Johnnic has announced its 100% acquisition of Internet search engine Ananzi by Omni Media Corporation, a subsidiary of the media, entertainment and telecoms giant, for a cash deal of undisclosed proportions.
Ananzi will form the foundation of the business-to-consumer element of Johnnic e-Ventures, the new e-commerce initiative announced by Paul Edwards, CEO, Johnnic, last month. As Edwards assures: "This is just a taste of things to come. The formal announcement and full details of Johnnic`s online plans will be announced in February."
Ananzi was bought from I-Net Bridge, the online business portal of which Johnnic owns an indirect 37.5%.
Also acquired from I-Net Bridge was the online advertising sales operation, which sells banner advertising and sponsorships on Ananzi and a number of other Web sites. "This is an established team, well respected in the industry, that brings in an immediate cashflow," says Edwards.
He adds that research showed Ananzi was one of the most recognised South African Web brands. "With more than two million page impressions per month, it makes an excellent base for our aggressive online plans.
"Our goal is to form an e-commerce consumer hub around Ananzi to build it into a leading Internet property in SA. We`ve got many products that are consumer-oriented - the desire was to create a Web site that would corral all these products into a coherent e-hub, and to that end, Ananzi becomes a very important building block."
I-Net Bridge CEO Neil Jacobsohn says Ananzi will be immediately redeveloped and expanded to ensure it is robust enough for these major plans.
Jacobsohn says I-Net Bridge, which over the past 18 months has spent more than R40 million establishing an online infrastructure, would partner Johnnic by providing technical and other support services.
"The sale of Ananzi enables I-Net Bridge to focus on its business-to-business core activity, which is the provision of value-added services to the business community.
"Ananzi is primarily a consumer vehicle and thus fits well into Johnnic`s plans to become a major player in the business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer markets," says Jacobsohn.
The move gives Johnnic an immediate presence in the online marketspace - in the consumer market through Ananzi, and in the business market through its 37.5% indirect I-Net Bridge shareholding.
News of the acquisition follows closely on the heels of the announcement of Ananzi`s partnership with AucorActive. Commenting on the narrow timeline between announcements, Mark Buwalda, Ananzi Business Unit manager, says: "It`s been business as usual at Ananzi. Flexibility when reacting to market needs will always remain core.
"I`ve been working on the Aucor deal for about a month-and-a-half, and there was nothing stopping me from putting that deal on the table, and announcing it. You cannot stop your day-to-day business in this industry."
As to the expected benefits of the acquisition, Buwalda comments: "Our short-term expectancy is to do well - but it is important to note that the success of a venture is not based solely on income. Rather, it`s an aggregation of the users of the system, its market presence and capital."
I-Net Bridge`s shares are held 25% each by TML (owned by Omni) and BDFM Publishers (owned 50% by Omni). Other I-Net Bridge shareholders are Dimension Data (25%) and Bridge, the New York-based online giant that is now the largest provider of online business information in the US and second largest in the world.
I-Net Bridge has grown to some 25 000 paying users in the financial and business community, while Ananzi, the original SA Internet search engine, has a powerful market share. Recent research shows that more than 40% of local Web users recognise the brand, and more than 20% use it consistently.
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