Comments on: 4 Unlikely Digital Heroes

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:09:47 +0000

Dave,

Yeah, they really do seem to have turned it around.

Thanks for your comment.

- Greg

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:08:37 +0000

Martin,

It’s a very valid point (and one I have raised in the past). However, I know the auction company they acquired quite well and the guys there seem to think Naspers really adds value.

Anyway, time will tell…

- Greg

By: Dave Doolin

Dave Doolin — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 17:00:24 +0000

Successes really do get short shrift, probably because the failures are so public and colossal.

Glad that Conde Naste is getting it together. I like their print mags, would be a real shame if they folded.
Dave Doolin´s last [type] ..SEO Anchor Text SEO Anchor Text SEO Anchor Text SEO Anchor Text

By: binomsc

binomsc — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:38:06 +0000

Hi,

interesting read.

One comment to Naspers: indeed an interesting story and – looking at their margin – it looks even like a profitable one.

However, have you checked the prices they paid for their “smart M&A deals”? Being active in some CEE markets myself I know that they paid (sometimes very) high valuations. So even with a double-digit margin (hopefully it is true also for CEE and not only China!) it is still likely that the whole invest paying back the purchase price…

Just a thought from investment point of view…

Martin

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:01:58 +0000

Thanks for the tip, Clara.

Have a nice weekend.

- Greg

By: Clara

Clara — Fri, 28 May 2010 12:29:19 +0000

Hi Greg,

interesting article and thanks for mentioning the Innovation Award which we designed for the ICMA. I also wanted to note a company that has been doing online aggressively. It’s Schibsted Classified Media. You can read more about them in their corporate website, but some examples: they closed their classified print operations in Spain & France in 2009 and have achieved operating margins in classifieds in Spain in Q1 2010 of 31% and in France of 41%. Considering the state of the Spanish economy and their core business areas (real estate, cars, jobs, merchandise classifieds), I think it’s quite a good job.
.-= Clara´s last blog ..The Quiet Media Leaders =-.

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 27 May 2010 07:32:15 +0000

Thanks, Tim.

Keep up the great work with your Innovation blog!.

- Greg

By: Greg

Greg — Thu, 27 May 2010 07:30:33 +0000

Thanks for the tip, Ralf.

- Greg

By: Stan

Stan — Thu, 27 May 2010 06:47:37 +0000

Thanks for your interest, Greg. At Semanit we believe in delighting clients and our online competitor monitoring service KATE is constantly evolving. Everything is on the move. It is very exciting time and great fun for all of us!

By: Ralf Schremper

Ralf Schremper — Thu, 27 May 2010 06:14:39 +0000

Greg, Naspers is indeed a great example. Naspers is building its portfolio mainly through smart M&A deals. I recently saw that they also cooperate with DST:

http://paidcontent.co.uk/article/419-east-european-social-network-concentration-in-naspersdst-deal/

I would like to add DST to your list of digital heroes although they are financial investors as they create a new class of digital media investors that is unique so far.
.-= Ralf Schremper´s last blog ..Some thoughts on the Facebook privacy discussion =-.