17 Mar 2011 07:00
17 March 2011
Brainspark plc
("Brainspark" or "the Company")
Strategic Investments
Brainspark plc (AIM: BSP), a fast growing international investment company, announces that it has invested in two companies which will provide financial control and management services for certain assets of the Company.
The first acquisition is a EUR 200,000 investment in Class Finance S.r.l., a consulting business, run by seasoned professionals Cesare Suglia and Lorenzo Cocco, which will become responsible for the financial control of the Mediapolis project and Ora Hotel Group, as well as acting as financial consultant for Bibop S.p.A.. Brainspark has received a 20 per cent. stake in Class Finance in exchange for Brainspark ordinary shares.
The Company has additionally invested EUR 65,000 cash for a 20 per cent. stake in Sforza S.r.l. a recently established, specialist real-estate management company. Sforza will provide management services for Brainspark's rapidly growing property portfolio, including its theme parks, Mediapolis and Ondaland, its hotel group, Ora Hotels, and the Company's new corporate office in Milan, the purchase agreement for which is expected to be signed within the next 30 days.
The rationale behind the investment in these companies, both of which are based in Milan, is to allow the Company to better control and manage its assets without creating the additional balance sheet cost of an increased staff base.
Alfredo Villa, Chairman and CEO of Brainspark, commented, "Brainspark has now reached a stage in its development whereby the implementation of additional controls over some of its core assets will, we believe, lead to an increase in shareholder value for the Company. We continue to work towards owning an integrated portfolio of investments which will be guided by our experienced management team and which in time will lead to the issue of a dividend."
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For further information please contact:
Brainspark plc +39 347 66 20 664
Alfredo Villa, Chairman and CEO
Arbuthnot Securities +44(0) 20 7012 2000
Antonio Bossi / Ed Groome
Leander PR +44(0) 7795 168 157
Christian Taylor-Wilkinson
About Brainspark Plc
Brainspark plc (AIM: BSP) is an AIM listed investment company pursuing a dynamic strategy to create a comprehensive portfolio of companies primarily encompassing the interactive media, leisure, entertainment and financial services sectors mainly in Italy but also other European countries. Its core investment is B'Parks & Leisure, the owner of a site in northern Italy with plans for the development of a large theme park. The company may be either a passive or active investor and Brainspark's investment rationale ranges from acquiring minority positions with strategic influence through to larger controlling positions.