News!!!!16 Feb 2012 10:55
"DCD Media is set for a major overhaul that could coincide with a surprise investor’s plans to turn the super-indie into a multimedia player.
Aim-listed investment vehicle Timeweave acquired £3.1m of DCD loan notes last week and Broadcast understands it plans to convert that debt into equity, resulting in it holding a 29.9% stake in DCD.
From there, Timeweave is keen to invest for growth, with organic development and acquisitions both possibilities.
DCD board members, including chief executive David Green, met with Timeweave on Tuesday to discuss the loan note deals, which one source described as having “come out of the blue”.
A source close to DCD said: “They are friendly investors, who see DCD as the start of building a bigger media business, one that operates on several platforms and across different genres. They are not ruling anything out.”
Timeweave already owns a 50% stake in Turf TV, which holds exclusive broadcast rights for horse racing from 31 British racecourses including Aintree, Ascot and Newmarket.
It also owns SportingWins, which helps companies manage financial risk associated with sporting events, and its chief executive David Craven set up interactive TV media group UPB Chello and the Gaming Media Group.
Broadcast understands Timeweave’s investment will boost existing plans for a restructure of the indie, which will lead to the disappearance of the DCD brand.
Plans are being drawn up to rebuild the DCD divisions to mirror the BBC’s national and regional hubs. This is expected to include bolstering and rebranding Prospect Cymru as a drama centre, refocusing its Scottish base around entertainment and opening a Bristol office for factual and features.
DCD’s individual companies, including September and Rize, are expected to remain intact but will be “beefed up creatively”. Prospect’s London office is being considered for closure, coinciding with the opening of the Bristol base. DCD joint venture Matchlight will be largely unaffected.
Both DCD and Timeweave declined to comment."
From the link above.
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