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) (“Renren” or the “Company”), the leading real-name social networking internet platform in China, today announced its unaudited financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2011.

Fourth Quarter 2011 Highlights

• Total net revenues in the fourth quarter of 2011 were US$32.8million, a 57.0% increase from the corresponding period in 2010.
• Online advertising revenues in the fourth quarter were US$15.0 million, a 66.3% increase from the corresponding period in 2010.
• Gross profit in the fourth quarter of 2011was US$23.1 million, a 38.6% increase from the corresponding period in 2010.
• Operating loss in the fourth quarter of 2011was US$19.7 million, compared to US$2.3 million operating income in the corresponding period in 2010.
• Net income attributable to Renren in the fourth quarter was US$44.3 million, compared to a net loss of US$33.9 million in the corresponding period 2010.
• Adjusted net income(1) (non-GAAP) was US$48.2 million, compared to US$5.2 million in the corresponding period in 2010.

Fiscal Year 2011 Highlights

• Total net revenues in 2011 were US$118.0 million, a 54.1% increase from 2010.
• Online advertising revenues in 2011 were US$59.6 million, an 86.3% increase from 2010.
• Gross profit in 2011was US$91.7 million, a 53.1% increase from 2010.
• Operating loss in 2011 was US$30.2 million, compared to US$7.7 million operating income in the corresponding period in 2010.
• Net income attributable to Renren in 2011 was US$41.3 million, compared to a net loss of US$64.2 million for 2010.
• Adjusted net income(1) (non-GAAP) in 2011 was US$49.7 million, compared to US$17.4 million in 2010.

“2011 was an exciting year for Renren with progress in multiple directions, most notably our solid user metrics, strong growth of core advertising revenues and successful launches of new products such as our mobile applications and light blogging service,” commented Joseph Chen, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Renren’s initial public offering in May 2011 was an important event that further raised our brand recognition and financial resources to new levels.  The IPO proceeds have subsequently allowed us to execute our strategic acquisition of online video website 56.com, invest in location-based technology through Mapbar.com as well as maintain our social commerce leadership through Nuomi.

“Our monthly mobile penetration rate of 38% remains encouraging as we head into the mobile-centric era,” Mr. Chen continued. “With over 60% of our mobile users now accessing their Renren accounts through smartphones, we continue to witness the convergence of social networks, mobile utilization and local merchants as a key theme of our mobile growth. Equipped with Renren’s user base, location-based platform and Nuomi’s merchant network, we will further integrate our products and services to capture monetization opportunities.

“Looking forward, 2012 will be a year of investments for Renren as we further deploy effectively the funds we raised from our IPO. Mobile will continue to represent a large portion of our investment focus along with solidifying Nuomi’s leadership and increasing traffic on 56.com by improving user experience.  Our long-term strategy will remain to focus on product innovation and further evolution of Renren’s social networking services into a technology-driven communication platform,” Mr. Chen concluded.

“We are pleased that revenues in the fourth quarter came in at the high end range of our guidance. We closed 2011 with 54% revenue growth, based on a healthy contribution mix from our diversified revenue streams. While 2012 was off to a seasonally slow start due to the early Chinese New Year in the first quarter, we continue to expect our full year revenue in 2012 to grow 50-55% year-over-year, based on our current visibility,” Hui Huang, Renren’s Chief Financial Officer, added. “As we previously mentioned in our pre-earnings announcement, management is prepared to increase the level of investments across our business lines. With the incremental amount of US$60 million to US$70 million for investments this year compared to previous projections made a year ago, 2012 will be a year of dedicated but sensible investment in enhancing technology, driving innovation and optimizing efficiency to increase user engagement and long-term sustainable growth.”

Fourth Quarter 2011 Results

Net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2011 were US$32.8 million, representing a 57.0% increase from the corresponding period in 2010.

Online advertising revenues were US$15.0 million, representing an increase of 66.3% from the corresponding period in 2010. The increase stems from Renren’s continued steady growth of its user base and engagement level coupled with the increasing adoption of our SNS platform as an advertising solution by advertisers.  The number of Renren’s activated users increased from approximately 110 million as of December 31, 2010 to approximately 147 million as of December 31, 2011. Monthly unique log-in users increased from approximately 26 million in December 2010 to approximately 38 million in December 2011.

Internet Value-Added Services (IVAS) revenues were US$17.8 million, representing a 49.9% increase from the corresponding period in 2010. Within IVAS revenues, online game revenues were US$12.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, a 39.0% increase from the corresponding period in 2010. Gaming revenue increase in this quarter was primarily due to the increasing popularity of several new games Renren launched. Other IVAS revenues were US$5.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, a 78.7% increase from the corresponding period in 2010. Within other IVAS revenues, Renren’s social commerce service, Nuomi, recorded US$2.7 million of net revenues for the fourth quarter of 2011.

