MIRA.L Regulatory News (MIRA)

4 Apr 2005 07:01

Yoomedia PLC04 April 2005 Embargoed until 07:004 April 2005 YooMedia plc ("YooMedia" or the "Company") YooMedia plc Acquires ViaVision Ltd YooMedia plc, the UK's biggest independent interactive media company,specialising in gaming, dating and the public sector, today announces theacquisition of ViaVision Ltd ("ViaVision"), an independent broadcaster andproduction company focused on the digital broadcast market. YooMedia acquired 15 per cent of the issued share capital of ViaVision with theacquisition of DITG in December 2004. The agreement is for the acquisition ofthe balance of the issued share capital of ViaVision, currently held privatelyby a number of shareholders. The shares have been purchased for a totalconsideration of 8,500,000 ordinary shares of 1 pence each in the Company("Ordinary Shares"). Of this total consideration 6,800,000 Ordinary Shares areto be paid immediately, with the remaining 1,700,000 Ordinary Shares to be paidas deferred consideration subject to the net current assets of ViaVision oncompletion. ViaVision manages five satellite television channels on the BSkyB platform, fiveinteractive television applications, four supporting websites and multipleproduction projects. The company operates broadcast studios in the City ofLondon. Its range of entertainment and specialist TV channels includes Exchangeand Mart and Game-In. Game-In TV, shortly to be rebranded as PokerZone TV, provides red-button gamingto over 12,000 regular players, ranging from fixed-odds gaming formats totraditional pub games and racing, on the Sky platform. A poker night featuringdocumentaries and tournaments from around the world is broadcast every Monday,Wednesday and Saturday. The acquisition is expected to be immediately earnings-enhancing. ViaVisionreported a pre-tax loss of £331,000 on revenues of £1.3m in the year to 31December 2004. Application has been made for 6,800,000 Ordinary Shares, whichwill rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares, to be admitted totrading on AIM and it is expected that admission will occur on 8 April 2005. Dr Michael Sinclair, chairman of YooMedia plc, said: "This acquisitionconsolidates our position in gaming and through Via Vision's work with Game-InTV we gain crucial exposure to the poker market. It enables us to apply ourinteractive media and mobile skills to poker, which is one of the fastestgrowing content plays in our industry." For further information, please contact: YooMedia PlcDavid Docherty, chief executive 020 7462 0870 PowerscourtJohn Murray 020 7236 5630Kirsty Black 020 7236 5631 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange