Last checked at 26 Apr 2012 10:25
26 April 2012 Parallel Media Group PLC ("PMG" or the "Company") K-pop joint venture and issue of equity
PMG, the AIM quoted sports media and digital agency, is pleased to announce that Parallel Smart Media Asia Alpha Entertainment Pte Limited ("PSMAA"), a newly incorporated company 50% owned by Parallel Smart Media Asia Pte. Ltd, has entered into an agreement with CJ E&M to bring Korean Pop ("K-pop"), the highly successful Asian music genre, to Singapore.
CJ E&M, which is listed on the Korean Stock Exchange, is a leading Korean media and entertainment company, focusing on broadcasting, movies, game development, and music and concert businesses. It has a market capitalisation of approximately KRW 1.0 trillion (£540m) and revenues in 2011 of KRW 1.14 trillion (£620m).
This new joint venture continues PMG's expansion into Asia. Following the establishment of Singapore-based PSMA in March of this year, PMG's strategy is to promote the K-pop genre initially by arranging three concerts - for the artists Shinwha, Wonder Girls and 2pm. The chance to partner with CJ E&M on delivering these concerts is a unique opportunity for PSMAA.
PSMAA is a 50/50 joint venture between Parallel Smart Media Asia Pte. Ltd ("PSMA") and the Singapore and Korea based HW Alpha PTE Ltd. PSMA is 51% owned by PMG.
The Company also announces it has conditionally placed 1,430,000 shares at 35p per share with Mr. Henry Wee to raise SGD 1,000,000 (approximately £500,000) (the "New Ordinary Shares"). Mr. Wee has been granted an option to subscribe for a further 1,430,000 shares at 35p, valid for 18 months. Mr. Wee, a major shareholder in HW Alpha PTE Ltd, was formerly a banker in an international bank in Singapore. Some £300,000 (SGD 600,000) of the proceeds will be loaned to PSMAA for working capital.
Application will be made for admission of the New Ordinary Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission"). Admission is expected to occur on or around 2 May 2012. The New Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing ordinary shares.
Following Admission, there will be 22,912,346 ordinary shares in issue. This number may be used by shareholders in the Company as the denominator for the calculations by which they will determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change in their interest in, the share capital of the Company.
David Ciclitira, Chairman of PMG says:
"We are very pleased to continue our expansion into Asia with PSMAA, which will initially deliver three K-pop concerts in Singapore in 2012. As our Parallel Smart Media division is relatively new, we see this as significant progress. The artist Shinwa recently sold out their come back concert in 40 minutes generating KRW 2 billion (£1.1m) in income. We look forward to expanding in 2013 with CJ K-pop concerts into other Asian territories."
"This is a very exciting time for PMG especially as it is the week of The Ballantine's Championship, Korea's number one golf tournament."
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For further information, please contact:
Parallel Media Group plc 020 7225 2000
David Ciclitira
Northland Capital Partners Limited 020 7796 8800
Luke Cairns, Edward Hutton
Novus Capital Markets Limited 020 7107 1881
Nicholas Lee
Bishopsgate Communications 020 7562 3350
Deepali Schneider, Lynne Goulding
pmg@bishopsgatecommunications.com
Notes to Editors:
About PMG and PMSA
Parallel Media Group plc (PMG) is a leading sports marketing, media and event management company, which has been involved in a diverse range of projects from sports to music. Parallel Smart Media, PMG's digital arm brings innovative digital solutions to the sport and entertainment world. Parallel Smart Media Asia (PMSA) is 51% owned by PMGand operates from PMG's new office in Singapore.
About K-pop
Korean Pop (K-pop) is a musical genre consisting of pop, dance, electropop, hip hop, rock, R&B, electronic music, and has become one of South Korea's most notable exports in recent years. Its audience is largely female, from early teens through to late 20s. It has been making inroads into Europe, an expansion that has been noticed by the big corporations, such as iTunes, which started selling K-pop to European audiences early in 2010, and Google which is planning to set up a K-pop channel.
XLON