Cost of revenues was US$9.7 million, a 129.5% increase from the corresponding period in 2010. Cost of revenues for the fourth quarter of 2011 included US$430 thousand for Nuomi.  The increase in cost of revenues for the fourth quarter was largely due to the increased bandwidth investment and the consolidation of 56.com, an on-line video sharing company we acquired in October 2011.

Gross profit was US$23.1 million, a 38.6% increase from US$16.7 million in the corresponding period in 2010. Gross margin was 70.5%, compared to 79.8% in the corresponding period in 2010.

Operating expenses were US$42.9 million, a 198.7% increase from the corresponding period in 2010. Operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2011 included US$11.9 million expenses incurred on Nuomi. Excluding Nuomi, the operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2011 would be US$31.0 million, a 125.8% increase from the corresponding period in 2010. 

Selling and marketing expenses were US$20.2 million, a 322.6% increase from the corresponding period in 2010, primarily due to the increased investments in Nuomi’s sales force and advertising campaigns, along with increased personnel related expenses and sales commissions associated with increased advertising sales.

Research and development expenses were US$13.9 million, a 95.5% increase from the corresponding period in 2010, primarily due to headcount and personnel related expense increases.

General and administrative expenses were US$6.5 million, a 271.4% increase from the corresponding period in 2010, primarily due to the growth of the company size and business operations.

Share-based compensation expenses, which are all included in the operating expenses, were US$1.3 million, compared to US$0.8million in the corresponding period in 2010.

Operating loss was US$19.7 million, compared to US$2.3 million operating income from the corresponding period in 2010. Operating losses in the fourth quarter included a one-time impairment of intangible assets in the amount of US$2.3 million, primarily related to Xiaonei.com, a domain name we acquired in 2006 but no longer in use.

Net income attributable to Renren Inc. was US$44.3 million, which included a one-time gain of US$50.9 million from the sale of eLong securities, compared to a net loss of US$33.9 million in the corresponding period of 2010. Excluding results of operations attributable to Nuomi, net income in the fourth quarter of 2011 would be US$53.4 million compared to a net loss of US$33.9 million in the corresponding period of 2010.

Adjusted net income (non-GAAP) was US$48.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to US$5.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. Excluding results of operations attributable to Nuomi, adjusted net income in the fourth quarter of 2011 would be US$57.3 million, a 1,018.7% increase from the fourth quarter of 2010. Adjusted net income (loss) is defined as income (loss) from continuing operations excluding share-based compensation expenses, change in fair value of our then outstanding series D warrants (which had been fully exercised by the end of 2010), and amortization of intangible assets and impairment of intangible assets.

Fiscal Year 2011 Results

Total net revenues in 2011 were US$118.0 million, a 54.1% increase from 2010.

Online advertising revenues in 2011 were US$59.6 million, representing an increase of 86.3% from 2010. The significant increase was an overall result of the increasing adoption of Renren’s social network platform as an advertising solution for advertisers, driven by our user base growth.

Internet Value-Added Services (IVAS) revenues in 2011 were US$58.4 million, representing a 31.0% increase from 2010. Within IVAS revenues, online game revenues were US$42.3 million in 2011, a 22.9% increase from 2010. Other IVAS revenues were US$16.1 million for 2011, a 58.8% increase from 2010. Within other IVAS revenues, Renren’s social commerce service, Nuomi, which was launched on June 23, 2010, recorded US$6.5 million of net revenues for 2011.     

Cost of revenues in 2011 was US$26.2 million, a 57.8% increase from 2010. Cost of revenues in 2011 included US$622 thousand for Nuomi.  The increase was majority due to bandwidth investment for Renren.com and also consolidation and bandwidth investment for 56.com.

Gross profit in 2011 was US$91.7 million, a 53.1% increase from US$59.9 million in 2010. Gross margin was 77.8%, compared to 78.3% in 2010.           

Operating expenses in 2011 were US$121.9 million, a 133.4% increase from 2010. Operating expenses in 2011 included US$30.2 million expenses incurred on Nuomi. Excluding Nuomi, operating expenses in 2011 would be US$91.7 million, a 79.2% increase from 2010.

Selling and marketing expenses in 2011 were US$62.1 million, a 206.0% increase from 2010, primarily due to increased investments in Nuomi’s sales force and advertising campaigns, which attributed to approximately US$23.7 million in selling and marketing expenses, along with increased personnel related expenses and sales commissions associated with increased advertising sales on Renren.com. 

Research and development expenses in 2011 were US$40.3 million, a 70.1% increase from 2010, primarily due to headcount and personnel related expense increases.  Our mobile business unit was a particular driver of our RD investment increase for 2011. 

