Murdock buys 67 percent of MaxiMedia

News Corporation will pay Polar USD 4 million for majority shares in Israel's leading outdoor advertising company
Shlomi Donner

Media giant News Corporation has acquired 67 percent of shares in Israel’s leading outdoor advertising company MaxiMedia from Polar Investments Ltd, it was reported Sunday.

If the deal is approved by regulators, News Corporation will pay Polar USD 4 million.

Under the agreement, News Corporation can acquire Polar’s remaining shares in MaxiMedia within two years for USD 1.5 million or within 5 years for a price tag raging from USD 1.5 to 6 million.

The deal will allow MaxiMedia to expand its dealings with News America Marketing, a subsidiary of Rupert Murdock’s News Corporation, as both companies jointly own Hadaya, an Israeli marketing company.

News Corporation’s media empire stretches over five continents and is estimated at USD 55 billion. The company registered USD 24 billion in revenues according to a report published in June.

News Corporation said that it will use its assets to expand MaxiMedia’s business activities.

MaxiMedia has a 45 percent chunk of outdoor advertising in Israel.

Truth in advertising

EDITORIAL

Give the city of Fernandina Beach credit for not pulling punches in its advertisement for a new city manager.

The ad typically touts our "quaint, historic seaside," "rich cultural history" and "vibrant historic district" with its "attractive bed and breakfasts, many fine restaurants, stately oak trees and Spanish moss." We're "a cosmopolitan community of friendly people and hometown pride" who enjoy "a pleasant climate" and "outstanding beaches."

All true, all true.

But the ad admits our fair city has been "long characterized by small-town politics" and we've had "a revolving door for managers." It notes, "The police department has been the source of considerable embarrassment recently. The marina needs renovation and the effort has languished. The airport is involved in a lawsuit with its fixed-based operator. And so on."

Yes, well, better stop there. The list could get quite long and there's a limit to full disclosure. The candidates will get the idea.

We're looking for our eighth city manager since 1990, but "the city commission is committed" to closing the revolving door, the ad states.

"The commissioners do not agree on everything and frequently have strong opinions," as they should since "the quality of life in their community is important" to them. That is why, the ad implies, it is so important to find "the ideal candidate" to replace former city manager Bob Mearns.

We appreciate the candid approach. It is true our community has many problems, and a knack for failing to resolve some of them, but it's also true we have numerous strengths, not least among them our strongly opinionated citizenry.

The ideal candidate for the job will find this a great place to live and work. There will be sufficient challenges to keep him or her professionally motivated, but there are ample resources within and without city government to accomplish much. The commissioners may not always agree on means or methods, but we think a consensus can be achieved, after next year's election if not before.

We expect that a new city manager will have strong support for getting the job done. This is a community that yearns for leadership. The future is bright. It's a great place to be, warts and all, even for a city manager.

Web heads bullish on Internet advertising

By Ayala Tsoref

Local Internet advertising is picking up speed. The heads of the Internet sites Walla, MSN-Israel, Nana and ONE estimate that their portals' advertising revenues will leap by tens of percentage points in 2006. "We enjoyed 100 percent revenue growth this year over 2004," Udi Milner, CEO of sport site ONE, told an Internet advertising conference hosted by MSN over the weekend. "I believe we'll double revenue in 2006, as well."

Walla CEO Ilan Israeli told the conference: "Our revenue grew 70 percent this year over 2004. I am not convinced we'll maintain this rate in 2006, but I expect revenue growth around 50 percent." Nana CEO Yael Zacharia noted 65 percent growth so far, while NetVision, Nana's parent company, expects similar results next year. The Internet currently captures a 4-5 percent share of the country's advertising market, estimated at $850 million annually. MSN-Israel CEO Uri Adoni said that, worldwide, the Internet is expected to grab "12-17 percent of the advertising pie in the coming two years. The more the medium develops in every country, the more the Internet advertising stake will rise."