Archives: Transactions

NORFALK, VA – Dominion Enterprises, a leading media and information services company, announced today that it has acquired eNeighborhoods, the nation’s premier real estate data, technology and marketing solutions provider. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Reaching more than 400,000 real estate professionals through its individual agent and enterprise products, eNeighborhoods is the leader in providing a comprehensive set of tools to attract and retain home buyers and sellers. Founded in 1997 and employing 140 people in Boca Raton, Fla., the company provides real estate professionals the most up-to-date, localized information available about properties, neighborhoods and schools.

“eNeighborhoods is a powerhouse in the real estate industry. Their award-winning products and services in marketing, Web sites and direct mail are only part of their story. They are also a cutting-edge data and technology company, providing aggregation, development and hosting services for some of the biggest names in the industry,” said Peter Ill, senior vice president and general manager of Dominion’s Internet real estate businesses.

Current eNeighborhoods clients include some of the country’s largest MLS providers and RE/MAX International through the management of remax.com and LeadStreet.

This announcement follows a series of recent Dominion Enterprises’ acquisitions intended to extend the company’s leadership in the real estate industry. With the addition of eNeighborhoods’ reach in agent and enterprise technology solutions, Dominion now provides one of the most comprehensive offerings of technology tools for real estate professionals. President and Chief Executive Officer of Dominion Enterprises Conrad M. Hall said, “In the last 10 years, eNeighborhoods has emerged as a leader in gathering and presenting the information that is most critical to real estate professionals in the United States. We view this acquisition as an exciting new addition to our portfolio of real estate businesses that will expand our capabilities in data mining and distribution.”

Dominion’s portfolio of real estate solutions currently includes: http://www.Homes.com, a homes-for-sale portal and Web services provider; Advanced Access, a leading provider of Web design, Internet marketing and hosting services for real estate professionals; NUMBER1EXPERT, the premier provider of Internet marketing services to top-producing real estate agents; Katabat, a leading Web site and lead management provider for brokers; eProspecting, a leader in real estate marketing solutions; and http://www.HarmonHomes.com. Dominion Enterprises is also the largest publisher of free distribution residential real estate magazines including Harmon Homes, Home Solutions, New Homes & Living, and Distinctive Homes. Stu Siegel, Chief Executive Officer and founder, will continue to lead eNeighborhoods and will take on an additional strategic role helping guide Dominion’s efforts to maximize the company’s opportunities within the real estate space.

“Dominion Enterprises is the right company at the right time,” said Siegel. “Online real estate is wide open with no clear industry leader. We feel that Dominion has the knowledge and capital to be the leader in this space, and we want to be part of that winning team.”

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Peabody, MA – First Choice Holidays PLC is pleased to announce that it has agreed to acquire the entire issued share capital of StudentCity.com.

StudentCity is an online destination specialist tour operator providing branded packages to the US student travel market. It fits perfectly with First Choice’s strategy of increased focus on specialist businesses operating in niche areas, presents substantial organic growth opportunities and has the ability to build a commanding position in a fragmented market.

Boston Meridian acted as sole financial advisor to StudentCity.com in the transaction.

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TOKYO and PEABODY, MA – 6/9/05 – D&M Holdings Inc. (TSE II: 6735) and Boston Acoustics, Inc. (NASDAQ: BOSA), the premier manufacturer of high-performance audio systems, announced today the signing of a definitive merger agreement for D&M Holdings to acquire Boston Acoustics through its subsidiary D&M Holdings US Inc. D&M Holdings is the owner of Denon, Marantz, McIntosh Laboratory and the D&M Professional, ReplayTV, Rio and Escient brands.

D&M Holdings will acquire Boston Acoustics for $17.50 per share in cash for a total of approximately $76.0 million. This transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to D&M’s earnings upon closing.

Boston Acoustics designs, manufactures, and markets high performance audio products with its signature Boston Sound. Its product categories are Home Speakers and Audio Systems, Speakers and Electronics for the Custom Installation market, All Weather Outdoor Speakers, Speakers and Amplifiers for the Automotive After-market and Systems for the Automotive OEM market. The company’s audio business includes tabletop models Recepter RadioR, Recepter RadioR HD, MicroSystem CD and Home Theater Systems. Boston Acoustics is the market leader for in-wall/in-ceiling speaker systems, and it supplies Boston Acoustics-branded speakers for the Chrysler 300, which is the 2005 Motor Trend Car of the Year, the Jeep R Grand Cherokee, the Dodge Magnum and the Dodge Charger. Boston Acoustics also owns the Snell brand of super premium speakers.

The acquisition of Boston Acoustics provides D&M with a premium speaker line and the ability to deliver customers a complete home entertainment solution. D&M branded products include premium A/V receivers, amplifiers and CD players, DVD players, DLP projectors and display plasma monitors, as well as digital media management systems. The acquisition also gives D&M a strong foothold in the automotive OEM business along with the ability to leverage all five premium brands – Denon, Marantz, McIntosh, Boston Acoustics and Snell – in that business.

Boston Meriidan, LLC an investment bank that specializes in providing merger and acquisition services and raising private capital for growth companies, served as financial advisor and Nixon Peabody LLP served as legal advisor to Boston Acoustics in the transaction. Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP served as legal advisor to D&M Holdings.

Boston Acoustics Inc. was founded in 1979 and is located in Peabody, Massachusetts, USA. Fiscal year 2004 revenue was $52.6 million and revenue for the nine-month period of its fiscal year 2005 ending 12/25/04 was $42.8 million.