General and administrative expenses in 2011 were US$17.2 million, a 129.2% increase from 2010, primarily due to the growth of the company size, expanded business units, and expenses associated with becoming a publicly listed company. 

Share-based compensation expenses in 2011, which are all included in the operating expenses, were US$5.5 million, compared to US$2.8 million in 2010, primarily due to increased headcount and personnel related expense increases.

Operating loss in 2011 was US$30.2 million, compared to US$7.7 million operating income in 2010.

Net income attributable to Renren Inc. in 2011 was US$41.3 million, which included a one-time gain of US$50.9 million from the sale of eLong securities in the fourth quarter, compared to a net loss of US$64.2 million in 2010. Excluding results of operations attributable to Nuomi, net income in 2011 would be US$65.6 million compared to a net loss of US$64.3 million in 2010.

Adjusted net income (non-GAAP) in 2011 was US$49.7 million, compared to US$17.4 million in 2010. Excluding results of operations attributable to Nuomi, adjusted net income in 2011 would be US$74.0 million, a 329.0% increase from 2010. Adjusted net income (loss) is defined as income (loss) from continuing operations excluding share-based compensation expenses, change in fair value of our then outstanding series D warrants (which had been fully exercised by the end of 2010), and amortization of intangible assets and impairment of intangible assets.

Share Repurchase Program

On September 29, 2011, the Company announced a share repurchase program to repurchase up to US$150 million of its ADSs and shares.  As of December 31, 2011, Renren had repurchased 6,089,228 ADS’s at a total cost of US$25.6 million.

Business Outlook

The Company expects to generate revenues in an amount ranging from US$28 million to US$30 million in the first quarter of 2012, representing 36% to 46% year-over-year growth. For the full year 2012, the Company expects its revenues to be between US$177 million to US$183 million, representing 50-55% year-over-year growth. This forecast reflects Renren’s current and preliminary view, which is subject to change.

Conference Call Information

Renren’s management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on Thursday, March 8, 2012 (Beijing/Hong Kong Time: 9:00 a.m., Friday, March 9, 2012).

Interested parties may participate in the conference call by dialing the numbers below and entering passcode 10-15 minutes prior to the initiation of the call.

Dial-in Information:

A replay of the call will be available for one week and dial-in information is as follows:

This call will be webcast live and the replay will be available on Renren’s corporate web site at http://ir.renren-inc.com for twelve months.

About Renren Inc.

Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) operates the leading real name social networking internet platform in China. It enables users to connect and communicate with each other, share information and user generated content, play online games, listen to music, shop for deals and enjoy a wide range of other features and services. Renren’s platform includes the main social networking website Renren.com, the online games center game.Renren.com, the social commerce website Nuomi.com, and the video-sharing website 56.com. Renren had approximately 147 million activated users as of December 31, 2011.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates” and similar statements. Among other things, the business outlook for the first quarter and full year 2012 and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Renren’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Renren may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Renren’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: our goals and strategies; our future business development, financial condition and results of operations; the expected growth of the social networking site market in China; our expectations regarding demand for and market acceptance of our services; our expectations regarding the retention and strengthening of our relationships with key advertisers and customers; our plans to enhance user experience, infrastructure and service offerings; competition in our industry in China; and relevant government policies and regulations relating to our industry. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in our filings with the SEC. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of this press release, and Renren does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

About Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement Renren’s consolidated financial results presented in accordance with United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“GAAP”), Renren uses “adjusted net income (loss)” which is defined as “a non-GAAP financial measure” by the SEC, in evaluating its business. We define adjusted net income (loss) as income (loss) from continuing operations excluding share-based compensation expenses, change in fair value of warrants, amortization of intangible assets and impairment of intangible assets. We present adjusted net income (loss) because it is used by our management to evaluate our operating performance. We also believe that this non-GAAP financial measure provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our consolidated results of operations in the same manner as our management and in comparing financial results across accounting periods and to those of our peer companies.

The presentation of this non-GAAP financial measure is not intended to be considered in isolation from, or as a substitute for, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please see the table captioned “Reconciliation of non-GAAP results of operations measure to the comparable GAAP financial measure” at the end of this release.

