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Medicexchange announces preliminary agreement to acquire Maydeal.com

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MGT Capital Investments, Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Medicexchange PLC, has signed a preliminary agreement to acquire the Chinese online business Maydeal.com.

The acquisition of Maydeal.com will significantly extend Medicexchange’s existing online and offline business offerings in China. The combined business will provide one of the largest online sources of Medical products, news and services to Chinese Medical Imaging professionals, hospitals and manufacturers.

Medicexchange provides Western medical equipment manufacturers with a complete service to enter the Chinese marketplace including regulatory, translation, marketing and sales services. Medicexchange has existing offices in Beijing and the acquisition of Maydeal.com will extend this with offices and teams in Shanghai.

Originally posted on February 10, 2008 @ 1:26 pm

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

AOL acquires Goowy

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AOL has acquired Goowy, a start-up that specializes in widget and analytics applications. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Goowy is also behind yourminis.com whic enables web users to search for widgets to install in their blogs, and Goowy Webtop, a package of consumer tools such as a multiple-network instant messenger, email, calendar, contacts, file storage and games.

Originally posted on February 4, 2008 @ 12:44 pm

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

MothersClick acquires MothersGroups.com, launches portal for network of parenting websites

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mothersclick.pngMothersClick announced the acquisition of MothersGroups.com and the launch of a new portal for their growing network of mom-centric and parenting websites.

The strategic acquisition of the unique domain, MothersGroups.com, represents the company’s focus on developing related and relevant online assets that contribute to the flagship service. “We believe MothersGroups.com is a definitive domain for our target audience,” says Andra Davidson, co-founder and president of MothersClick.com. “Since we provide services specifically for active moms and mothers groups, we are thrilled to own this important address and add value to our existing brand.”

While planning the expansion of its online services by rolling out a nationwide network of parenting sites, MothersClick has long recognized the importance of unique URLs to define and reach deeper into its marketspace and the company currently owns a portfolio of over 150 parenting-related domains.

Originally posted on February 4, 2008 @ 10:30 am