VNU

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VNU Group b.v. is a Dutch media conglomerate. It was formed in 1964 through the merger of two Dutch publishing companies. Its original name was Verenigde Nederlandse Uitgeversbedrijven, which translates into English as "United Dutch Publishing Companies", but this was shortened to just VNU in 1999.

VNU has corporate headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands and New York City, USA. VNU is active in over 100 countries, and employs some 41,000 people worldwide. Total revenues amounted to EUR 3.5 billion in 2005.

The three operating groups of VNU are:

Marketing Information VNU is a world-leading market research company. The MI group measures retail sales of consumer-packaged goods, and study consumer attitudes and behavior.

Media Measurement and Information VNU also leads the field in providing media and entertainment information. MMI subsidiaries measure audiences for television, motion pictures, radio, print, the Internet, and other major media. The group also tracks the sale of CDs, videos, DVDs and books, and monitor where and how advertising money is spent.

Business Information The Business Information group delivers news and vital information through trade publications, trade shows and websites.

On 17 November 2005, it called off a merger with U.S. health care data provider IMS Health after a shareholder rebellion to the proposed merger. VNU said the two companies decided to call off their merger after shareholders claiming to represent nearly 50% of VNU’s outstanding shares said they would not support the transaction under any circumstances. The merger, announced 11 July 2005, would have required approval from a majority of shareholders to be completed.

CEO Rob van den Bergh resigned as a result of the termination of the merger. He had been one of the chief architects of the transformation of VNU from a Dutch advertising-driven publishing house to a global information and media company.

On March 8, 2006, two major shareholders led by Knight-Vinke rejected a friendly buyout from a consortium of private equity firms including Blackstone Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.[1] only to accept a raised bid of 7.6B euros on May 22, 2006 or 8.7B euros with debt. The deal was notable for having required one of the biggest equity payments in history for a private equity deal with reports of ~3B euros in equity required. VNU is now owned by Valcon Acquisitions.^[1]

Dave Calhoun has been announced the new Chairman and CEO of VNU effective August 23, 2006. Calhoun comes from General Electric where he was Vice Chairman.

[edit] Corporate holdings

VNU is the owner of numerous well-known companies and publications, including:

ACNielsen, marketing research firm
Adweek weekly advertising industry publication
BASES, a Simulated Test Marketing (STM) firm
Billboard, weekly music industry publication
Brandweek weekly marketing industry publication
Claritas, provider of intelligent marketing information and target marketing services
Clio Awards, Advertising and Design festival and award show
Computing and IT Week, weekly newspapers for the UK computer industry
Editor & Publisher, monthly newspaper industry trade journal
The Hollywood Reporter, entertainment industry trade magazine
Kirkus Reviews, weekly book review trade journal
Mediaweek weekly media (Television, radio, print and outdoor advertising) industry publication
Nielsen BDS, A system that monitors radio airplay based on music spins and audience impressions.
Nielsen Media Research, producer of the Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen//NetRatings, Internet audience measurement firm
Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales and downloads.
Personal Computer World, the UK's oldest computing magazine
R&R, spinoff of Billboard, focusing on monitored radio airplay and the radio industry in general. The magazine is a merged combination of two former rivals: Radio & Records and Billboard Radio Monitor.
Tweakers.net, a large Dutch tech new website
The Bookseller, a weekly book industry publication
The Inquirer, Bleeding edge tech news site, often disputed due to sensitive information being disclosed.
vnunet.com, Tech news, reviews and downloads website