, which contained $250,000, she said, ‘None of the creators are gonna have bank accounts. For these kids, everything is happening on mobile.’ This group aren’t buying cars, so they’re not paying loans. They’re renting and not buying houses, they’re waiting to get married til their mid-to-late 30s. These kids aren’t going to college soon because they don’t want the student debt. So I think banks are ripe for disruption.
Full-year results ‘meet City hopes’
Johnston Press reports that group revenues were down 13.7 per cent during the 17 weeks to 30 April, reflecting a 14.4 per cent fall in the first quarter and an “improved rate of decline of 11.5 per cent in April”. The group said i daily print sales peaked at 297,849 for the month, a rise of 7 per cent over the peaks seen in March 2016, its website, inews.co.uk, reached 638,000 unique users. Advertising revenues for the period were down 16.9 per cent, while digital revenues were down 5.7 per cent in the first quarter but up 4.5 per cent for April. CEO Highfield:
Following the completion of the i acquisition, we continue to explore the disposal of certain assets, with a view to deleveraging the balance sheet and further reducing financing costs.
Completes i purchase
Johnston Press completes the £24m purchase of i newspaper, and prints its first edition. The paper will be available in Northern Ireland for the first time. CEO Highfield:
i is a highly regarded newspaper with a clear market position and a loyal readership. By joining with Johnston Press the combined circulation will be equal to 9 per cent of national daily circulation, making us the fourth largest player in the market. This enhanced reach represents a significant growth opportunity for Johnston Press in terms of national print and advertising revenue. It also rebalances our revenues towards less volatile circulation revenues. With our considerable digital experience the combination of Johnston Press and i will also allow us to grow digital audiences and revenues through the creation of inews.co.uk.
TrulySocial investment
Nazara Games, London Venture Partners and Supercell’s Hollanda-Grönberg invest in TrulySocial. Nazara CEO Manish Agarwal:
We see a perfect fit with TrulySocial’s contemporary social world and are working with them to bring a completely new genre of gaming to India. With TrulySocial we are delighted to have an opportunity to see ourselves along with key international players.
Profits rise by more than a fifth but further cuts loom
Johnston Press reports total revenue for 2015 was down by 6.8% from £260m in 2014 to £242.3m last year. However, profits increased by 22.6% to £31.5m by reducing costs to £191.7m from £205.3m in 2014. CEO Highfield says the group hopes to sell some brands and some of its key assets. However, he said he “could not rule out” closing some titles. Debt is down by £14.8m to £179.4m from £194.2m in 2014, with interest payments reduced by almost £10m to £19.1m. The number of people reached through Johnston’s digital titles was up by 40.7% to 22.6 million, with digital advertising revenue rising by 12.4% to £30.6m.
We are a plc and our primary objective is to keep the business moving forward … we have to make profits. We are all on the same side here, which is try to get the business back to growth and get the long-standing debt off our shoulders. The tough trading conditions have already been highlighted by DMGT and Trinity Mirror. We are being prudent in not anticipating it getting better and we are going to make sure we are cutting our cloth appropriately.
Highfield also says Johnston has filled all but two of 50 roles for i for when it takes control of the title on 10 April, filling the roles from The Independent within two weeks.
Johnston Press buys i newspaper
Johnston Press reaches a deal to buy the i newspaper from ESI Media for £24m. Highfield:
This is a transformational acquisition for Johnston Press and an important step towards delivering our long-term strategy. i is a highly-regarded newspaper with a clear market position and a loyal readership. By joining with Johnston Press the combined circulation will be equal to 9% of national daily circulation, making us the fourth-largest player in the market. This enhanced reach represents a significant growth opportunity for Johnston Press in terms of national print and digital advertising revenue. It also rebalances our revenues towards less volatile circulation revenues. With our considerable digital experience the combination of Johnston Press and i will also allow us to grow digital audiences and revenues through the creation of inews.co.uk.
Marquez brothers cancel VR46 merchandise deal
The company in charge of image rights for Marc and Alex Marquez confirms their merchandise will no longer be produced and distributed by Rossi’s VR46 Racing Apparel company. The Marquez brothers are tipped to move their merchandising to Gruppo Pritelli.
AC Management, company in charge of managing the image rights of the riders Marc Márquez and Alex Márquez, informs that they have agreed with the Company VR46 Racing Apparel, S.r.l. to terminate the license agreements previously in force and under which the latter was in charge of the exploitation of both riders’ merchandising. Both parties appreciate services rendered while the agreement was in force and wish each other success in future endeavors.
Closing 269 stores
Walmart announces plans to close 269 stores. 154 of these stores are in the US, and will affect 16,000 workers. Closures will begin at the end of January. 102 of the 154 stores to be closed in the US are part of an experimental set of offerings opened in 2011 and are within 10 miles of another Wal-Mart. Efforts will employ the affected workers at other locations. Other locations to be closed include locations in Brazil, where the retailer is struggling.
£1 billion UK malaria funding
The UK government is to create a new £1 billion fund, called The Ross Fund, in partnership with US philanthropists, Bill and Melinda Gates. The fun, named after Sir Ronald Ross, who first found the link between mosquitoes and malaria in 1902, aims to eradicate malaria and other infectious disease. The fund will come from the UK’s overseas aid budget over the next five years, with £115m earmarked for research into new drugs, diagnostics and insecticides for malaria, TB and other infectious diseases, and £188m to be spent on improving biodefences and rapid response systems to fast-spreading epidemics such as Ebola. UK Chancellor Osborne:
[The government’s commitment to overseas aid helps to] promote our national security and interests around the world. [Working with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will help us in] our joint ambition to see an end to this global disease in our lifetimes.
Gates:
With the combined skill and expertise of British scientists; leveraging the weight of both public and private financing; and the continued leadership of George Osborne and the UK, [the] announcement of the Ross Fund will play a key role in reaching that goal [ eradicating malaria and other poverty-related infectious diseases].
Rossi drops Marquez merchandize
According to Italian website, Corriere della Sera, Rossi has decided to end his business ties with Marquez. Beginning next year, the VR46 Store, will no longer manage Marquez’s MM93 merchandise. The Tavullian company owned by Rossi manages the merchandise of 20 riders and hails an annual turnover of 12.5 million euros. Next year, another company will be dealing with the sale of t-shirts, caps and other novelty MM93 products.
Highest earning dead celebrity
Forbes says Jackson has earned more than $1 billion pre-tax since his death, which is more than enough to pay off his personal debts. in 2105 the estate made $115 million, in part from the Vegas Cirque du Soleil show Michael Jackson One, the Mijac Music catalogue, recorded music sales and half of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which includes the rights to 250 Beatles songs.
Breaks ticket records
Fandango says Star Wars: The Force Awakens online ticket sales traffic surged to seven times its typical peak levels, a record-setting first day of pre-sales. The previous record holder was 2012’s The Hunger Games.
For Star Wars, we have already sold eight times as many tickets as we did on the first day of sales for the previous record holder. This is an extraordinary time for the industry, which experienced unprecedented ticketing demand last night. The enthusiasm for this year’s most anticipated movie is out of this world and we expect it to continue all the way to its debut on Dec. 18.
Ferguson’s wins £97m ferry contract
Ferguson’s wins a Scottish government contract to build two new ferries. The deal, which is worth about £97m, was confirmed at the SNP’s annual conference in Aberdeen by Transport Minister Derek McKay.
Files for IPO
An SEC filing (document) reveals the company is officially seeking an initial public offering, as well as financial information: In the first half of 2015 Square took losses of $77.5 million on revenue of $560.5 million. In 2014, the company reported gross payment volume of $23.78 billion. The filing reveals retail the biggest source of transactions for the company constituting 21 percent of its gross payments volume. Other sectors include services, food, beauty, contractor, and transit. The filing also says Dorsey’s role as the CEO of Twitter and Square is a risk factor:
Jack Dorsey, our co-founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer, also serves as Chief Executive Officer of Twitter. This may at times adversely affect his ability to devote time, attention, and effort to Square.
Stock drops 10% on earnings drop
Walmart has its worst stock decline in more than 27 years after predicting a drop in annual profit. Earnings will decrease 6 percent to 12 percent in fiscal 2017, which ends in January of that year. Analysts had estimated a gain of 4 percent on average. Efforts to raise the minimum wage to a goal of $10/hr combined with an expanded training program, added about $1 billion in costs this year and $1.5 billion next year. Shares fell 10 percent to $60.03 in New York, the biggest drop since January 1988.
Shark Tank appearance
Foot Cardigan accepts an offer on Shark Tank from Cuban and Carter, who is appearing as a guest shark, to co-invest $250,000 for a 20% ownership stake in their $9-a-month sock subscription service. The company says it earned $1.36 million in the past three years ($900,000 in the past 12 months) and projects $1.5 million for 2015. It currently services 6,000 monthly customers with seasonal increases to approximately 12,000 subscribers.
Leaves Atom Factory, launches Friends At Work
Stiklorius leaves Atom Factory to start Friends At Work, her own own management company, where she will work with Lindsey Stirling and John Legend. Carter:
The only thing that I love as much as artists are entrepreneurs, and Ty has the makings of a great one. Although I’m sad to see her leave, I’m grateful for our time together and extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished over the last three years. She and John are going to build a great company that will help other artists and have an impact on the community. They’ll always be a part of our family here at Atom Factory.