Mediazest Regulatory News (MDZ)

26 Aug 2005 08:21

Touch Group PLC26 August 2005 TOUCH GROUP PLC (AIM:TOU) ANNOUNCES DISPOSAL OF TOUCH VISION AND INVESTMENT INMEDIAZEST PLC Touch Group plc is pleased to announce that today it has exchanged contractswith MediaZest Plc, a newly floated company specialising in innovativepromotional solutions for major retailers, to acquire Touch Vision, the audioand screen subsidiary of the Group. Completion is scheduled for 23rd September2005. The bringing together of Touch Vision's delivery abilities and the marketingskills of MediaZest should prove to be a well matched combination. The terms of the transaction will be up to £3 million paid by MediaZest, £1million in cash and £2 million in shares in the enlarged MediaZest company,giving Touch a 19% holding in the enlarged MediaZest company. John Lovering, Non-Executive Chairman of MediaZest Plc said; "We are delightedto have acquired Touch Vision and look forward to working with its experiencedmanagement team to build a business of real scale." Sean Reel, Chief Executive of MediaZest said: "We believe a significantopportunity exists in the out of home media market. The combination of TouchVision's capabilities and know-how and our licences and business developmentexpertise will enable us to capitalise on this dynamic market and createconsiderable growth." Vincent Isaacs, Chairman of Touch Group Plc said that: "Touch Vision will nowhave the benefit of the specialist marketing and sales skills of MediaZest.Combine these skills with Touch Vision's proven innovation, technical abilityand delivery capacity, and our 19% shareholding in the MediaZest Group shouldprove to be a valuable investment." Touch Group plc will issue their Interim results for the six months ended 30thJune 2005 immediately after this transaction has completed. For more information: Touch Group plcVincent Isaacs, Chairman 0207 452 5222 Mantra PRLawrence Dore 0207 907 7801 Notes to Editors About Touch Group, plc. Touch Group Plc's (AIM: TOU) online search directory, Touch Local, is the UK'smost effective online search directory with a site for every city and resultsfor every postcode. TouchLocal delivers 5 million monthly, ready to buycustomers to the 2.4 million businesses listed on the directory through theirpreferred channel, be it online or over the phone. Registered businesses canalso benefit from TouchLocal's online marketing services and expertise, such assearch engine marketing and pay-per-call advertising, where solutions aretailored, cost effective and performance based. Touch Group Plc's publications division, Touch Briefings, provides inprint andonline media which enables leading international organisations withinspecialised market sectors including healthcare, pharmaceutical andbiotechnology to target their audience via display advertising and onlinemarketing. Touch Briefings deal with blue chip international organisations which includeover 120 of the Fortune 500 companies. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange