VNU

VNU N.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 dropped 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 38,000 people worldwide.

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.

Corporate holdings

VNU is the owner of numerous well-known companies and publications, including:
Billboard, weekly music industry publication
Billboard Radio Monitor, spinoff of Billboard, focusing on monitored radio airplay and the radio industry in general. On July 6, 2006 VNU added Radio & Records, another publication devoted to the radio industry. Both trades will merge into one publication and take the "R&R" name when VNU relaunches the weekly on August 11, 2006.
The Hollywood Reporter, entertainment industry trade magazine
Adweek weekly advertising industry publication
Brandweek weekly marketing industry publication
Mediaweek weekly media (Television, radio, print and outdoor advertising) industry publication.
Editor & Publisher, monthly newspaper industry trade journal
Kirkus Reviews, weekly book review trade journal
Computing and IT Week, weekly newspapers for the UK computer industry
Personal Computer World, the UK's oldest computing magazine
vnunet.com, Tech news, reviews and downloads website
The_Inquirer, Bleeding edge tech news site, often disputed due to sensitive information being disclosed.
*Clio Awards, Advertising and Design festival and award show
*ACNielsen, marketing research firm
*Nielsen Media Research, producer of the Nielsen Ratings
*Nielsen//NetRatings, Internet audience measurement firm
*Nielsen BDS, A system that monitors radio airplay based on music spins and audience impressions.
*Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks music sales and downloads.

External links

*VNU website
*vnunet.com website