For more information, please contact:

Sam Lawn
Investor Relations Director
Renren Inc.
Tel: (86 10) 8448 1818 ext 1300
Email: ir@renren-inc.com

Caroline Straathof
IR Inside
Tel: (the Netherlands) +31 6 5462 4301
Tel: (China): +86 136 9310 5055
Email: info@irinside.com

 

 

 

RENREN INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)

(Amounts in US dollars, in thousands, except shares,per shares, ADS, and per ADS data)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 31,

December 31,

 

2010

2011

 

 

 

 

 

ASSETS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

 

$

136,063

$

284,643

Term deposit

 

 

 

—

 

702,680

Short-term investments

 

 

 

62,318

 

53,393

Accounts receivable, net

 

 

 

12,815

 

14,911

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

 

 

7,274

 

59,389

Amounts due from related parties

 

 

 

218,456

 

573

Deferred tax assets-current

 

 

 

593

 

1,381

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total current assets

 

 

 

437,519

 

1,116,970

 

 

 

 

 

Non-current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Equipment, net

 

 

 

11,307

 

22,301

Intangible assets, net

 

 

 

2,747

 

28,086

Goodwill

 

 

 

4,420

 

58,998

Long-term investment

 

 

 

—

 

50,300

Deferred tax assets-noncurrent

 

 

 

481

 

—

Other non-current assets

 

 

 

—

 

1,353

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total non-current assets

 

 

 

18,955

 

161,038

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL ASSETS

 

 

$

456,474

$

1,278,008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABIILITIES, CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES AND EQUITY (DEFICIT)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

 

$

6,443

$

20,381

Accrued expenses and other payables

 

 

 

14,408

 

31,108

Amount due to a related party

 

 

 

—

 

51

Deferred revenue

 

 

 

4,476

 

7,441

Income tax payable

 

 

 

64

 

1,506

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total current liabilities

 

 

 

25,391

 

60,487

 

 

 

 

 

Non-current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deferred tax liabilities-noncurrent

 

 

 

516

 

6,976

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total non-current liabilities

 

 

 

516

 

6,976

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOTAL LIABILITES

 

 

 

25,907

 

67,463

 

 

 

 

 

Commitments

 

 

 

 

 

 

Series C convertible redeemable preferred shares ($0.001 par value; 215,959,520 shares authorized, issuance price $0.223 per share; 128,048,440 and nil shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2011, respectively, liquidation value of $26,713)

 

 

 

28,520

 

—

Series D convertible redeemable preferred shares ($0.001 par value; 434,204,890 shares authorized, redemption and issuance price $0.993 per share; 434,204,890 and nil shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2011, respectively, liquidation value of $403,854)

 

 

 

571,439

 

—

 

 

 

 

 

Shareholders’ Equity (Deficit):

 

 

 

 

 

 

Series A convertible preferred share (US$0.001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 85,100,000 and nil issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2011, respectively, liquidation value $85 as of December 31, 2010)

 

 

 

85

 

—

Series B convertible preferred share (US$0.001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized, 81,501,540 and nil issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2011, respectively, liquidation value $82 as of December 31, 2010)

 

 

 

82

 

—

Ordinary Shares (US$0.001 par value, 2,000,000,000 shares authorized, 211,383,000 and 1,169,675,800 issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2011, respectively)

 

 

 

211

 

1,170

Treasury shares

 

 

 

—

 

(25,597)

Additional paid-in capital

 

 

 

9,470

 

1,407,059

Subscription receivable

 

 

 

(4,909)

 

—

Accumulated deficit

 

 

 

(223,572)

 

(183,228)

Statutory reserves

 

 

 

2,595

 

3,507

Accumulated other comprehensive income 

 

 

 

46,646

 

7,334

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Renren’s shareholders’ equity (deficit)

 

 

 

(169,392)

 

1,210,245

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Noncontrolling Interests

 

 

 

—

 

300

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Equity  (Deficit)

 

 

 

(169,392)

 

1,210,545

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIABIILITIES, CONVERTIBLE REDEEMABLE PREFERRED SHARES AND EQUITY (DEFICIT)

 

 

$

456,474

$

1,278,008

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE Renren Inc.

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http://ir.renren-inc.com
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http://www.56.com
http://game.Renren.com

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Helsinki, Finland, November 30, 2011 –(PR.com)– Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA), a global strategic market intelligence and advisory group, experiences strong growth for its competitive intelligence (CI) software and anticipates the trend to continue in 2012-2013. GIA also launches a dedicated competitive intelligence software website for its Intelligence Plaza® solution.

GIA has experienced especially strong growth for new CI software installations since 2010 and this trend has been intensifying. In 2011, the consultancy expects growth in installations of its competitive intelligence software, Intelligence Plaza, in North America to reach 37%. This growth is driven by demand from the manufacturing, financial, energy as well as in consumer and retail sectors in North America.

“We are seeing a clear trend towards dedicated off-the-shelf CI applications that are easy to deploy and use, as well as specifically designed to support competitive intelligence functions. Most companies have conducted their own analysis on building their in-house solution versus buying off-the-shelf intelligence software and realize it costs much more, both in terms of money and time, to build a solution from scratch. In order to get to advanced or world class levels with their intelligence programs, companies need to deploy dedicated competitive intelligence applications and ensure that these are compatible with Microsoft SharePoint, which is commonly used by large corporations for information sharing,” said Jouko Virtanen, President of GIA North America. “Also, the demand to house and rapidly disseminate local market insights on countries like China, Brazil and India has become immense, as companies continue to enter or expand in growing markets. When built properly, competitive intelligence software can significantly help to support these strategic initiatives.”

