Harris Interactive(R) (NASDAQ:HPOL):
Noteworthy Points
Decima
-- Full-service Canadian research firm - US $26 million revenue -
125 employees
-- Will provide access to US $0.6 billion Canadian market -
Seventh largest in the world
-- Combination will create one of the largest and/strongest
research companies in Canada
MarketShare
-- US $2.6 million revenue - 40 employees - with recent 75-80%
growth
-- Proven Global Network partner - has worked jointly with Harris
for over three years
-- Will provide access into the rapidly-growing US$3.3 billion
Asia/Pacific market, and serve as a platform for continued
acquisitive growth in the region
Continuing the expansion of its global research capabilities,
Harris Interactive(R) (NASDAQ:HPOL) has acquired Decima Research, a
private Canadian research firm based in Ottawa, Canada, and
MarketShare, a private Asian research firm with co-located
headquarters in Hong Kong and Singapore.
"Adding the strengths of these firms to the Harris Interactive
enterprise will improve our global service offering and provide
increased access into two fast-growing regions that represent about a
$4 billion market opportunity," commented Gregory T. Novak, president
and CEO of Harris Interactive. "We're doing what we said we would do:
grow this Company in order to remain competitive and serve our clients
on a global basis," Novak continued. '"We believe that we're going
about it in the right way, by acquiring motivated partners who share
our vision and by structuring future earn outs that align with our
goals and promote mutual success.
"These acquisitions represent significant progress in extending
our reach into the world's top research markets. By adding these new
operating units, Harris Interactive now has presence in six of the
top-ten research markets, and access to two-thirds of the global
research market, up from approximately one-half just six months ago."
stated Kyle Karnes, executive vice president of corporate development
at Harris Interactive. "In line with our global expansion goals, we
will continue to look for attractive partners in other sizable and
high-growth regions around the world."
Decima Research
Acknowledged as one of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies, Decima
Research is a privately-held, full-service, public opinion and market
research firm headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with
additional offices in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. The firm has
particularly strong practices in CPG, financial services, healthcare,
public affairs, reputation/loyalty and telecommunications research.
Decima has approximately 125 full-time employees, and in FYE January
2007, generated approximately US$26.2 million in revenue, about 20
percent of which was derived from online research. We believe that the
combination of the existing Harris Interactive Canadian online panel
with Decima's 140,000 online members will create one of the largest
and highest quality online survey panels in Canada.
"We're thrilled to join Harris Interactive. This new union will
allow us to utilize the technological muscle and extensive research
solutions of Harris Interactive to better serve our clients," said
Bruce Anderson, CEO of Decima Research. "I believe we will be able to
quickly take advantage of many cross-border synergies to propel us to
the next level of growth in the North American marketplace."
Harris Interactive paid US$21.3 million in cash up front for the
firm, plus future considerations tied to growth and profitability. The
newly combined entity will be now known as Harris/Decima and join the
Harris Interactive North America group. A complete transition to the
Harris Interactive global brand will take place within the next year.
MarketShare
MarketShare is an Asia-Pacific consulting and market research firm
with joint headquarters in Hong Kong and Singapore. The majority of
their research is conducted in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan,
Japan, South Korea, India, Singapore and Malaysia. For the 12-month
period ended June 30, 2007, the firm's 40 employees generated US$2.6
million in revenue (15% Internet-based) for about an 80 percent
increase over the previous year.
As a member of the Harris Interactive Global Network, MarketShare
has been working jointly with Harris Interactive on major global and
regional accounts since 2004. The Company has proven expertise in the
retail, financial services, technology, and travel/tourism sectors.
"The rapid rise and continued growth of consumerism in Asia will
force companies to better understand their customers' evolving needs
and drive demand for faster and more sophisticated research solutions
such as those available through Harris Interactive," said Ali Mirza,
executive director of MarketShare.
"Harris Interactive with its global technology and experience,
coupled with MarketShare's localized knowledge and presence is a
winning formula to tap these opportunities for rapid growth throughout
Asia," added Anthony Venus, executive director of MarketShare.
Harris Interactive paid US$2.8 million in the all-cash deal for
the firm plus future considerations tied to growth and profitability.
MarketShare will become part of the Harris Interactive Asia group, and
the transition to the Harris Interactive global brand is expected to
begin immediately.
"I'm happy to welcome these two great organizations into the
Harris Interactive family. Together, I believe that we will realize
our vision of becoming a unified global research firm with the power
to fully leverage our technology, our combined solution sets and the
Internet to rapidly grow and achieve high levels of profitability,"
concluded Novak.
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is the 13th largest and fastest-growing market
research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research,
insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident
decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in
performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll,
one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for
pioneering online market research methods. The company has built what
it believes to be the world's largest panel of survey respondents, the
Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients worldwide
through its North American, European and Asian offices, and through a
global network of independent market research firms. Visit us at
www.harrisinteractive.com. To become a member of the Harris Poll
Online and be invited to participate in online surveys, register at
http://www.harrispollonline.com.
About MarketShare
MarketShare is a full-service market research and consulting firm
working with clients across the world to understand, invest and profit
from opportunities in the emerging markets in Asia-Pacific and Middle
East. Our mission is to help our customers gain profitable market
share through understanding consumer behavior, competition, local
regulations and changing market dynamics. For more information, please
go to www.marketshare.com.sg.
About Decima Research
Decima is Canada's fastest-growing and largest independent public
opinion and marketing research company, offering research-based advice
to clients, as well as large-scale telephone, online and qualitative
data collection. Visit us at www.decima.com.
