Americans buy Hyperfactory

American media group Meredith Corporation has completed a buy-out of Kiwi mobile marketing company The Hyperfactory.

Meredith took a 19.9 per cent stake in the company in July last year. This morning co-founder and chief executive Derek Handley announced it had bought the remaining 80 per cent for an undisclosed sum.

The Hyperfactory was created by brothers Derek and Geoffrey Handley in 2001, and they are set to retain leadership of the business under the deal.

The Hyperfactory specialises in advertising and branding through mobile devices - a global market that's estimated to be growing at 43 per cent annually, reaching Euro 8.7 billion ($18.4b) by 2014 according to research from Berg Insight.

Derek Handley said selling-out to Meredith was always part of their vision and showed how competitive New Zealand companies could be on the world stage.

"Globally, Kiwi companies are at the cutting edge of the use new technology, and by having the courage to take our ideas and capabilities offshore, we are able to become a significant powerhouse within some of the world's leading corporations.''

Although specific details of the deal have not been released, Handley said it is comparable to recent leading technology deals for Kiwi companies and "sets a significant benchmark for the sale of a New Zealand business in the emerging technologies sector."

"Key to our definition of success on this sale has been our ability to retain leadership at the helm. It's important to us to be able to continue the tremendous flow of creativity across our client base, and into all the opportunities Meredith Corporation provides.''

The Hyperfactory's clients include Coca-Cola, BlackBerry, Disney, Kraft, L'Oreal and Vodafone.

Meredith Corporation's brands include US-based magazines Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Ladies' Home Journal, Family Circle, American Baby, Fitness and More.

Since 2006, Meredith's marketing arm has acquired several digital communications start-ups to complement its print and online publications.

The corporation says The Hyperfactory acquisition "is expected to be accretive to earnings and will not have a material effect on Meredith's financial performance for fiscal [year] 2011''.

- © Fairfax NZ News