In order to meet the demand for more information about Intelligence Plaza and CI software best practices in general, GIA has launched a separate website to provide easy-to-digest information and a quick channel for request for proposals (RFPs), that is separate from the consultancy’s corporate website. The website presents an overview of GIA’s competitive intelligence solution for top management, strategic planning, business development, sales and marketing, research and development, and intelligence professionals. The website also includes selected customer testimonials and case studies from users of the competitive intelligence solution, including Bosch, Fujitsu Services, Philips, Robeco and SCC–Heineken Group. It also demonstrates how Intelligence Plaza is integrated with Microsoft SharePoint, which will be highly beneficial for organizations already using SharePoint. Moreover, the consultancy plans to provide market updates on competitive intelligence best practices on the website.

“The key reason we are growing faster than the market is that Intelligence Plaza is developed with ‘ease of use’ as its core principle. There is a vast array of information available to corporate users these days. Users expect to be able to access relevant and effective information feeds, including those from social media, with seamless mobile capability. They also expect to collaborate in real-time and use advanced charting or sharing functionalities. The Intelligence Plaza allows users to do all this and more. We have also been able to help clients embed the use of Intelligence Plaza into their business processes. Competitive intelligence users particularly appreciate having a system in place to support their strategy planning process with relevant market and competitive dashboards that are customized for individual users. We have also seen many successful implementations of field intelligence programs to support sales enablement and revenue generation, using the Intelligence Plaza. Without a doubt, GIA’s Intelligence Best Practices expertise has been crucial to the popularity of Intelligence Plaza, as we use insights from serving clients in a range of competitive intelligence services, from strategic analysis consulting to market monitoring, to tailor a solution that best meets the needs of competitive intelligence users today,” said Petteri Verronen, Vice President, Technology.

For other information, visit the www.globalintelligence.com or send an email to media(a)globalintelligence.com. ?

About Global Intelligence Alliance

Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA) is a strategic market intelligence and advisory group. GIA was formed in 1995 when a team of market intelligence specialists, management consultants, industry analysts and technology experts came together to build a powerful suite of customized solutions ranging from outsourced market monitoring services and software, to strategic analysis and advisory.

Today, we are the preferred partner for organizations seeking to understand, compete and grow in international markets. Our industry expertise and coverage of over 100 countries enables our customers to make better informed decisions worldwide.

www.globalintelligence.com

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A young musician goes viral, reaching a global audience through Google’s innovative Hangout technology.

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FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Conn., July 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Facebook users are migrating to Google’s new social network, Google+, for innovative features like the Hangout technology, which allows 10 people to interact on live video simultaneously. The new technology has created a buzz in the social media world, with one of its most exciting uses being the first official virtual concert performed by singer/songwriter Daria Musk.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110722/NY39872 )

Pushing the limits of this new Google+ technology, Musk performed a 6.5 hour virtual concert that became a worldwide phenomenon, ultimately reaching thousands of viewers around the globe, from Norway to Australia to Argentina. With the support of Google, whose Director of Engineering, Chee Chew, attended the concert and provided technical assistance all throughout, Daria performed all night for fans who created an etiquette of staying for a few songs before leaving the Hangout so that fans-in-waiting could jump in.

From a technology perspective, Daria’s concert changed how Google+ Hangouts are used and perceived. Post concert, Chew posted, “just had the privilege of attending the first known pro level Hangout jam session.”

“We, at Google+, are passionate about bringing people together,” said Chew to his Google+ network earlier this month. “For us on hangouts it’s about really connecting small groups together face to face (to face to face), bringing people together from around the world in a new way. We all have a human need to connect and communicate.” 

The response from fans around the world caused the media to pick up the story, while Musk has landed on BusinessInder.com’s list of “The Most Interesting People to Circle on Google+.” Meanwhile, Google’s top engineers are collaborating with Musk to host a second concert this Saturday, July 23rd at 7 p.m. ET., creating a live streaming channel on www.HangoutParty.com that will allow an unlimited number of viewers around the world to watch and listen.

“While Facebook has created a platform that has changed the way people connect online through sharing pictures and updates, Google+ took it one step further by allowing people to interact in real time with video and voice capabilities, changing the very nature of how people socialize on these networks,” said Sean Wolfington, owner of Tier 10 Marketing, the agency which architected the digital marketing strategy for Grammy Award-winning musician Shakira and that now represents Musk. “Traditionally record labels dictated which artists get exposure. Now Google+ gives artists an opportunity to find fans, and gives fans the opportunity to find artists. This interactive video conferencing platform turns fans into friends by allowing them to collaborate directly with the artist, and it’s changing the music industry.”

“Google+ changed my life on Saturday night because I was able to connect with fans from all around the world,” said Musk. “My heart is bursting with joy and I’m forever changed.”

About Daria Musk

With a set list of powerfully catchy songs, crafted with artistry, spunk and modern flair, soulful indie pop/rock artist Daria Musk is quickly becoming a fan favorite online and in person, receiving rave reviews for her recordings and live shows. Raised in a musical family, with a rebellious heart, an honest innocence, and a passion for playing, Daria developed a distinctive guitar and songwriting style that catches fire on stage and in the studio. Together with producer/composer/bass player R.A.M., Daria has gone from playing cafes to showcasing at festivals and major music industry events like SXSW, CMJ and Gathering of the Vibes. Daria has played to sold-out crowds at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston, New York City‘s Mercury Lounge, and Connecticut‘s beautiful Stage One. In just a few years, Daria’s songwriting and talent have been recognized and awarded by the We Are Listening Singer/Songwriter Awards, the Starbucks Emerging Artist Competition, the International Songwriting Competition, the Gap’s Born-To-Play Competition (voted #9 over-all out of 800+ artists), the Musician’s Atlas Spotlight Artist, and she has been sponsored by the Taylor Guitars at SXSW 2009. 

About Chee Chew

Chee Chew is Director of Engineering for Google, Inc., overseeing applications and client efforts at the company’s Seattle and Kirkland offices. Prior to Google, Chee spent 14 years at Microsoft Corporation where he started as a code engineer on Windows 95 and Internet Explorer 3, 4 and 5, before transitioning to engineering leadership and filling the position of General Manager for Windows Mobile. Most recently, Chew has taken the lead on Google’s new Google+ platform, which has generated 18 million followers since it was launched earlier this month.

About Tier 10 Marketing

Tier 10 Marketing is a holistic marketing agency that specializes in helping media companies, global brands, automotive groups, films and international musicians implement results-oriented marketing strategies to increase their market share and profitability by building the brand, attracting more hi-quality opportunities, improving revenues and loyalty while reducing advertising costs. The company has helped to successfully market feature films Bella, Blind Side, The Mighty Macs, and architected the entire digital marketing strategy for Grammy Award-winning musician Shakira, the most successful mainstream Latino artist in the world, and the producer of one of the most viewed YouTube videos in history with 365 million views. For more information, please visit www.Tier10Marketing.com.

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Acquisition fills an urgent need requested by SuccessFactors customers

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SAN MATEO, Calif., April 26, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — SuccessFactors, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFSF), the global leader in business execution cloud-based SaaS software, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Plateau, the leading learning management system (LMS), a Next Generation Portal technology, and CaaS- Content as a Service. This acquisition forms a symbiotic combination with SuccessFactors’ acquisition of social video mobile learning provider Jambok.

Customers will now have the ability to further increase employee development and business execution by implementing a comprehensive social and traditional learning strategy that includes evangelizing internal experts, utilizing easy-to-use video creation and sharing tools, as well as managing, developing, and deploying online, instructor-led and self-study training.  

“I first met Paul Sparta, CEO of Plateau, 8 years ago, and what struck me, and has stayed with me, more so than any founder or CEO whom I have met in our industry, was how seriously and incredibly committed he was to two key drivers: 1) his customers’ success through superior product and domain expertise; and 2) building a financially strong and profitable business,” said Lars Dalgaard, founder and CEO of SuccessFactors. “With more than 15 million combined users, and the biggest RD budget and largest domain expertise, in the HCM cloud-based SaaS industry, we can compete more effectively with some of the incumbent HCM vendors’ total suite, and continue to surprise and excite customers with the next decade of innovations.”

“Plateau will accelerate SuccessFactors’ strategy markedly. SuccessFactors’ game-plan’s four key drivers will all be strengthened substantially: 1) customers achieving better results through the SuccessFactors suite, expertise and commitment; 2) building for great cash profitability; 3) continuing to build towards one of the SaaS cloud-based HCM industry’s strongest global customer and sales field force; and 4) offering a leading comprehensive suite of relevant and proven Business Execution applications. Like SuccessFactors, Plateau has had success with the biggest and most complex customers, including Plateau’s long time customer General Electric, and this makes Plateau the best choice for SuccessFactors, and we believe an excellent choice for customers, and prospects,” Dalgaard continued.

“SuccessFactors approaches integrated talent management in an innovative way that really impacts our business,” said Carol Anderson Chief Learning Officer at Marriott International, Inc.   “With the additions of Plateau’s LMS and Jambok’s social learning technology, SuccessFactors is clearly changing the market and offering a unique advantage to its customers.”

“Plateau has a long history of delivering innovation and has consistently been recognized in the top 1 or 2 position as a leader in LMS from analysts during the last couple of years, including Forrester, Gartner, IDC and Bersin Associates.  Plateau is also recognized for its industry-leading levels of customer satisfaction, and what made an acquisition of this size possible is that Plateau’s renewal rates are at approximately 99 percent. We have been overwhelmed by the number of customers globally who have requested LMS, specifically on SuccessFactors’ enterprise platform. We estimate 80 percent of our sales force has active opportunities, and customers have specifically identified having Plateau’s industry-leading LMS on SuccessFactors’ platform as particularly desirable, which has helped to reduce the financial risk,” Dalgaard continued.

“Plateau has been recognized for its traction in SaaS, and technologically.  SuccessFactors and Plateau are more alike than any other platforms. We think the fact that Plateau, like SuccessFactors, is built using Enterprise Java, J2EE, also reduces the execution risk and thus, helped make the case for this acquisition a lot more compelling. Since J2EE is delivered with a focus on interoperability, portability and true enterprise class scalability, both teams anticipate a cleaner and smoother code assimilation. SuccessFactors has set achievable, yet aggressive, timeframes to fully integrate Plateau’s LMS solution,” said Aaron Au, co-founder and CTO of SuccessFactors.

“Plateau has many great team-members who are excited to join forces with us to deliver a robust HCM SaaS offering to companies everywhere,” Dalgaard continued. “Their track record, customers, team members, recognition, recurring revenue stream, existing demand and real pipeline, and extraordinary smorgasbord of innovation were enough to do the acquisition. Add Plateau’s strong presence in the Federal business, and the pharmaceutical industry, the excitement and strength of the Plateau team and its new “Flex” UI that both companies see as innovative to the industry, and the acquisition became a lot more valuable.”

“Plateau’s solutions are designed to help companies improve organizations’ operations across the board by providing employees, executives, and the extended enterprise clear visibility and access to the information and learning needed to perform effectively.  In practice this includes managing learning, compliance, goals, positions, compensation and many other aspects of an organization,” said Paul Sparta, chairman and CEO, Plateau.  “Plateau’s strategy fits hand-in-glove with the broad strategy of SuccessFactors’ Business Execution.  Where SuccessFactors and Plateau have common approaches to many parts of the HCM lifecycle historically, we are now positioned exceptionally well to quickly unify what is common and more heavily invest in the kinds of innovation the market has yet to see in HCM.”

“In short, I am personally relishing the opportunity to work with some of the great minds that SuccessFactors has now assembled.  I very much look forward to sharing it with the world in the coming months,” Sparta continued.

Through its acquisitions over the past year, SuccessFactors has continued to build on its core BizX solution and revolutionize the market. This acquisition extends the company’s leadership by enhancing its current career and development planning offerings, integrating the entire employee lifecycle experience, as well as positioning the company as the leader in the HCM cloud-based SaaS market. Based on initial estimates, the combined companies will have more than 15 million users.

“Learning and development is an integral part of the entire employee lifecycle starting with the on-boarding process and how quickly new employees can be productive,” said Karie Willyerd, vice president of learning and social adoption, SuccessFactors, and founder and CEO of Jambok. “Historically the primary role of a learning management system was to reduce the cost of training and training administration, improve compliance, provide a platform to improve employee skills and time to competency, and to standardize processes and content.  At SuccessFactors, we are moving beyond these ‘core’ drivers of learning to now address business performance and aligning business goals and skill requirements with learning and development, using cutting-edge SaaS technologies.”

Plateau brings more than 350 customers to SuccessFactors. After the deal closes, Plateau’s SaaS based LMS will be integrated directly into SuccessFactors’ BizX suite providing deeper opportunities for companies to bridge the execution gap by more effectively on-boarding, training, certifying, and linking learning to overall performance, goals, and employee engagement.

“This is, in my opinion, a merger of true leaders. SuccessFactors and Plateau are both thought leaders, product leaders and service leaders,” says Lisa Rowan, program director, HR, Talent, and Learning Strategies for IDC. “Plateau emerged as a leader this year in IDC’s annual MarketScape on Integrated Talent Management joining SuccessFactors there. A big part of Plateau’s ascension is the satisfaction of the Plateau client base. “

“In today’s fast-paced business environment, organizations need to rapidly integrate their systems for employee hiring, management, and development into a strategic process,” said Josh Bersin, President and CEO of Bersin Associates, a leading analyst firm in corporate learning and human resources.  “SuccessFactors’ acquisition of Plateau brings together the market share leader in talent management with one of the market leaders in learning management to create a global powerhouse in end-to-end talent management software.”

“SuccessFactors just acquired another big piece of the periodic table of elements. With Plateau, they now have the opportunity to mix things together that haven’t been mixed together before said Jason Averbook, CEO of Knowledge Infusion.  Through the work we do daily driving transformation in the world’s largest enterprises and our recent KI HR executive survey, more companies than ever desire a single, unified suite that includes recruitment, talent and learning that they can tie to their overall business strategy.”  

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, SuccessFactors will pay $145 million in cash plus $145 million in stock, approximately $15 million is for employee stock options and RSUs, for Plateau. The acquisition is subject to various closing conditions, including filings under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act and the issuance of a permit from the California Department of Corporations, and is currently expected to close during summer 2011.

For more information read the QA at http://www.successfactors.com/plateau.

About SuccessFactors, Inc.

SuccessFactors is the leading provider of cloud-based Business Execution (BizX) software solutions to organizations of all sizes, with more than 8 million users across multiple industries and geographies. We strive to delight our customers by delivering innovative solutions, a broad range of content, process expertise and best practices knowledge gained from serving our large and varied customer base. Today, we have more than 3,200 customers in more than 168 countries using our application suite in 34 languages. 

Execution Is The Difference™

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Join us for SuccessConnect in San Francisco, May 11-12, Amsterdam, May 19-20 and Sydney, Aug. 24-25: http://www.successfactors.com/successconnect/ .

About Plateau

Plateau is the industry’s premier provider of enterprise-class SaaS talent management suites. Major global corporations and government agencies, including General Electric, the U.S. Air Force and Capital One Services are using Plateau’s integrated talent management solutions to improve productivity and facilitate strategic workforce initiatives around learning, performance, compensation and career and succession management. Plateau is widely recognized throughout the industry for its commitment to customer satisfaction, forward-thinking vision and for consistency delivering best-in-class functionality. Founded in 1996, Plateau is headquartered in Arlington, VA and has offices across the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific. For more information about Plateau please visit www.plateau.com.

“Safe harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are SuccessFactors’ current expectations and beliefs.

These forward-looking statements include statements about future growth prospects and the benefits of the proposed acquisition. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements include: our ability to retain customers and to experience high customer renewal rates; integration risks, including risks related to integration of the Plateau’s products, technologies and personnel and managing geographically-dispersed operations; assumption of liabilities;  whether customers of Plateau will desire to continue as customers or whether they will be willing to migrate their products to the SuccessFactors platform; whether customers of SuccessFactors will seek competitive learning management products;   pricing pressures; the uncertain impact of the overall global economic conditions, including on customers, prospective customers and partners, renewal rates and length of sales cycles; the fact that the business execution market is at an early stage of development, and may not develop as rapidly as we anticipate;  competitive factors; outages or security breaches; our ability to develop, and market acceptance of, new services; the impact of any discovered product defects or outages; our ability to continue to sell our services outside the HR area; our ability to manage our growth; our ability to successfully expand our sales force and its effectiveness; whether our resellers and other partners will be successful in marketing our products; our ability to continue to manage expenses; the impact of unforeseen expenses, including as a result of integrating acquisitions; and general economic conditions worldwide.  If any such risks or uncertainties materialize or if any of the assumptions prove incorrect, our results could differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements we make.

Further information on these and other factors that could affect these forward-looking statements is included in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in our most recent report on Form 10-Q and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

Contact:

For investor inquiries:
Karen Moran
650.645.4439
kmoran@successfactors.com

For media inquiries:
Andrea Meyer
415.370.7329
ameyer@successfactors.com

SOURCE SuccessFactors, Inc.

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Today’s technology rapidly changes for improvement and one of them is the methods or ways of marketing. As of this day internet marketing is quite popular that is why software developers is continuing to discover web-marketing strategies, one of these is the revenue sharing. Revenue sharing consists of different meaning depending on what line of business topic is. Revenue sharing on the internet marketing is refers to the Cost Per Sale or CPS. CPS can be use to those sites who sells products or services directly from the customers and the website operator shares revenue by computing sales per transaction to those who help them acquired the specific sales. It is also regards to be the distribution of sales via internet. This identified with affiliate and compensation programs. The website operators pay the affiliate members a certain percentage based on the revenue sharing method.

Lists of detailed internet marketing strategies that are using revenue sharing:

1. E-commerce website operators pay the affiliate marketers for generating customers. In this method the website operator payment (revenue shares) to the affiliate marketers is excluding tax and other extra costs that paid by the customers.
2. In this internet marketing strategy, members working together and recruit others to register online then they share the earnings

3.   Mobile internet – Internet marketers believed that revenue sharing could be a big help to the mobile internet success. This proved by record of accomplishment that those who offer revenue sharing were those who had success in the industry.

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• revenue sharing as a marketing strategy

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